What about the "lazy" days of summer? Summer is anything but lazy around here lately. It's chock-full of all kinds of good stuff, super-busy and lots of fun. Lots of photo-taking going on to capture these moments. I love summer. And August in particular.
First things first: here's our calendar for this month. It is totally simple, because I put it together in a hurry.
The green patterned paper on top of the kraft cardstock is from the "Friendly Forest" collection paper pad by Colorbok; the "August" and "simply wonderful" tabs are from the summer tags collection by Elle's Studio (find it at twopeasinabucket.com). And the photos? That's the important part. Those were taken during our visit to Knoxville for an overnight camping trip to help celebrate a friend's 40th birthday at the sprint car races. Those slides you see Jacob on are both located at Auld Park in Knoxville, and they both just happen to be slides that I enjoyed playing on as a kid when I lived in Knoxville. Auld Park was one of my favorite places, because it had what was known as the Rocket Slide--which was the most awesome slide ever. It's gone, but in it's place is an amazing wooden play structure that takes the cake for playgrounds as far as we're concerned. (And we've checked out quite a few playgrounds around the state this summer so we should know!). But both of these slides pictured have been at Auld Park for at least thirty years. I was pretty happy to see there were still some old-school pieces of play equipment left. Even two merry-go-rounds. And I was even happier to watch my little man play on them.
The big thing about August in our world is the Iowa State Fair. We love the Fair. Yesterday was opening day, and of course, we were there. I took Jacob and my niece Josie and those two hit the midway big time. We managed to look at a few things as well, but mostly they just wanted to ride the rides. As many as possible. Over and over. And over, and over, and...well, you get the picture. Here's a glimpse of our first day at the Fair:
The Giant Slide is always a must-do. The great thing about having an 11-year-old along is that she can take Jacob on this stuff, which means I don't injure myself.
Jacob loves the motorcycles. I love the sheer delight on his face. This ride looks to be about 50 years old but it still entertains the little ones.
Flying a spaceship is always fun.
Jacob and Josie rode these swings a few times.
As luck would have it, Union Pacific had a train exhibit just the right size for a 3-year-old train enthusiast. To celebrate UP's 150th anniversary, they've also got a real steam engine on display here in Des Moines, and we'll be visiting that over the weekend. It's located about three blocks south of the State Fairgrounds at SE 32nd & Court Avenue if you'd like to check it out. It will be there through Sunday and it's free.
All in all, a great day at the Fair. Seven hours of the Fair is not enough, though, so we'll be going back. There's so much to see and do that there's no way one visit could possibly suffice. Honestly, if I had unlimited money to spend, I'm pretty sure I could do all ten days of the State Fair and not get tired of it.
And parents, the Megapass wristband for unlimited midway rides is worth every penny of the $25.00. Kids (and grownups) can ride all day from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. That's a lot of rides.
Enjoy what's left of your summer, and maybe I'll see you at the fair.
