Going to the fair, going to the fair

All weekend I was singing the Northwest Michigan Fair commercial... which I can not seem to find online, but if you've spent any time in northern Michigan in the summer, you probably know it :)

So yesterday we really did go to the fair!  We went mainly for the potatoes and because I had never really been to a fair before... and Nick told me 10 years ago that he would take me to the Fowlerville fair but never did.  So he owed me.  I volunteered at the fair last year, but only really went inside to get a potato, so this was my first true fair experience.  After trying to find a place to park for about a half hour and then waiting in line to buy a ticket for another 20 minutes we were finally in the fair (off to a great start)!

It SEEMED like a great day for the fair, because it really wasn't too hot out, and there was a nice breeze - but that doesn't factor in thousands of people swarming the fair grounds and how much heat that creates.  We were all a hot sweaty mess.  Somehow, even though we entered at a completely different gate I was able to remember exactly where the potatoes were and they didn't disappoint.  Even Nick thought they were great and worth going to the fair for, which says a lot.  Something in how they cook them.

Nick got "the works"

People waiting in line for and enjoying their potatoes

We probably could have left the fair at this point, but we didn't... we went and saw some animals, cows, pigs, goats and baby emu's!  They were SO CUTE!

Ella slept through the whole fair so I guess we are going to have to go back someday.  And having a stroller at events like this is everything I thought it would be, great because you have a place to put all your stuff and don't have to carry it and because you don't actually have to be super close to other people on all sides, but also a pain in the butt because you have to find your way to the accessible entrance.

And because I forgot to take a picture of the sleeping baby while we were actually at the fair, we got her picture after she woke up at home since she had a pretty dress on.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

This morning we woke up to some HOT and HUMID weather.  We got up kind of early so we decided to head to our favorite breakfast place, Maxfield's, for some yummy breakfast.  We let Ella go in her pj's but I'll have to teach her that we typically do not make public appearances in our jammies.

I spent the rest of the morning and a good chunk of the afternoon re-painting my dresser.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out I think.  Although I am still somewhat on the fence.  I'm thinking about painting Nick's yellow but I have to convince him yet.  We will live with this one and then decide.  Either way, his is getting painted too.

While I was doing that Nick and Ella took in some Olympic action today and we got to see the double amputee compete in the 400 meter.  Pretty inspiring!  He did qualify for the finals... so he could win gold!  I then attempted to make "Pizza Balls" per a recipe I found on Pinterest.  I don't know if I did something wrong or what, but they were time consuming to make (who would have thought?!) and they weren't that good.  We were both pretty bummed.

And finally, today is my Dad's birthday so of course we had a special photoshoot!

Weekday Adventures

The last couple of days have been pretty uneventful around here.  Ella and I have mostly been hanging out around home except I do try and run at least one errand a day to break things up a bit.  Yesterday we did some returns at Kohl's and found some great clearance dresses for next summer (she already has her 4th of July outfit of course).  Daddy forgot to tell us that they just did markdowns (I wonder why?) so there was a lot to choose from!  I also packed away all her newborn size clothes already (how is that possible?!!).  There is a little more room in her closet now.

Getting ready for a beach fire in 1 week!

Today we ventured out to the Mom's Group that our hospital offers.  We hung out for about an hour, it was nice to socialize and have some adult conversation during the day.  There were about 4 other moms there plus the woman from the hospital who runs it.  It may be our only trip though since they meet on Friday's during the day and I will be up north (!!!) for 2 of the remaining 4 that I have left.

After that we picked up some things at Target and Home Depot.  I plan to re-paint our dressers (again) this weekend, so I had to get some supplies.  Hopefully that goes smoothly!

Sleeping through our shopping

This weekend we will also hopefully be going to the Wisconsin State Fair to get the world's best baked potato!  YUM!  It is only supposed to be 79 on Sunday - I sure hope that holds true because if it is 90 I am never going to convince Nick to go to a packed fair ground!