Lake Fort Phantom

It was such a pretty day, we thought we would stop by the lake...and try to skip some stones :)

Happy 11th Birthday, Max!

Max is the first of the three cousins to turn 11, and it is a big deal to turn double digits.  It has been fun seeing how the kids' interests have evolved over time, and this year, the Rubik's cube was huge for Max.

All the boys ..... and Sky Scarlett :)

West Texas Fair and Rodeo Part II

We went back again to the fair another night, because you just HAVE to go down the midway and take in all the lights, smells of turkey legs deep frying, and the sounds of screaming kids on the rides.

The first thing we caught were the piggy races.  The little boy still remembers them from a year or two ago, when the pig he was cheering for, won first place and that won the little boy a prize of his own!

Then we were off to get some tickets and see what rides would be interesting and not too death defying.

This year, I encouraged the little boy to ride on the rides on his own - mainly because I wanted him to be brave enough to do so, but also because RIDES ARE TOO EXPENSIVE FOR MOM TO TAG ALONG FOR EACH ONE!

It was quite a thrilling moment to get on that mini roller coaster all by himself. :D

As well as the Super Slide..

One of his favorites is still the Speedway thing with the semi crazy G-Force during cornering.

And he got the wheel all to himself this time for Bumper Cars :)

He handled the vehicle well!

Then we slowed down and stopped by the Petting Zoo on our way out..

As well as the MANDATORY Funnel Cake :)

Till next year!

Finally, Fios

We finally get some decent internet around here.

Not stupendous and nowhere near the average US Internet Speed, let alone global ( I'm looking at you, Singapore! ) but leaps and bounds better than what we had before, considering we ARE out here in the country.

West Texas Fair and Rodeo Part 1

When you see blue ribbons galore on this blog, you know that we've been to the fair :) . The first place we stopped by was the Round Building, where all sorts of produce and creative entries were up on display.

Here, the hubs is checking out a motorcycle someone made out of recycled boxes and paper towel tubes and whatnot. Did it get a ribbon? I can't tell.

Then we have the Jelly Cabinet O' Fame.. or something akin to it.

And we browsed entries from participants of all ages, being awed by many and tickled by some.

There weren't any super ginormous beyond belief pumpkins this year, but a few got pretty close.

By the time we made our way to another exhibition building, we were ready for some brunch.  Once again, we asked permission from the lady at the "front desk" if we could use their "kitchen" area to have a meal, and she graciously said yes. :)

There were some new exhibits this year, including this Decorate-a-Humongoloid-Hat-Contest.

Mamo/Judith sent in a bunch of entries in the "Dolls" and "Quilts" competitions, and naturally won a whole bunch of ribbons!

There were some really cute ones as well that caught our eye. I mean, that Kewpie Wizard of Oz display. And that knitted/crocheted Chewbacca! No, I can't even.

There was a little booth for Arts and Crafts, namely, Paint Your Own Pet Rock sort of deal, which the little boy and I gladly participated in.

And after a tiring morning of walking around, we were lucky enough to catch one of the golf cart-cab-service guys to get back to our car. AND, he knows Lin! What a small town, aye?

to be continued.