Fair, Food, and Fun!

On Saturday we decided to get up early and to brave the cold weather and headed for the MN State Fair. We all dressed warm, being prepared for the cold and clouds that we had at home. When we got to the fair around 9:30am the weather was not as cold and not as windy as home. There was a breeze that was chilly but as the morning went on it got nicer and nicer so by the time we got ready to head home we were all in t-shirts and little sweaty. (But when we got home, boy was the weather cold and windy!)

We had a good time. Had some great fair food ( my favorite is the pickle dog- YUMMY!). Ry went on some rides and Quinnie got her 1st taste of a Sweet Martha's Cookie- and enjoyed it a bunch!

We headed home about 1:30, just in time to get home and then head up to the Meyer's for supper and a NFL Fantasy draft. The night was fun and we ended up home about 9:30. Needless to say the girls were asleep before we hit HWY 87 and slept the whole way home and then all night too!!

Chris and Quinnie watching Rylee go on all the rides. Quinnie didn't seem to mind that she couldn't go this year- she loved watching all the people and the flashing lights and music!



Rylee and Quinn enjoying the park and ride bus back to the U of MN campus. Ry is a sucker for a bus ride. The kid could not stop smiling and talking about buses the whole way home.

Quinnie enjoying her first cookie from Sweet Martha's! She wasn't too sure about it for the first few bites but then got a small peice of chocolate and was enjoying it to no end!

Rylee loves bugs so it was only fitting that we go into the Butterfly House. She had a blast and even convinced Mom to bring home a "capatillar" to raise our own butterly. The newest addition to the family is named "Rupert" and will hoepfully become a Monarch butterfly in about 10 days. Ry watches him constantly- she is really into the whole process of becoming a butterfly. Maybe a future scientist on our hands?

This is Rupert!

Rylee being a brave little pirate- she laughed while some of the other kids cried. She decided that she wanted to be a pirate for Halloween now!

Rylee loves the slides that are at all the fairs and this one was no different. She was just a tad shy of the height requirement to go alone but she was ok that Dad was going with her. She screamed with delight the whole way down and then wanted to go again! If the line wasn't 70 people deep we probably would have gone again.

Quinnie enjoying the sights and sounds fo the fair! She was a trooper in her stroller!

Miss Rylee having a Pronto-Pup for breakfast! Only at the State Fair does that happen!

Mirror Mirror

Quinn's new favorite thing is to climb in (with a little help) the laundry basket and move clothes from one basket to another. On Saturday she discovered the mirror behind the laundry baskets and had a blast looking in it for about 15 minutes before we had to get into the bathtub. She also recently discovered that she likes to wear only her diaper and so the moment she gets her clothes off she has the biggest grin on her face.

What?- I'm helping with the laundry Dad!!

Who can resist that face?


I love these pictures!!! If you could only hear her squeeling when she saw the "baby" in the mirror. She was having a conversation with this "other" baby the whole time.
Love it, Love it! Check out her!

While Mom's away...

This weekend was my weekend to work and while I was gone on Saturday Rylee decided to give Quinnie a spin in the gater. Daddy was all for it and even remembered to grab the camera to document it (might not have been a good idea to take pics as Mom was not as excited about it as they were). It all went well and you can tell how much fun the girls had on it. Quinn stood up the whole time as her crazy sister drove around the yard.

Look Mom- no hands!!

Look what I can do...

As most of you know we are in the middle of a house remodel project. Last weekend we were putting on the first coat of primer in the entry/dinning room and Chris turned around and this is what he saw. He watched for a minute and then told me to get the camera. Quinnie was already up one step and working on more. She has really taken off and become quite the little dare devil. She had no fear of the steps and would have made it all the way up if we didn't stop her. The look on her face says it all. So proud- what a big little girl she is becoming. Not so much Momma's little baby anymore.

Fair Days of Summer

The summer is not the same if you don't go to the Polk County Fair! Now that we have children this seems especially valid. Rylee loves going to the fair as she discovered last year there were animals, rides, and cotton candy- what more could she ask for at this age? This year we hooked up with the Johnson girls and headed out for an evening of fair fun. The girls were super cute running from animal to animal- laughing thier little heads off. Poor Madi could barely keep up with the blonde bombshells! I didn't get a pciture of this (as my battery decided to die) but Rylee and Kacy could not stop laughing over the sheep wearing swimsuit like outfits. They thought it was quite funny- I have to say that I did too!

Rylee and Kacy were very hands on with the animals!

Quinn was in a constant state of staring- she was so ingrossed in it all she couldn't take her eyes of off anything for more then a second.

