Apple Picking

Today Abby and I went apple picking with our old MOPS group. (They disbanded this year so we joined up with a new one, but still like to get together with the ladies and kids from the previous group.) One of the ladies owns an orchard in Benton City and this was our first time visiting. Since it was our first time I wasn't sure how many apples we could take so I figured that taking two grocery bags full wouldn't be too greedy. Boy, did I not have to worry! Some of the ladies who went are SERIOUS with their canning and literally had their trunks full from bottom to top with box after box of apples. Next year I'll know to have my recipes looked at beforehand so I have a better idea of how many apples (and what kinds) I want. But for this year my two little bags will do just fine. I figure we'll make a little bit of applesauce and freeze up some apples for holiday pies. Overall the day was lovely and it was a great time chatting with everyone and watching the kids run around. I'm looking forward to doing this again next year!

At first Abby wasn't so sure about what she was supposed to be doing. Kids were running everywhere, but she seemed to want to take in the action a bit before joining.

Abby fell in love with Ava's wagon. Every time she saw it she'd climb on in and push Ava over to the side and the apples to the bottom. :-) 

Abby became very interested in the trees once she saw Andrew picking an apple off the tree and then eating it.

Abby would go over to an apple, touch it, then run off. 

Finally, she picked her first apple!

And promptly started to eat it. :-)

She was SO proud of herself. I was, too!

Sausage Fest

Yesterday I had a fun walk down memory lane. A local elementary school, Christ the King Catholic School (of which I attended from 1st-6th grade), hosted their annual fundraising event called Sausage Fest. Imagine the school and church's parking lots full of home-made booths decorated to look like little German houses, lots of food, games, stage entertainment, arts and crafts, auction items, and beer gardens. Basically, just a day of family fun.

This year I was especially excited to go to Sausage Fest since I knew that Abby was finally of an age where she could enjoy some of the games and entertainment. I remember pulling a prize out of the Fish Pond booth and thinking it was the coolest thing ever and I was so looking forward to her experiencing the same thing. When Nate, Abby, and I got to Sausage Fest we decided to have a few minutes of family time playing games: 1) to make sure Abby got some time playing games before we met up with friends who either were childless or had too young of kids and 2) wanting to hang out as a family only for a little bit.

We got our tickets and headed over to the Fish Pond. Abby wasn't too sure about what was going on but dutifully held the fishing pole that Nate handed to her. Her face was just amazed when we pulled the fishing line back to our side of the wall and there was a toy on it! It turned out to be a few 'tattoos'. Nate took a few seconds to get one on to her hand and she had a fun time pointing and touching it. Then it was on to the Duck Pond. At this booth you pick a duck from the river and the number on the bottom of the duck corresponds to a specific basket of goodies. Abby has recently learned to say duck so when she saw them she started 'talking' a bunch and say duck over and over. This time I gave her the tickets to hand to the ticket  attendant and she did a fantastic job handing the tickets over then grabbing her favorite duck from the line. Her prize: a suction cup ball! (This event gives orientaltradingcompany.com a majority of their profits for the year.) When we turned around we found ourselves facing two of the friends we'd planned to meet up with: Andrew and Phil. After chatting for a bit Nate asked if I'd mind if he joined the guys in the beer garden for a beer. I didn't so the guys went off for a cold one and Abby and I continued to spend the rest of her tickets revisiting the Fish Pond (she got a slinky and a fairy wand), the Duck Pond (a bug shaped bracelet and a plastic rubber ducky), the Goldfish Bowl (which was a little too old for her so I threw the ping pong balls toward the goldfish bowls and Abby won a plastic alligator), and the Lollipop Tree (where Abby didn't have a colored lollipop stick so she came away with just the lollipop).

Abby's first ever game at Sausage Fest. She's not so sure what she should do about the pole in front of her face. In subsequent tries she would grab the pole and shake it as hard as she could. I think that's what she thought she had to do to get the prize after seeing the pole jerk (from the person inside the booth signaling that the prize was attached) and then getting her price.

Watching the next girl in line holding the fishing pole.

Touching her 'tattoo'.

Patiently waiting for her turn at the Duck Pond.

Finally seeing the ducks and saying 'duck' over and over again.

Abby was a master at grabbing on to her duck. No hesitation here!

Nate getting into the excitement as Abby shows the number on the bottom of the duck off.

Abby being a big girl and picking her own prize.

