The MN State Fair

It's the end of summer and that means it is time for the State Fair. That is big news around our house and we really love heading out to the fair for a day and enjoying the sights, sounds, and mostly, the tastes! It worked out this year for us to go on opening day. The weather was great, although a little on the hot side, and the crowds weren't too bad. We were quite surprised to pull up to the park and ride at about 8:45am and see a very long line of people waiting for the free bus to the fair. We waited about 20 minutes until we were able to get on a bus (at least they had several running back and forth) and made it to the fairgrounds by about 9:30am. We started off at the Little Farm Hands exhibit where Micah was able to be a farmer for a short while. He milked the cows, fed the chickens, planted & harvested carrots, rode the tractor, and sold his goods at the market. With his proceeds he was able to buy a snack-size box of Golden Grahams. It is a fun exhibit to see the farming process from start to finish.
I can't tell you our exact route from there, but we explored several of the buildings and exhibits, saw a baby pig being born at the Miracle of Birth Center, rode the giant slide twice, found the bees, watched the end of the parade, saw fish, turtles, & snakes, watched robots, and ate several times. It was Thrifty Thursday so there were some deals going on and we had a state fair coupon book. Both helped us keep our costs down for the day. Plus Micah has been saving ALL YEAR for the state fair and he covered the costs for the giant slide rides. Seriously, every time he found a penny or was given any money, he would put it into his "state fair fund". It was a good lesson in saving and we hope to expand it to other areas.
All in all, it was a great day. We were at the fair for 5 1/2 hrs, which is longer than we thought any of us would last. But the kids were great and had lots of fun. It will have to last us until next year!

Swimming!

We have loved the last couple of weeks and the warm weather that we have had. The kids and I have spent lots and lots of time at the Crystal Pool and both the kids are getting to be quite the water lovers. Micah recently finished two weeks of swimming lessons. It was his first year and he was in Level 1. I was a little worried that 10 days of lessons would get to be too much for him and that he would get bored, but he LOVED every minute of it. His teacher was fabulous and she kept the kids having so much fun. They did have a lesson and a half of bad weather, so they learned about water safety in the locker rooms. Micah did pass to Level 2 and he is convinced that he can swim in the kiddie pool (for about 3 seconds). He has become much more brave in the water and spends a lot of time with his head underneath the water. Unfortunately, he has a brave little sister who likes to do everything big brother does. At the beginning of the summer she would sit contentedly next to me at the edge of the pool and play. Now she is off and running and will keep walking until water is coming in her mouth.
Here is a video clip of Micah going off the diving board.