Tennessee: The Farm and The Fair

While Aaron spent some time on the road for work, I took the kids up to Tennessee for Warren County Fair Week, and to visit with my family. Here are some of the highlights of our trip. After a long ride in the van (with only a short stop in Chattanooga to get something from Grandma JoLayne), we stopped at the farm. We went to visit Nannie and Papa. William was happy to be out of the van and able to play on a blanket. The two Emmas at play! William also got his first ride on the four wheeler with his Jefe. (Sometimes it pays to be the fussy one!) A highlight of any trip to the farm is being driven around on the Gator by Papa. On this particular trip, he took us to see the garden, his punkins, and the persimmon tree, which is loaded down with persimmons. He showed us all the nut trees on the farm that have limbs breaking off because they are so heavy with nuts. We made a stop at the apple tree to get Emma an apple. I got one too and they were delicious! Part of our Tennessee trip included fishing at a pond where I fished as a little girl. I don't think the fish have gotten any bigger since then! Emma is wearing this huge shirt because she had an accident in her blue jeans (and I forgot to bring any extras), and she is standing in the middle of a field of saw grass so the shirt is to protect her little legs! I, one the other hand, got my arms all in the grass and was really feeling it for several hours after we finished fishing! Here are Emma and Jefe with one of their fish. In the end, all Emma really wanted to do was play with worms. That is her favorite part of fishing. Finding (and playing with) the worms. Girly girl? Not this one! (Check out all the mud and dirt on her legs!)

Other Fun:

While we were staying at my parent's house, my little sister (well, I guess I should say "younger." "Little" is decieving. She is taller than me!) decided to move to a different bedroom. The kids and I helped her move into her "new" room, and we found a giant foam finger from my high school. It fit Jonathan really well. I think he liked it! My mom took Emma to see "Disney on Ice" in Nashville. They had so much fun together. Emma still talks about it. She likes to line up her princess dolls on a book or other flat surface and have a "show." Then, pretending to be the announcer, she stands in the corner and says (very loudly) "EJNOIN THE SHOW!" Here are some pictures of Emma and BB before the show. The classic "Mommy-wants-you-to-make-a-nice-face-for-the-picture" face. Katherine (my super cute sister) was such a help with all the kids. And Emma worships the ground that Kat walks on. Here is Kat holding William. See Emma, Kat-Kat makes nice faces for mommy's pictures. Oh wait, I see where Emma gets it! This is a more typical picture of Katherine. Love you, Kat! Here are Jonathan and William celebrating the BYU win over UCLA by wearing their Cougar onesies they got for Christmas last year (before they were born.) from Uncle Sampson and Aunt Brittany. It was our way of showing our support for the team while Daddy got to watch the game in person.

The Warren County A & L Fair

If you currently (or have ever lived)in or near Warren County, chances are, you have been to the fair! For those of you who are far, far away and have never had the pleasure of experiencing the fair, give me a moment to explain. This is, I think, one of the biggest events in our community for the whole year. EVERYONE goes to the fair. Several of the local "Quick Cash" places ran ads in the newspaper for "Fair Week" loans and pay check advances. Yes, it is that big of a deal! I haven't been to the fair since I got married, almost 6 years ago, so you can imagine that I was a little excited to get to go this year. I went and realized something very quickly. Some things NEVER change! It was fun, though.

The lights must have been too much for William, because he started hiding behind his straps in the stroller! William hiding again. Emma wanted to ride the Merry-Go-Round first thing. She rode it several times. Since an adult needed to ride with her, I let her choose who she wanted to go with her. Luckily, she chose my dad. It was fun to watch him-mainly because he gets motion sick pretty easy. After three times on the merry-go-round, he was green. Anything for Emma! Here is my dad with Emma and the fish they won. He said it only cost five dollars! (And check out that neon yellow shirt. We didn't ever lose him!) Here is Emma riding the Scrambler. She looks like she is having so much fun, doesn't she? She actually really liked it. As long as she got to ride it alone. One time, someone had to get on and share a seat with her, so she got off the ride. We need to work on making friends! She did make friends with the operator of the crazy boats ride. She would high five this guy every time she came around to the spot he was standing. Here she is again, driving the crazy boat. She really liked this ride! The bumper cars are kind of a tradition in my family. I remember riding them with my dad when I was little. They were always so much fun! I am glad that Emma got to take a spin with him!She loved it! Especially when Russell and I got a car, too. She loved it when dad would crash their car into me or Russ.

We sure missed Aaron while he was gone, going to football games and working, but we had a lot of fun, too! We are lucky to be close enough to family to go and do things while Aaron is gone!