Saturday, November 21, 2009

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Columbia County Fair 09

On a whim, we decided we would go to the Columbia County Fair last Saturday. We had not yet been to a fair as a family and were really looking forward to taking the kids to one. Last year, the Columbia County Fair occurred while we were visiting Maryland, so we were excited to be able to catch it this year! We got everyone ready and told Madeline that we were going to take her somewhere special. This was her reaction when she got out of the car and realized where we were:
The first thing she saw when she walked in the park was the "Dumbo Ride." She talks about the Dumbo ride from Disney World all the time, so she was beyond thrilled to see one at the fair. Of course, it was the first ride she went on:
Although she looks terrified, she loved it and had the biggest grin on her face when she got off. We asked her if she liked it and she said, "Yes! Mommy, I am SO happy!"
The next ride she was thrilled to see was the "Nemo Ride." Although Ethan was just tall enough for the ride, we weren't thrilled about the restraint system, so we opted not to let him ride. Anyone who knows Ethan would understand why :)
Another favorite, the carousel:
"Cheesing" for the camera:
Finally, we found something Ethan could do...play the duck game:
He was choosing his duck so carefully that he caused a back-up of ducks:
...but he finally found one and won a "small prize."
As you can tell in the following picture, he did not care for his prizes too much. He dropped them all on the ground, then went back to having a snack:
...but Madeline loved her pig and flower she won. Several days later, she still loves that pig!
While waiting in line for this ride, Madeline decided these two girls were her friends. She wanted to ride on the boat with them, and fortunately they were tickled to have her join them:
Ethan and I just watched:
Madeline followed her friend to another ride and asked her if she could ride with her. Again, the girl was OK with that. They chatted for quite a bit before the ride started. The girl was several years older than Madeline and had quite a hard time understanding her, but she was so sweet nonetheless:
The last thing we were to attempt before leaving was to win a goldfish. Mommy, Ethan, and pig rooted Madeline on:
But then, as you can see in the picture, Ethan decided to wonder off:
Now captured, Ethan continued to cheer on his big sis. We only purchased 5 balls, but the young girl who was working gave Madeline at least 10...but she still didn't win.
As we were about to leave, we noticed they had a petting farm, so we stopped in. Madeline was not afraid of the animals a bit:
Madeline went over to purchase some food to feed the animals. I think this Nubian Goat knew:
Doug and I didn't think she'd actually feed them, but sure enough:
How disgusting!!!
You were allowed to just let them eat out of the cup too, so she just decided that was easier:
Then we moved on to the sheep. I think Madeline would have stayed all day to feed the animals:
...except for the buffalo. She checked him out...
...but was too afraid to let him eat out of her hand, so she dumped the food on the ground! Poor buffalo! He must be used to it, because he had no problem maneuvering his head in between the bars to get to the food:
That where the trip to the fair ended. We had a blast!

She's almost 3!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

She got a hold of the camera again

Here are some pictures Madeline took over the past week:
He's standing on a box that was just delivered:
Ethan's glove that use to belong to Mariah's big brother, Logan:




Mr. Ben came to borrow our carpet cleaner. Shortly after this picture I realized that the lens was quite dirty!

There was something wrong with the settings on my camera, so a bunch of pics turned out like this:

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Adventure Center at YMCA

This is something we've attended several times and the kids have always loved it. We go on a "field trip" to the gymnastics room at the Y and the kids have an opportunity to experience all the equipment and activities. Today the time was very unstructured which makes me nervous about the gymnastics class I just signed Madeline up for (which starts this Friday). But, regardless, I'm sure she'll love it and not complain a bit :)
Here she is warming up:
A little buddy rolling her around:
Madeline was determined to do this balance beam by herself. And she did, she made it all the way to the end and then did her favorite part...jump off!




Even Ethan got in on the action:
Happy lil guy:
He loves to get his picture taken. As soon as he sees me with the camera he says, "eeeee."
They both had a blast and were exhausted when we left!

The Disappearing Ice Cream Sandwich

Now you see it...
Now you don't:

"I Like to Dance"