Big Country Balloon Fest 2014

I haven't blogged what I wanted to, about the Fair, and here comes the Balloon Fest. Good grief.. let's do you first and get on with the rest later.

It is often amazing how fast things come around again.  I seriously would not have known that the Balloon Fest was in town if we hadn't been driving IN town, and I happened to see a sign somewhere.

I have GOT to keep up with my surroundings/the town I live in, better.

/start rant
SOOO, we had forgotten all about what happened last year, and didn't learn our lesson, apparently.  The flyer in the newspaper AND the newspaper itself said that the night balloon glow would start at 8:30 pm.   And wouldn't you know it, just like last year, we arrive minutes before 8:30, only to see the last couple of glows.

I mean, if you are going to start at SUNSET, just SAY SO, Good Grief!
/end rant

After that disappointing  bit of happenstance, we started walking around the Park to see what else was up, since we were already there.

We knew that there were going to be bouncy castles, and the little boy was drawn to them immediately.  Yes, yes.. you can't be a 5 year old surrounded by bouncy castles and NOT react.

There was one lonely game booth, sponsored by a local paediatric dentist, and the little boy was actually pretty good at tossing them bean bags.

We stopped by the little 4H-type petting zoo, and then were off to walk down the streets where different vendors and food vans were parked, and to listen to the live band for a few minutes.

Maybe we will remember next year and come EARLIER.

Happy Autumn, Y'all

It was like Autumn knew how to come on cue.  It was one of the first coolish mornings in a while, and when the little boy and I came outside early this morning, he remarked, "Is this the first day of Autumn, Mommy? Everything seems fresh and new".

'nuff said.

Spiders

We've got humongous ones here, of the Garden variety.

Here's one, devouring its lunch.

along with some snackaroos and din dins.

True Story

The carbon monoxide alarm goes off in the RV.

We have nothing on in there that would set a carbon monoxide alarm off.  The propane has been off, the fridge is on electric at the moment, and the air con hadn't run in a while.  I blow a fan up toward the detector and wait a few minutes.

It continues to beep every 20 seconds or so, so I go back to the house to tell the hubs.

As I exit the RV, the smell of SKUNK FUNK assaults my nares like nobody's business.

Back at the house, the hubs and I discuss what might have set the alarm off.  I tell the hubs I haven't been tooting excessively in there!

I go back outside and by now, the SKUNK FUNK has lessened somewhat.

I go back into the RV, and the detector has stopped beeping.

Plausible Conclusion : The Skunk Stink was soooo bad outside the RV, it permeated INTO the RV - granted, we have a window that needs to be fixed/sealed, but still - and set the alarm off.

Birthdays, Reunions and Cousins Galore

We have been having a bunch of family get-togethers lately, specifically, with cousins!

First off was Baby Wyatt's 1st birthday party

The theme for the party was turtles, with matching decorations, party-ware and even the cake, which was made by one of their friends, matched the motif!

It is always great to see the little ones grow and play together.  I can hardly believe that the twins are running around getting into everything! It seems like not long ago, when they were such little things in their Mamo's arms!
 
Of course, when the older boys get there, there's lots of tomfoolery :)

A really grand surprise was when Allen and Anastasia arrived.  We had had no idea they were coming, and the little boy was so excited, he almost immediately invited them to come over to visit after the party.
 
Wyatt got his own little smash cake, which I think he enjoyed thoroughly :)


Of course, present-opening time was the highlight of the party :)



Next, was Max's 6th birthday party


Another reason for games, good food and CAKE! :) AND it also reminded me that in a short 6 months, our little boy will be 6 too! ARGHHHH HOW CAN I STAND IT???

There were cousins galore, and friends from church, and Max's kindergarten friends.

It seems like all little boys are into the Avengers at the moment.  Max was really sweet about sharing the action figurine/cake toppers and Jaxon got Captain America to bring home!
( Later that night he made me tell him every Avenger's back story..... good thing I knew them, after having watched the Marvel Cinematic Universe films while walking on the treadmill, lol )

Of course, the birthday party soon turned into a POOL PARTAY!  A friend's daughter, Sofia was very sweet in lending Jaxon her little swimming tube thingy, which made it a LOT more fun and safer for the little boy.

Of course, on the one hand, you have our little boy who hasn't spent much time in a pool, and then you have MAX the birthday boy, who is diving off cliffs!! Way to go, Max!


Last but not least, the hubs got a chance to catch up with some cousins whom he had not seen in several decades!

Elizabeth (Garrett ) was really sweet in organizing the whole thing and we met up with everyone for dinner at Al's Mesquite Grill.

The three girls, Dee, Debra and Candy, who were on a "girls' road trip" thingy, are the daughters of Leonard, Grandad's youngest brother.

We also caught up with cousins who lived in Abilene,

and got to celebrate Lin's birthday with him!

A West Texas Parade

The West Texas Fair and Rodeo is in town, and despite our last disastrous trip to a Parade, we steeled ourselves, tried to be brave, and made the trip downtown.

It was an unusually cool morning and day, with the high only in the high 70s.  It was overcast but did not rain/hail down on us, Thank God!

We walked around a little bit, looking for the perfect spot to watch the parade from.  We tried watching from the Post Office, but the little boy was a little nervous perched that high, even if he was securely on daddy's back.



We ended up on the street, up close to the action, which was wonderful.




We saw every configuration of Fire Department vehicles possible.


Everyone who participated was obviously enjoying themselves tremendously.  I think that was the very first time I had ever seen a roller derby team in real life and up close.




I think one of the hub's favorite parts is the vintage cars procession.


And of course, this being the West Texas fair and Rodeo, you HAVE to have horses and buggies and wagons.  It was fun to see how the riders obviously had a great bond with the animal they were riding.


Jaxon and I had been reading books/doing school work on the pioneers and people who lived in the 1800's in the mountains and prairies, so it was great to see the wagons roll by.


And then of course, there were the mascots.  I thought that the crash test dummies and the hot dog guy were a little creepy, but MATER was totally ADORABLE!


Then came all the pretty ladies :)


And all sorts of marching bands.

I mean, ALL SORTS! Yeehaw!!!!

Gastronomics

Ah yes, the new school year has started, and more importantly,

I am on top of the World!!

THE BEAN IS OPEN!

Yes, this is entirely satisfying :) Tom and Jerry on the "tube", a full breakfast.. I mean, seriously.

wOOt :)

sidenote: I didn't like the limited options Photobucket Editor had, and I didn't like the boxy way the photos had felt, and so I went back to Pixlr, and now the photos above have a kinda "Instagram"my look about them, which I like much better :)

GeekNerd that I am,

I have a current favorite font...

and it is the Pompiere... :) SWEET.

side note: it also means firefighter in Italian. Hmm. 

Country Living

So, at the crack of dawn, I'm woken up by loud POP POP POPs all over the place outside.

I'm thinking, "What the..", and then I remember ...

September 1st - the official start of Dove Hunting Season here.

Jaxon even tells me, "Mommy, I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep because there was a lot of popping going on outside".

*sigh*