Texas State Fair

Last weekend, we took Nathan to the fair and had the best time! I hate to admit it, but the real reason I was looking forward to going, was the food!


My plan was to keep Nathan in his stroller as long as we could so that we could easily maneuver through the crowd.


But Nathan and Daddy agreed that Nathan was a big boy and could walk on his own as long as he held Daddy's hand. So I pretty much pushed the stroller carrying my purse, while Nathan trotted along next to his Daddy. Every time we stopped to get a snack or get more coupons, Nathan stuck right next to Wayne, and when we started walking again, he would say, "Hold Daddy's hand" very seriously while nodding his head :)


"Daddy, I smell popcorn!"


When we first told Nathan we were taking him to the fair, he kept saying, "See animals!" I think he thought the fair was like the circus because we told him that yes, we'd see animals there, but Nathan kept asking to see elephants and tigers. We were surprised to see animals other than just farm animals in the big barn. Here's a giraffe!

And a camel!

This camel almost kissed Nathan! He was a little unsure of it.

Nathan loved petting and feeding the goats. We also saw zebras, ostriches, cows, baby pigs, and more!

After seeing all of the animals, we stopped to watch the parade.

Then it was time for rides! Our first ride was this Choo-Choo train. I rode with him, and he smiled and laughed the whole time, but he would never look at me to take a picture! He kept holding on like he might fall off, and wanted me to hold on too :)

Nathan was a little too short to go on the other rides without one of us...except for this one! It's the swings that turn in a circle and swing you out. I was actually really nervous to let him go on this by himself. I mean he loves to swing, but what if he gets scared once it starts going and tries to get out?

But I was wrong! He loved it! After riding it the first time, we tried to find some more rides that he could do on his own, but all he wanted to do was ride the swings over and over. What a big boy! Next year, will be really fun because he'll be able to do a lot of the rides on his own...that will be expensive too!

Here are some videos:

We had so much fun! Oh and we definitely left with our tummies full: corn dogs, cheeseburgers, popcorn, root beers, dippin dots, funnel cakes, and nachos!

Visiting Grandma

Nathan loves our visits to Grandma's apartment. He has his own little routines that he goes through every time. First of all, he puts a smile on all of the faces of Grandma's friends. They love to see him coming, and he is always so cheerful and playful with them.


This is the apartment down the hall from Grandma's. They always have something interesting sitting outside of their door that Nathan loves to play with. For a while, they had bunnies. Now they have clowns :) One time, Nathan was playing with the bunnies when the couple opened the door because they heard us talking. Nathan said "Hi!" and walked right in, making himself at home!


After playing with the clowns down the hall, we spend a good 5 minutes chasing him up and down the hall! He loves running in these halls and has to get that done first before he'll go into Grandma's apartment.

Here's Mama trying to corral him.

"Me-Maw, it's your favorite great grandson, Nay-nay!" Nathan still calls Grandma Me-Maw which I think is the funniest thing. In his mind, he is saying "Grandma" because if I ask him if he wants to go see Me-Maw, he thinks for a minute, and then says, "No, go see Me-Maw." But if I ask him if he wants to see GRANDMA, he says, "Yes! See Me-Maw." So in his mind, it's Grandma, but it comes out Me-Maw :)

I remember when he couldn't even reach the doorbell :(

These pictures were taken several weeks ago (once again, I'm behind) and at that time, Nathan liked to pretend that he saw rabbits. He'd pick them up and bring them to me and we'd pet these imaginary bunnies. It was so cute. Here he is showing Grandma the bunnies.

Grandma played right along and loved holding the bunnies she didn't know she had in her apartment :)

The figurines on Grandma's windowsill are the next thing Nathan loves to play with. He knows he's not supposed to pick them up because they're breakable, but each time we go over there, he pushes the limits a little bit more. Every time I think he's going to try to pick one up, I'll say "No, no Nathan." And he says, "Just touch Mommy" very innocently like he would never dream of not following the rules...yeah right!

My happy boy

Nathan, Mama, and Grandma.

"Mama, you always have goodies in your purse...I like this bracelet!"

This is the next favorite activity...jumping off the stool! It's usually kept under the chair Mama is sitting on. Nathan always remembers to pull it out and puts on a show for us. I remember being so scared he'd hurt himself when he first tried to do this when he first started walking. Now he's a pro!

There he goes!

And the last main thing he always does at Grandma's house is to go into her room, and get into mischief. I've caught him changing the time on Grandma's clock, playing in her closet with her shoes, climbing on her freshly made bed, and playing in her shower :) On this day, he pulled the stuffed animals off this bench and pretended to go to sleep. He was a good boy in her room on this day!

He loves this doggy that Grandma keeps for him to play with. And when we leave, he always (well....almost always) puts it right back where he found it.

Nathan kept laughing about feeling the cold air coming out of the air conditioner. I love his smile!

Nathan and Mommy.

And here's a video of Nathan running down the hall, acting silly.

