State Fair Time

Last weekend we loaded everyone up and headed to the Minnesota State Fair, in accordance with tradition. We got there early and stayed most of the day so that we could eat an unreasonable amount of fried food. This year we ate:

1. Korean BBQ pork collar with kimchi pickles.
2. Bison hot dog.
3. Pickle dog.
4. Big fat bacon, on a stick.
5. Cheese curds.
6. Smoothies.
7. Deep-fried peanut butter buckeyes, on a stick.
8. Sno-Ribbons, a weird mix between shaved ice and ice cream.
9. A bucket of Sweet Martha's cookies.
10. Mini donuts.
11. Deep-friend pickles.
12. Cotton candy.
13. Dairy barn milkshakes.
14. Blue cheese corn fritters.
15. Chicken in a waffle.
16. Beer gelato.

Colin enjoying an inflatable flapping man.

Colin trying to cheat in the maze.

Oliver, finally not afraid to jump high this year.

Colin, who is never afraid, whether he should be or not.

He would have gone a lot higher if he could figure out how to jump.

Jared, enjoying a giant piece of bacon on a stick.

Colin enjoying a deep-fried mess of peanut butter and chocolate on a stick.

William, who didn't even appreciate the beautiful cows.

"What does the cow say, Colin?"
"Neigh."

Annual photo op in the horse barn.

Now that September is here, we'll be frantically running around trying to pack in the last few weekends of outdoor fun before the cold sets in. Our weekends are already booked for the corn maze, apple picking, Oliver's birthday, and the pumpkin patch.

Things have been going surprisingly well here on the home front. William is a pretty easy-going baby. I'm tired, but I'm not as tired as I could be. This time around I've made it a lot easier on myself. I've given up completely on doing any housework. I've got premade frozen meals for dinner. The kids have been making their own lunches. I've let other people do the work for me.

And while the house is a complete mess and the kids have eaten yogurt and dry cereal for lunch almost every day, it's so much better this way. It's too bad it took me until our last baby to figure this out.