St. Leo's Fair

I don't even know where to begin with this post, we just had way to much fun.  My mom pointed out to me in our church bulletin that another church close by was holding their annual fair.  I grew up going to my church fair and so I knew how fun it was and had fond memories and Scott remembers some fairs that he went to so we thought it was a great way to spend an evening, or two and really enjoy the weather, living in CT, making new memories, creating new experiences for everyone and enjoying our family.

Mikey and I had our usual Mommy and son outting (while Scott and Katie hung out) and so we decided to check out the fair and see what everyone was talking about on Friday evening.  Mikey was so interested and we had to look at everything.  I think he was also pretty excited that he got to stay up a little later and be outside when it was dark out.   He even had a little cotton candy (don't tell Katie), well okay maybe a lot of cotton candy.  Seriously it was as long as his arm.  Don't worry I didn't let him eat it all.

Looking at the big kid/adult rides.

look at that focus.  He was trying hard to aim.  The dad helping his kid won but Mikey still had fun.

Yeah, look at the size of that thing.  He was in heaven.

Checking out the kiddie rides.  We will be back the next night with Katie and Scott.

So the following evening the four of us hopped in the car (I really enjoyed typing that just now, as opposed to sweating in the subway) and drove to St. Leo's fair to spend the late afternoon, evening and ride some rides and eat food and dance to music and play games.

It was hot hot hot and humid.  We were about 10 feet from the camera and you can see how hazy it was in the pic.

First ride of the night.  We bought a pretty hefty ticket package so the kids were able to ride all the rides.

Katie's very first ride, ever.  She loved them all!!!!

Mikey eventually opted to sit with Katie.

First roller coaster ride ever.  He only wanted to go with Daddy.

 So the ferris wheel was an interesting experience. Mikey saw it first on Friday evening and was talking about going on it with Scott all Saturday.  It was very old looking and rickety.  Gulp.  I guess we are going on.  Normally, I love all rides, roller coasters, things that spin fast and go upside down.  No issues here but I was nervous getting on this.  Guess I am getting old.

,

Scott and Mikey got on first.

I couldn't believe they let someone so little on.  Basically a wide seat belt for Katie and I and a metal bar was all that was keeping us held in 100 feet in the air.

Up up and away.  

The view from the top.  To the right of the colored tent were the kid rides and the white tents held food.  The large white tent in the background held lots of tables and a live band.

Scot and Mikey going down.  Those are my toes.

Yes, finally we rode on the dinosaurs.  Katie was talking about them for about an hour before we made our way over there.

Don't be fooled.  This went pretty fast around in circles and up and down on a little track.

The kids had ice cream and we have a burger.  Now it's time to dance.

Dancing to the live band.

Surprise.  The seniors sitting at the table next to us got their entertainment from my kids.

Round 2 at the water gun game.  

After 3 tries and $9 spent.  He still didn't win but sure had fun!

Until next year St. Leo's fair.  It was fun!!!

New neighbors.

We live in a pretty crowded neighborhood, meaning there are lots of homes right after another.  Thanks to daily walks with Bailey (our dog) after dinner we have met most of our neighbors.  They all seem really nice and we have a huge amount of young families with lots of kids to play with, some sweet old grannies and a few teenage girls ripe for some babysitting duties.  I find myself repeating the names of those that live in the house when we walk past it.  There are just too many to remember and I'm pretty bad at names when I meet a lot of new people within a few days of one another.

Anyway, one of our new neighbors, has a toddler named Evelyn and they have a pretty awesome yard with lots of toys and they have real, live chickens!  Oh and not to mention Alicia, the mom went to school with my sister.  Small world, right?!

The chickens are a hit and they have a pretty awesome chicken coup built by the Amish in Lancaster County, basically right down the road from where I grew up.   The chickens produce lots of eggs everyday and are truly organic, range free chickens.  Yum.  So glad for nice, sweet, neighbors.

Meet the teachers day.

One week before school officially begins for the kids, our school held a meet the teachers day.  What a great idea.  We got to spend about an hour between both of the kids rooms and meet their teachers, other parents and the other kids of course.

 In Katie's class we were instructed to find something that our child seemed to really be into whether it's the books, coloring/drawing, play-doh, babies, a specific toy and talk about it all week leading up to the first day of school. Katie really liked the markers and drawing. It gives them something to remember and look forward to.  In Mikeys' class, it was just fun playing with all the toys and meeting the kids.

Both kids seem really excited for school to begin as am I.  I think they will really enjoy it.

At the book corner in her class room.

A successful meet the teachers day.  Mikey was satisfied and ready to go when it was over.

Not afraid of creepy crawly things.

Bugs, spiders, worms, caterpillars, you name it and Mikey is interested in getting a closer look at it.  It's been beneficial for him because we moved into an older home that has lots of cracks and nothing is flush and plum so all these little buggers and critters get into our home pretty easily. Not so beneficial for me since I am the one who seems to have to always capture, crush, vacuum, sweep up these creepy crawly creatures.

Little boys.  Gotta love them.

Camping out....I mean in.

 I have been wanting to go camping with the kids all summer.  I remember doing it during my childhood and sort of consider it a rite of passage each summer.  I mean, you can't fully enjoy summer until you camp out right?!

Anyway I had every intention of setting up the tent early and letting the kids play in it for a while and then naturally we would all sleep outside in the tent.  Well we forgot that we live on a busy street and the traffic can be pretty noisy when you're outside and we don't exactly live in a rural area. So we took down camp about 8:30pm and set it back up in Mikey's bedroom since we promised the kids we'd sleep in the tent.  They seemed just fine with our updated plan as was I since I got to sleep in my bed and not on the hard floor.

Everyone enjoying the new activity.

Getting all tucked in.

They loved their turtle night light and the stars it displayed on the tent.

Scalzi Park

I think the kids really miss being able to play at playgrounds.  They had a numerous amount to pick from right at their fingertips in the city but here in the suburbs....it's just a little different.

We did find a park about 3 miles from our home that has lots of play space, two huge playgrounds, swings, baseball diamonds, tennis courts, sandy volleyball pits (is it pits?), a bike trail, running trails, a skate park, and a water play area that they put in about 2 months before we moved to CT.  The kids loved it and I think it satisfied their need to play on a playground for a few days.

Totally soaking it up.