Las Vegas Trip #2

I am so behind on my blogs! Several weeks ago, Wayne and I went back to Las Vegas. My sister's husband, Chris, was there on business, so Carrie flew up to meet him. Wayne and I decided to be spontaneous and do the same thing! We had the best time, although Carrie and I really didn't see our husbands much...it was a big weekend for football, so they spent most of their time betting on and watching the games. But Carrie and I had fun shopping, eating out, gambling a little, and just being together.

Cute little Carrie

After walking around for a while, we worked up an appetite and stopped at Serendipity for lunch.

They are famous for their frozen hot chocolate that we just had to try...HEAVEN!

We walked all over the strip and to each hotel and Casino...that's why we didn't feel guilty about eating like pigs (which we did!). We got tons of exercise! Here we are at the Bellagio. Isn't it pretty?!

I have to say that Carrie had good luck on the slot machines! At each casino, we'd stop and take a break, and play the slots for a little while. Carrie put in a few dollars into a penny slot and won $10 right away! Then she put $5 into a quarter slot and won $25 more dollars. This happened over and over! One time we decided we really wanted an ice cream cone, and Carrie said, "I'll win us some ice cream money." And she did! She also paid for our cab ride back to the hotel!

We stayed at New York, New York which we loved! It was just like New York City.

Here's another night picture of the strip.

This is the one picture I have with Wayne :) I'm glad it's a good one! So I've already been to Las Vegas twice this year, and I'm still not tired of it! Who wants to go next?

More Camping Pictures...

Here are some more pictures from my camera of our camping weekend two weeks ago. As soon as Nathan and I got there (it was a 3 hour drive), Nathan was ready to stretch his legs and run around. He walked around exploring the cabin and helped Mommy unpack the car. As soon as Jack and Olivia arrived, that was the end of the help! They went wild chasing each other and playing in every room of the house. Their favorite room was off of the room Wayne and I stayed in. It was a small attic room that got tons of use from all the kids!

After stomping around upstairs in the attic room, the group moved downstairs to the tent that Jack brought.

I wanted to take a picture of all of them inside, but Jack was the only one who would pose!

"Jack, where are you?!"

While we waited for Robin, Derrick, and Willow to arrive, Jack and Nathan decided to explore the wilderness outside.

"I want a stick like Jack's :("

"Oooooh, I got a leaf in my butterfly net!"

Who wants popcorn?!

I think this may have been one of the only times, all three kiddos were sitting still.

Once Willow arrived, it was time for dinner. The guys grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for us. I was so happy to see Nathan dig in!

Here they are having one last hoorah before bed. They are so funny...they thought it was the most fun to jump on these two pillows, run into each other, and fall down.

The next morning, we had a yummy breakfast of pancakes (banana and plain) eggs, fruit, and sausage. Before heading out for our morning activities, Nathan and his friends played on the porch collecting leaves and rocks.

"Ok Daddy, I won't throw rocks anymore...I'm sorry."

We finally got everyone packed up and headed to the lake area where they hay, horse, and train rides!

Olivia, Jack, and Nathan waiting for their turn to ride the Choo Choo train.

Hi Miss Willow!

Nathan and Daddy on the train.

What a cute family! Nathan LOVED the train ride. He actually got a little tired and I thought he might even fall asleep!

After riding the train, Wayne took Nathan to look at the horses again and then it was off to the paddle boats!

The Relles went with us to ride paddle boats while Olivia and her family rode the horses and Willow and her family did a little sight seeing. Nathan and Jack had to put on their life jackets to be safe.

Nathan had a bit of a meltdown (fit) after getting his life jacket on. I guess it was a bit restricting :) After throwing himself down on the dock and just laying there for a minute, he was up and ready to ride in the boat!

Here we are paddling our boat...which totally killed my legs! I felt like I had a huge workout after this boat ride!

Nick, Jack, and Jennifer

I love it when Nathan is tired and is so cuddly!

"Daddy, paddle harder so we can see those turtles over there!"

After riding horses and paddle boats, we met up with the McWilliams and had a picnic.

Nathan and Jack saw this grassy area with swings and couldn't get over there fast enough!

Nathan is swinging on a big boy swing! This is the first time he's ever been on a big swing for more than one push (and without me holding onto him while I barely push him). Leave it to Daddy to get him to the next level! He actually did a really good job balancing himself and hanging on!

After naps (for ALL of us) we had a huge dinner of steaks, chicken, green beans, corn on the cob, and fruit. And for dessert, we had SMORES! The guys built a fire in the fire pit which mesmerized the kids. The sat in the swing while the guys worked. Nathan loved the smores and ate a whole one...I won't tell you how many I ate...it was a ridiculous amount!

Right before the fire was built, Nathan and Jack spent some time on the swing by themselves. Angela took this picture and I love it! They are both showing their cute little tummies!

After eating smores and putting the kids to bed, the adults stayed up late and played The Newlywed Game. Jennifer bought it YEARS ago and has been saving it for us to play. For some reason, every time we get together, we have the intention of playing it never do. So we were determined not to let this opportunity get away from us again! We had so much fun!

"Mommy, do we have to leave?" We had the most fun, and I really was sad to go. I loved spending the weekend with such good friends, and I especially loved watching Nathan have fun. Since we successfully planned a camping weekend, I say we bump it up a notch and plan a beach trip!