Ciara's Birthday!

We started off Ciara's birthday with breakfast at IHOP!

Mom made her this amazing blanket! Now I want a beach blanket!

And late afternoon we were off, heading to Kirtland for a few days. We stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel, where it's never a horrible place to have a long wait because they have their country store to browse in as well as these cool rocking chairs to relax on.

While Noah was in the bathroom, the rest of us were checking out the menu, deciding what we were going to have. Both Heidi and I mentioned how gross the trout looked...and then when Noah came back and the waitress took our orders, Noah ordered the trout! Heidi and I both started laughing but he swears it's delicious.

After dinner, while we waited for last minute bathroom trips and shopping, the kids decided to play a game of hide and seek. They sure know how to pick the good hiding spots, ha ha!

We rolled into the hotel in Kirtland a little after 9. It was definitely in a sketchy part of town and the smell of weed was pretty strong in the elevator. But, we know how to roll with the punches and we were all looking forward to the church sites the next day.

The County Fair

We decided to check out the Warren County Fair! Our biggest mistake was planning on eating dinner there. Every food place had a line a mile long and the prices were outrageous! Plus no one could decide what they wanted. Noah and I finally settled on sharing a funnel cake - yum...

while David and Xander got nachos.

Time to check out all the animals. We loved all the cute little goats...

and the horses.

But when we entered the poultry house, I thought I was going to pass out from the horrific smell!

We quickly hurried to where the cute bunnies were. One of them fell immediately in love with Xander, coming right up to him and wiggling her little nose in his face. It was adorable!

We skipped the pig auction but I couldn't resist getting a picture of this cute little piggy bum!

We spent some time watching kids show off their alpacas, having them go through an obstacle course. At times we looked at each other in disbelief, that we were actually sitting there cheering on alpacas.

Last stop was the cows!

Xander and I loved this little calf.

Someone couldn't resist his neighbor's water, ha ha!

Not sure why pee was coming out of his middle...

I had to run out of the cow area because things were getting a little muddy and dirty and I definitely heard some cowboys laughing at me but oh, well. We had a great time and hopefully we can convince the boys to go again next year! It was a different experience for us all!

Other July Happenings

Some fun, and not so fun, things going on this month: 

 Getting some wonderful veggies from our garden;

trying out my pirate look after scratching my eye;

last morning of swim practice (I forgot to post this earlier)'

celebrating Dad's 74th birthday with Graters...

and presents, including a cool Nathanael Greene coin;

time with Uncle Bryan;

a blessing for Dad;

painting activity with the young women;

super cool sunset;

movie with our Noah;

and several visits to the hospital for Dad. Heidi and I went to visit and of course have to be a little silly!

My sweet dad! Definitely not easy watching him go through this!

Wrapping Up Swim

Championships arrived, cold and wet! We huddled in our tents, trying to stay warm and dry and busy while we waited for the kids' events.

Even David joined in the game playing!

Cute little Ciara!

Such a fun group of kids!

As the day wore on, we ate lots of snacks, took some naps, enjoyed David's snoring...

and were entertained by Ciara.

She was cracking us up by going outside the tent and then making a tooting noise next to where David was sitting inside the tent so everyone thought it was him. Then she'd run in laughing and say how gross he was. I think it was here that Ciara got super comfortable with her Uncle David. And can I just say how priceless her face is in this picture?

It was a long, fun day, and Noah did a great job!

A few days later we had the swim banquet which involved food and awards.

Ciara's behind that envelope and trophy!

Heidi looking tough with her kids' medals.

Noah's age group!

Certificates...

and swim buddies!

I'm so glad Noah's cousins talked him into joining swim because he definitely had a great season!