Longest Blog Post EVER!

Man, I've been bad at this blogging stuff lately.  I hope I get my act together soon.

As promised, here are some pictures of our trip to the fair.  Did you know that the fair is the place on Earth that you can blow through your hard-earned money the fastest?  It is.  I promise.  It didn't take us long before our wad was gone.

Our first stop was the ferris wheel (a.k.a. the first ride we passed).  Grace and Joey were so glad to be up there.  Andrew was safety patrol, and made sure everybody sat down and didn't touch the "doors".  He was kind of freeked because there were no seatbelts, and the previously mentioned "doors" had no latch, and swung open at will.

Next, the bumper cars.  Dad and Joey were on the prowel for Andrew.

They found him.

Haley and her friend Kalin had fun on the big-girl rides.

And they even took Andrew on a few.

The little ones were so happy to go on the kiddie rides.  They went running from one to the next, and were always quick to say "thank you" to the creepy-ish carnies.

Hey, I think this guy is too big for that helicopter.

One of the four fun houses.

Riding on the train with Daddy.  They could have gone around all day.

Spinny wheel.  This part is always my favorite to watch.  I remember going through it as a kid, and hating it.  My kids thought it was pretty awesome.

The boys loved this one.  It just whipped you around.

Another fun house, with Daddy helping.

I was laughing hysterically as she went through this.

Here we are on one of the spinny rides.  I think Andrew had just about had enough by the time we got to this one.  He kept saying, "Slower... slower..."

Oh, and why should I be surprised at the fact that Joey ran into one of his girlfriends?  I mean, he's got them scattered around the city.  We run into them often.  He had just gone to this one's birthday the week before.  They were oh-so-glad to see each other again.  They sat on the ride together, and then sadly parted ways.

***

We made enchiladas as our back-to-school dinner.  Gracie always helps with the cheese.

Joey was ready for school, and even though he doesn't look too happy, he was pretty excited.  He just wants you to know that he's tough.

Andrew was super excited, especially because he's once again got his best friend in the same class.  Hooray!

Joey was still deciding if this was fun or not.  It turned out that it was.

Is there anything in the world more cute than a bunch of five-year-olds lined up with bulging backpacks and great big eyes?  I tell you -- there is not.

***

We made it through the first (half) week of school.  To celebrate, we had our first sleepover of the new year.  We took Andrew's best friend, Andrew, Joey, and Grace to see the Ramona movie at the Drive-In.  We were pleasantly surprised at how fun it was.  The kids loved the rides and sitting outside.  Until the car died because we had the auxiliary on for two hours.  But have no fear, our hero came to the rescue.  Ben arrived a few minutes after I called him, and promptly started my car.  I guess it wasn't totally dead.  But it was pretty dead.

The roller coaster was a hit with all the kids... for the first loop.

Then they stopped it to let Grace off...

Then they stopped it to let Joey off...

And the big boys enjoyed every minute!

I Haven't Blogged Forever!

Man, it's been so long since I blogged.  That's not like me.  I must be busy or something.

We've been trying to wrap up things for the summer.  Which makes me boo hoo.  I LOVE SUMMER!  I absolutely hate it when it ends.  Although I do love fall... and Christmas time... and Springtime.  So the only time I really don't like is January.  February is okay because Joey's and Grandpa's birthday are fun to celebrate.  And I like Valentine's candy...  March is fine because I know that spring is just around the corner.  So I guess I just don't like January.  But I don't like the kids going back to school.  Except I do need a schedule after a summer without one.

What was I saying?  I feel like I'm rambling...

I heard Andrew say, "Oh, man!  I have to take a picture of that!"  This is what we got:

She's a woman.  A mutlitasker.  What can I say?

Durning one of our daily dance parties, Matt grabbed his big puppy and danced with it.  It was super cute.  He was singing, too.

We were out visiting with the neighbors, and some boys were out across the street.  It quickly turned into a war.  They started blasting each other, making forts, and taking cover.  Grace wanted in on it, as usual.  So a few minutes after the war began, she came out dressed like this.  Our neighbors thought it was oh-so-hilarious.  Loved the pink boots.

Then Andrew had to get his flight suit...

Joey was just happy to be blasting somebody.  Here are my little warriors.  We thoroughly enjoyed the laughing faces of the people who walked and drove by.

Surrender:

I just love evenings like this.  Stay tuned for some pictures of our trip to the MT fair!  If I can figure out how to get them off Haley's camera...

Trip to Missoula

We had a fabulous trip to Missoula this week.  We had only a few minor problems... Matt got sick the first night and threw up that night and all the next day, we left the diaper bag at the Children's Museum then left town, and it rained a lot so we had to go to the inside waterslides instead of the outside ones.  But besides that, it was a great trip!  We now call Matt "Eric Junior" after my brother, who threw up on every family vacation I can remember.

So here are some pics (at least we didn't lose the camera, right?).

All loaded up with somewhere to go:

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Our first stop (after emptying our bladders at the hotel) was to the Carousel.  That was a blast of fun, and we also had perfect timing.  The entire time we were in there it was pouring rain.  As soon as we were done with our two rides, the rain stopped!

***

Ben found a solution to our not-enough-beds problem.  He didn't actually sleep there.  But it was funny anyways.

***

The hotel was nice, except for the moldy smell in the bathroom.  The big boys shared one bed, Matt and I shared another, Ben slept on the floor, and Grace got the cot.  We are a roomfull wherever we go.  And Haley wasn't even there!  She had to stay and help the football team (she's one of the trainers).  She was driving around the Alligator (the golf cart that brings out the water), and hauling around the puke bucket and the blood bucket.  Sounds fun.

***

So as I mentioned before, Matt was sick the whole second day.  I stayed at the hotel catching his puke in the ice bucket (I wouldn't use those if I were you.  You never know.  They might have some kid's puke in them from the last guests.).  Ben took the kids to the indoor waterpark, although they decided they liked the one in our hotel better anyway.  I think they went somewhere else, too, but I can't remember.  I was delirious with lack of sleep.  But on Wednesday before we left we stopped by the fun park they have right next to the carousel (it was closed because fo the rain the first time we went).  It was super fun.  Matt, of course, found the garbages.

***

Then we headed over to the LDS canning facility.  We met the very nice people who run it, and tried with all our might to keep our kids under control in a very fun warehouse.

***

Our last stop was at the Missoula Children's Museum.  That was a big hit.  We played and played, and left our bag there.  Oh well.  There was only diapers, wipes, and a hundred dollars worth of EpiPens in it.  No big deal.  It was still worth it.  I am determined to make a children's museum for Billings.  It's really a tragedy that we don't have one.  When somebody has an extra couple hundred thousand dollars sitting around, let me know.

***

One last picture.  On the way home we went through several rain storms.  Ben and I decided this one looked like a nuclear explosion.  It was a total mushroom cloud.  If that ever really happened, do you think anyone would tell us?  Or are we all just going to start having babies with six arms?