Montgomery Gentry

Nick and Tyler and I went down to Celebrate Virginia Live last night for the Montgomery Gentry concert. It was a GORGEOUS evening! We went down in time to enjoy the opening bands:
While walking into the gate, we were stopped by a gal and a guy with a camera. She asked if we wanted to be in a commercial... sure?! They were making a TV commercial for the local radio station 93.3 WFLS. So I grabbed Tyler out of his stroller and we stood together and looked 'pretty' and were prompted to say: WFLS is perfect for the whole family!

So be watching for us!We got Gold Circle tickets which were a section in front of the stage, so they were great! We sat next to some really nice people. Right beside us was this elderly couple who sat quietly. The gentleman sat with his hands on his lap, periodically turning down his hearing aid. His wife, sat reading her novel, tapping her fingers to Bon Jovi between bands. Later during Montgomery Gentry the elderly lady stood up, took pictures with her camera and sang every word to "Hell Yeah"

Cracked. Me. Up!

The opening bands were pretty good:
John Luskey

and Troy Olsen:
Troy Olsen wrote "Just Hold On" for Blake Shelton.... and just released "It's A Summer Thing"

Tyler LOVED the music and was his own side show for the people around us!
He was standing on his chair, and just swinging his head like crazy. Each time we'd try to video him, he's STOP! You will see what I mean when he catches Daddy taping him...

I always have a hard time getting pictures at concerts, so I will apologize now for all the blurry pics!

aren't they both so handsome?!

We had a great time! Montgomery Gentry put on a phenomenal show!

Happy Birthday Trevor!

6 years ago today, an 8 pound 13 ounce bundle of joy came into our lives...
And I can hardly believe he's already 6 and will be starting Kindergarten in exactly 2 weeks!

Happy Birthday Trevor!!!

Iowa State Fair

On our last day in Iowa, I took the kids to the state fair with my mom and sister Meridith.

Left to Right: Tyler Trevor McKenzie Addison

One of the first things we did was stand in line to see the butter cow and butter Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham.
Then we spotted the Big Slide, so McKenzie and Trevor ventured up the 106 steps to go down the bumpy slide.

They are together on the far right.

And then to my surprise, or maybe not, Addison wanted to go as well, so she and I rode down together.

We are on the far left at the top bump.
We saw lots of "Biggest"'s at the fair...

Biggest Pumpkin weighing in at 1,323 lbs.

then ran through a viney tunnel.
Cooled off in the water shooting sidewalk...

Then continued on to see the biggest bull.
and the biggest boar "Big D" weighing in at 1,212 lbs.

and then a stop by the WORLD'S SMALLEST COW!
and last but not least, a mental note for the future. I sent this picture to Nick telling him we should plan on getting one of these contraptions... only he can pull ME!

Isn't the state fair fun?!?!

Iowa State Fair Fun

McKenzie and Trevor wanted to ride the Sky Line.... so I went along with them.
It was so fun to see the fair from way up high!
The highlight of the day was watching Meridith, McKenzie and Trevor ride the Crazy Mouse roller coaster.
Poor Addison just didn't make the cut...
They were ALL SMILES at the start...
But smiles soon turned to panic for some (Trevor)...And he soon disappeared into Meridith's lap as the ride went along...



And for some, it was just too much fun...
Trevor enjoyed watching a man operated robot...
And Tyler waved his flag proudly at the end of the day...

The kids and I had a great time seeing the fair

Iowa State Fair - Food

There were lots of new items to try at the Iowa State Fair. And some classics we just couldn't pass up. The new thing this year was the FAIR SQUARE:
A classic was the Fresh Lemonades. I think we went through 4 or more of these...
We walked the entire fairgrounds 3 times over looking for this stinkin' CHICKEN KOOP that served "OCTADOGS".... Hot dogs that look like octopus' or is it octopi?
They definitely weren't what we thought... I was thinking battered and fried... but these were just boiled so the 'legs' would curl up.
*Note that the octodog only has 6 legs... wouldn't that make it a .... ?
Later on, we all tried some chocolate dipped (fill in the blank).
Notice the freshly dumped ice tea in the above photo.... mom, meridith thanks you for that, and also appreciated the non stop laughter you had after you 'accidentally' knocked it over.

Tyler enjoyed the chocolate dipped ice cream cookie with Meridith.
And what's a fair without Cotton Candy on a stick?

Enjoyed by all!

Monday was our last day in Iowa. So when we got home from the fair, the kids all got bathed and got their jammies on before we stopped by my grandpa's to say goodbye.

We left early that next morning on our 2 day drive back home to Virginia. My mom drove with us to help out with the kids and as a 2nd driver. I don't know how I could have made it (and stayed sane) without her!