The LOOONNNGGG Weekend

We're all exhausted. We don't have much to show for being tired, but all 4 of us are. Saturday morning the kids and I took off with Mom and Dad for the State Fair. Oh my, was there traffic!! We were waiting on the highway for about 30 minutes, trying to get into the parking gates, once we got there, we heard on the radio that all the parking lots were full, it was about 11:00 a.m. Drue was very excited to go see Clifford the Big Red Dog in the Varied Industries bldg. at the IPTV booth. She giggled when she saw him from a distance, then as the line to hug him got shorter, she ran back to the stroller and jumped in saying, "DD no see Clifford, DD like him on TV." I asked if she'd like me to hold her and she agreed that sounded better, so I took her and Lane in my arms and went to meet Clifford, ok...she first 'met' him last year, sort of...I held her but as we got close she cried and made me turn around...similar situation this year!...As we got closer to him, Drue's legs and arms started squeezing my body harder and harder. She started to fuss but made it past him back to her stroller. She thought it was pretty cool AFTER she was done. We were quite the fair goers and ate away most of the money Dad brought with him. Of course, we had a few corndogs, lemonades, margaritas, nachos, a gyro, Italian sausage, a blooming onion, cotton candy, Indian fry bread, a fry bread taco, and Dip & Dots ice cream...the little quick frozen dots, ("the ice-cream of the future" stands that are in airports, etc)...Drue LOVES them...She asked Pa to buy her one more cup of them before leaving the fair, she prefers the 'rainbow sherbert' dots...and Pa and Nanny never say no to the kids. =)So she got more of the Dots. Drue rode a horse at the petting zoo, his name was Mikey. She played the 'go fish' game and caught 2 fish. She picked out a prize...a little red, stuffed animal fish. She got tatooed at several booths in the VI bldg, she's kind of on the fence as to which state football team to support...she has a HAWKEYE tatoo on her hand and a CYCLONE one on her leg...At least we can cover the ISU one up with pants!! :) The kids were both so good. Never whiny or fussy. They are such ANGELS! The weather was perfect, cool and overcast. We even had sweatshirts on the kids in the evening. We had such a fun time. We weren't rushed by schedules, just leisurely walked to the 'must see' sites, places we go every year, the butter cow, the VI bldg, the buckskinners (for the fry bread,) the big boar, the big bull, the draft horses, the agriculture bldg, the art bldg, etc... Such fun memories are made at the fair. Drue loves going to the 'Tate Fair!' I'm sure Lane will love it even more next year! We stayed late, about 10:30...got back to Eldora right around 12:30.

Since Ryan was at his friend's bachelor party and wouldn't be home until late, the kids and I stayed at my parents'. Dad woke me up a little before 6 so I could go home and get ready for our golf tournament. That hurt! I was so tired. We teed off around 7:30. We played 4 man best shot. Our team consisted of Ryan and me, and Nick and Traci. The team we played with was a lady that was my aid when I student taught and did my long term sub job, Cindy Pekarek and her husband, and their son and his girlfriend. Her son is an especially good golfer, and fun to watch. What a riot that Cindy is! We had such a good time catching up. Us girls could have technically sat in the carts and chit-chatted while the guys played, but they needed us! :) We had a few good shots, but after the first round we were slacking a bit. We played 18 holes, which is more than I've played at one time in a very long time! We were out on the course about 6 hours! That's longer than most night's sleep for me! But hey, it was a blast! It was a beautiful morning, cool, clear, sunny, but wet. Our Buseman/Luiken team came in 6th of 18 morning teams and we won our entry money back at least, so that was an added bonus to a fun day.

While on the course, we learned that Ryan's sister and her family had came 'home' from Decorah for the day. So, after golfing, Ry and I ran home, switched vehicles and went to Mom & Dad's to get the kids. Then we went to see Cousin Cade. Drue is always SO excited to see her "Baby Cade!" (He's only 10 mos. younger than her, so not really a baby any more)We visited for a couple hours and then came home around 5. Both Lane and Drue fell asleep on the short ride home, so Ryan took a nap on the floor and I held Dig in the chair. The kids and I took relatively short naps, Ryan is STILL sleeping. However, he has moved up to the bed now. He was awake for about 20 minutes to grab a piece of pizza and let the dog out of his kennel. Ryan can NOT function with little sleep. I've read that somewhere...women can do better than men with fewer hours of sleep...(duhh!?!) I mean...Ryan is OUT. He didn't get home much later than we did, but the alcohol hurts, I guess. Not fair though, him getting to 'check out' for the evening...just because he chose to party...I don't feel sorry for him, that's for sure.

Luckily, we have a pretty boring, ok, really boring week ahead of us. We don't have one single thing on the calendar for the entire week! =) Hopefully, tomorrow will be a good nap day...I may even try and sneak one in if the kids nap at the same time, (like that will happen!)

oh...For those of you wondering...Yes. Coke did come with us to the fair. Well, I guess he was in the the Expedition on the way down. I didn't hear anything about him while we were at the fair. If he was there, he too, was a very good boy! DD said she was going to pick him up later, so I don't know what became of him. Today she told me that she had to carry Coke's sister around all day yesterday at the fair! I asked her what his sister's name was and she paused, "ummm...don't know." I told her she better ask her, she said she'd ask Coke...paused again and said shaking her head 'no' ... "Coke talk berry well" Meaning...I couldn't understand him...also meaning....I can't think of a name for his sister. What an imagination! She cracks us up! I wonder if Coke "freaked out" when he saw Clifford?!? =0

Have a wonderful Monday! ~Blessings, kabl