Ok- this is what Kristin couldn't stop laughing about the whole night. She thought the hair cut on this llama/alpaca thing was the funniest. It was pretty funny, I have to agree!

Quinnie loved the horses- Chris got her up close to one and put her hand on the horse's face. She smiled so big, but of course my camera didn't get that!

Rylee LOVES the big slide but Kacy was pretty unsure. A little encouragement from Ry got Kacy to go on my lap. The scary Carni worker wasn't going to let Ry go alone but alfter a little pleading he gave in. kacy was pretty nervous but once she was on my lap and we were on our way down she laughed the whole time! Not the best picture, but I think you can get the point.

I'm zoo'd out!

Over the past month we have been to 3 zoo's and are starting to get a little zoo'd out at the moment. We were at Milwaukee County Zoo in June and the July we went to Como Zoo and now the MN zoo. I promised Chris we wouldn't head back to the zoo until maybe Halloween when we take the girls for the Halzooween party at MN zoo.

The day started pretty early- up and getting going at 7:30. Met the TOB in SCF at 8:30 and we headed down. Rylee made sure she kept her eye out for David driving the red rocket and the whole way down she said several times that she couldn't see David anymore (he's kinda a pokey driver who goes EXACTLY the speed limit). We finally made it to the zoo about 10am and were off for the day. We decided to start in the aquatic area since that seems to be the busiest area as the kids can be hands on in the tide pools and stuff. I guess we were too early as the tide pools were not open for touching but we had fun anyways. Rylee loved to watch the sharks and sea turtles and we even got to go up and get a view of the dolphins for a minute. The MN zoo is working on a breeding program so they don't have a dolphin show anymore but the trainers were working with them anyways. It was neat- but wished we would have been able to see more!

Miss Quinnie ready to go- ready and patiently waiting

Rylee and Quinn- ahh, they look so darn cute!

I think this is one of my favorite pictures- I thought it turned out so good. The sea horses were kinda sleepy,but that seemed to be the theme of the day for the animals. Almost every exhibit had sleeping animals - but I don't blame them since it was hot out (I would hide in the shade too)

Chris and Rylee looking for where Nemo lives- Ry loves the movie and she thought she saw a sea anemone that looked like Nemo's house.

I just have to laugh at this- she is such a characture sometimes

Look, Momma got to be in the pictures too for a change!!

Rylee loves to pet the goats but these little ones were quite frisky and would jump up on you if they thought you had any food in your hand. We made the mistake of trying to feed them while we were in the pen- not a good idea. They practically knocked Ry over trying to get the food out of her hand. She was tough and brave- telling them to get down.

Daddy and the girls looking at the zebras and ostrich in the field. Rylee kept saying "look, there's racing stripes". Another comment to make me laugh and smile!

Daddy giving Quinnie a better look at the horses! She loved them, unlike David who was super scared of them (sorry Big D for spilling your secret)

The end of the day- the little "lovebirds"cuddling up. It looks like they are about to kiss but Rylee and Nolan were rubbing noses- regardless it was pretty cute and they both were giggling and smiling. They made sure to keep each other in their sights all day- Nolan would lean out of the stroller and ask where Rylee was if he couldn't see her. So cute!

9 months old!

Quinn in now 9 months on on the move. She is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up. The look on her face when she gets to standing is priceless- the biggest grin! She is also walking around objects, like the coffee table and couch. She hasn't made any attempts to walk solo yet, but she can really get around if she has something to hold on to.

Quinn likes to use her high chair as a means of transportation. It's on wheels so she will pull up on it and then push it around the house to where ever she is trying to go.

Two Teeth! Time to get brushing- she really likes the toothbrush and yummy toothpaste.

Our neighbor gave Quinn this hat and I thought it was too cute and couldn't resist getting a few pictures of her in it. She wasn't too happy at first but finally gave in and wore it for almost an hour! Love it!

My Lil Sleeping Beauty! At times she doesn't want to cuddle with Mommy so I take advantage of any chance I get.

Another cute one with the hat and Rylee's beads. Quinn loves beads now and will go nuts until she gets her hands on them, especially if Rylee has some. A girlie girl in the making?

The higher she goes the bigger the smile- and her sister loves to push her fast and high. Mom not quite so sure about that but Quinnie laughs and smiles like no other.

Look at those Baby Blues!!!

Quinn loves to play with a cup in tub- but recently figured out she could drink the tub water with it- ICKY!!! Mommy has to keep a close eye or she'll drink a ton. She thinks she is so big with the cup now!