Minnesota!

About three weeks ago Jonathan and I decided that we had made a big mistake by NOT taking a vacation with the kids this summer, so we made last-minute plans to go to MN to see some friends and hit the great "Minnesota State Fair"! The fair is a fun little tradition we have tried to hold on to over the years. We don't always make it up to MN every Labor Day, but the years we have gone have always been a lot of fun.

We started our little journey on a Thursday afternoon by picking the kids up from school early and heading out of town from there. It was way too cute to see the kids so tickled because they were getting to leave school early. The ride up was pretty uneventful & I was very pleased to see the kids do so well. Some years the drive is the worst part of this trip, but this year it went really well.

On Friday morning we got up and started getting ready for our big fair day. I felt like such a veteran this year because I had the diaper bag packed three days before the trip & it was ready to go with all of the "state fair essentials". We even bought a new "sit-n-stand" stroller since I sold my old double stroller last summer at a garage sale. I figured it was a good investment with the new baby coming and all. It's a good thing we had that stroller, because it was a hit with the kids & really saved us from having to carry tired kids around the fair.

I'll have to apologize in advance for my lack of "food pictures", but that's the way the cookie crumbled this year-LOL! You see, that's the whole reason we go to the fair...to EAT! I guess we were just too busy stuffing our faces to take pictures. Our friends think we are crazy when we start telling them about the Minnesota State Fair because the conversation usually starts off something like: "Well, we start the day off with Tiny Tim doughnuts & then we make our way to the cheese curd stand, the fried green tomatoes, the roasted corn, pork-chop-on-a-stick, and then maybe a giant bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies before we leave." Yes, the fair is all about the FOOD! It's a good thing we have three little kids to remind us that there are more important things to do at the fair...like ride overpriced carnival rides!

Here are a few pictures of our Minnesota adventure:

Maya enjoying a Tiny Tim doughnut.













McKenna and Maya riding the Bumble Bees.













Chandler and McKenna got a little more brave and rode this "big kid" ride.












Cute kiddos!













This was at the "Miracle of Birth" barn where the kids got to see lots of baby animals & McKenna and I even got to witness the birth of twin lambs! That was pretty cool, and very educational for Mckenna-LOL! After the first little lamb was born she looked up at me and said "is that how our baby is gonna be born?". I just smiled and said "yep...pretty much!". I talked her through everything as the second baby lamb was being born & told her how cool it is that God designs all mommies (human and animals) to be able to give birth in such an awesome way. She listened to everything I was saying, but she remained really quiet the whole time. After a few minutes she finally said "Mom, is it OK if I never wanna have my own babies?"-HA!

Maya and her double scoop of ice cream!













Check out the size of that cinnamon roll!













This is a little video of the "skyride" that Jonathan took the older two kids on.


This is my friend Theresa. We stay with her parents (Bob and Irene) every time we go up to MN. Theresa is a due in November, so she is just about a month behind me. She has the most adorable bump ever! She no longer lives in MN, but she was up visiting her parents as well (see, we are not the only crazy ones that make a special trip to MN just for fair food!). It's always fun to see the whole Stahl gang!





Bob and Jonathan took the kids to Bob's old fire station (he retired a few years ago) & let the kids climb on the giant fire trucks.











McKenna is my little ham.













Chandler and Bob.













Too stinkin' cute!













Once again...my little goof ball!













I just thought this was a sweet picture :-)














*Just want to take a second to thank our wonderful friends/hosts Bob and Irene for letting us stay with you once again! You are always so gracious and hospitable when we come and stay with you. You put up with our whole crazy bunch every year, and act like it's no big deal...but I know it is!

We had a wonderful time & can't wait to bring the fourth "Little White" up next year :-). The kids are starting to think you are their third set of grandparents-LOL! You should see their faces when we tell them we are going to Bob and Irene's house...it's priceless! :-)

-Thanks for the memories!