Apples=Fun

Hello again.

This recent long weekend gave us a chance to catch up after a few active weekends of fun. In the spirit of Labor Day, we took to the Anderson Orchard to pick our own apples. This place was somewhat unique in that you drove your car around the 100 acres looking for apples. We soon figured out that the looking was the hardest part, besides the terrain. Our two minivans (our car is not actually a minivan, rather something much cooler/manly, but for the sake of the story we will label it as such) bounced over the various ridges/inclines with kids hanging out the windows/tailgates (buckling/unbuckling them from their carseats was inefficient as we made many stops. Also, we were going 5 mph). We were the trail car, and our leaders seemed to have an affinity for stopping near the barest of trees. That led to us only accumulating 2/3 a peck (according to the quick math done by the checkout team as we left) of apples in 90 minutes with two bags. That cost us $5. Now that is value for entertainment. It was a stark contrast to Rib Fest, which we attended the day before. In 90 minutes there, we spent $60 on who knows what. Apparently the ribs there are some exotic variety of deliciousness Im not aware of, because they cost more than in any restaurant. Tasted like burnt pig to me, which was great as usual.

Anyway, back to apples. The girls had an especially good time because their best friend (according to Sanna later in the day) was there. That was Emre. Today, when they go to school, they will have a new best friend. Then again tomorrow.

We may have to make another apple picking trip this year, as early September coupled with the weather this year, led to a scarcity of choice apples. As I told Laurin numerous times, I really love apples.

After apple picking, we played in the hay and were showered with gifts (belated birthday presents from the Lielands, who have been too busy training for the Tour de France to hang out). Good times.

State Fair Revisited

Last week, we made our state-required trip to the fair. It was about 90 minutes of pure hell. At least we made it an athletic endeavor by biking there, which saved us a dollar on our tickets I think. The only ride we tried were the ponies. There was no fried food consumed. We saw a couple pigs, a giant ox, and an elephant (which apparently costs $6/person to ride, so we told the girls the elephant was tired or they were too small or something extremely creative). All in all, the girls enjoyed the time, but the heat tired them out quickly. The ride home (I pulled the girls in their bike stroller) was filled with screaming and fighting (someone touched someone or something). Countdown until next year.

Birthday Cake Art

Grammy Smith has been practicing for her upcoming reality show 'cake crazy'. This year's project included a replica of the Wonder Pet's fly boat complete with all three members of the Wonder Pets team. Also, we got a replica of Andy's bed from Toy Story. Both were thoroughly enjoyed by the girls and extremely tasty.

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The big day finally arrived yesterday after much planning. The girls were eager to see all their friends and eat cupcakes. They were also eager to open the big box that we left sitting in the foyer all week until grandma and papa arrived. The big box turned out to hold an exciting new backyard play house, which was met with screams of joy. It was built (comical photos exist of papa and I building this thing while the girls slept) and placed in the backyard to await the girls when they woke from their nap. I hope this heat wave ends soon, because the number of hours we will be forced to spend playing in the backyard now may kill me.

Sanna and Riley were the first to arrive at the party, allowing Sanna ample time to hoard all the fruit. I have to redirect her many times so that there would be some left for our guests. She is persistent though.

Apparently the only things that scares Riley more than clowns is the attention of a large group. She did not appreciate being sung to our stared at for all of 20 seconds. Sanna didnt seem to mind as it was the price to pay for a sweet cupcake.

Oddly, the two people that may have enjoyed the party the most were the Drlich boys. Sam could not get enough of the machine Sweet Pea (the non-clown clown that painted arms and made balloon animals) used to inflate the balloons.

Abe's dream of being covered in Spiderman imagery came true thanks to Sweet Pea. She blew away everyone's expectations for face painting, even using glitter to accentuate her designs.

Sanna went for the ladybug and flower look. Yesterday, her favorite color was pink, so that was what she got.

Riley's favorite color was green for the day, so she got butterflies and flowers. She made sure Sweet Pea did everything the way she wanted it. She later informed Sweet Pea that her mother wanted some arm art as well, about 50 times.

4 Minutes of Riley

Dirt Piles, Slides, and Pools

Happy Birthday America!

Video #2 (Singing in the Rain)

Watering Sanna (and the plants)

PBS Kids in Lines

On Saturday, we dusted off the bike stroller and pedaled our way down to Military Park. We weaved between fast-moving vehicles and the pride parade to keep up with Speedy Gonzalez (Ryan Iannucci the master biker commuter). Once we made it downtown safely, we found a sea of wide-eyed children waiting to see all their favorite PBS characters. Arriving early allowed us to breeze onto the bounce houses and pick up some free swag before the masses arrived. The funniest part of the event was the way they hid the main draws (elmo and friends). Each was hidden in a tent, requiring you to wait in an 100 yd-long line for a glimpse at your child's favorite character. We used every excuse in the book to avoid being part of those line.

This guy was part of an animal exhibit. Immediately after being told it was ok to pet this friendly creature, Sanna went right for the face, getting a handful of snout and luckily returning home with all her fingers. The animal's handler was as surprised as I was.