After finishing off our tickets I went and got a balloon for her (since every time she saw another kid with one she yelled 'ball') and we went over to the main stage to watch the entertainment. It was at this time that I realized how much of a Mom I'd become. Nate was still in the beer garden drinking his beer, Abby was alternating between watching the girls and guys dance and trying to run away, and all I wanted to do was head over to the Bingo room to join my girls in a few rounds of intense Bingo playing. Instead I crawled my way through the crowds to get Abby closer to the front of the stage so she could see the dancing better, walked Abby around the parking lot grounds so she could run after balloons and other kids, hang out by a car parked in the parking lot as Abby has a fascination with trucks lately and wanted to touch this specific one over and over again, and generally entertain my daughter as best I could while holding on to her, pushing a stroller, and trying not to run over anyone. It was a hoot! :-)

Sitting with Mama watching the dancers.

Having so much fun that she's dancing herself!

Soon after Nate came and found us and we decided to have some dinner. Here's where Sausage Fest gets a little interesting. There are a number of food booths as each booth offers something different. So to get our dinner I visited the corn booth, corn dog booth, Frito Bandito booth, sausage booth, and pop booth! I was very lucky in that I only had to wait behind one or two people at each booth (as I left the last booth with all my goodies in hand I noticed that some of my previous stops had lines of 10+ people!). Abby was very well behaved as she ate her corn dog and corn on the cob so Nate and I got a few peaceful moments to sit and chat about nothing and everything. After finishing our dinner Nate took Abby over to the church steps to wait for our friends while I went to the Sundae booth to pick up a brownie a la mode for dessert. Mmm. Chocolate.

She's a big fan of corn on the cob, and loves being able to have her own piece.

Silly girl taking her corn dog our of her tray's cup holder and putting her corn cob in.

"What's the deal, Dad? This is how I roll."

After visiting with our friends (congratulations Phil and Leah on your pregnancy!) it became apparent that Abby needed to go home. She had missed her nap (well, she fell asleep just great but about 45 minutes into her three hours she pooped and needed changing. Once that happens nap time is officially over) and was getting cranky. Nate being the absolute awesome husband that he is took Abby home so that I could continue visiting with Karen Larsen (my best friend since first grade who recently moved to Seattle so I don't get to see her as often as I'd like). (side note: Abby was so tired that she fell asleep on the ride home, had to be woken up for a bath, and then was promptly back asleep by 7:30pm sleeping all the way through the night until her normal 7am wake-up. Girlfriend was tired!)

Nate taking Abby home. She had lots of fun and junk food. A great Saturday in my book!

Once it was just Karen and I the party started! :-) We chatted with a few friends and family members of Karen's that we ran in to and then it was on like Donkey Kong for Bingo! I love me some Sausage Fest bingo! Granted the caller wasn't the greatest as she messed up almost every round with calling out the wrong number (which any bingo fan will tell you is a cardinal sin!) but overall it was nice catching up with Karen and enjoying a game it's been a few years since I've played. When Bingo closed down to allow for the high school dance we headed up to the beer garden. Ahem. One of two beer gardens, excuse me.

It probably doesn't make any sense to someone who didn't go to CK but the coolest thing about Sausage Fest once you'd turned 21 was hanging out in the beer garden which was also the school gym. There are great memories of playing crab, dodge ball, parachute, etc and having those memories float to the surface while you're enjoying a plastic cup of mediocre beer and wine is just about as awesome as a memory can get. :-) All too soon the early morning of Mommyhood caught up to me and I found myself yawning and saying my good-byes. Another year of Sausage Fest had come and gone but I can honestly say this was one of the best Sausage Fest experiences I've had in a long time. It was a Fantastic, with a capital F, family fun day, I go to hang out with Karen, play bingo, and introduce Abby to what I hope will be an annual looked forward to event. All in all a good weekend. The only sad part was going to church this morning and seeing only a few remaining booths still standing from the fun weekend. Until next year!

Abby Updates

Since it's been a while I thought I'd post some Abby update pictures. Without further adieu...

Not the most flattering picture, but you can see a majority of her teeth in this one. On the bottom she has her two front teeth and two molars. On the top she has her four front teeth and the the two teeth after the K-9 spots

Excited for a bike ride to the grocery store!

Abby LOVES playing with Cousin Haylee. Here they're playing  with their baby dolls. Or rather Abby is playing with Haylee while Haylee desperately tries to play on her own. :-)

I love the difference in sizes that this picture highlights. You can barely see Abby above the table while Nate towers over the backrest.

Look at how big she is in the cart!

Breaking the law...Breaking the law. :-) Alright, I'm not the best singer but that's the song that this picture reminds me of. We had gone to drop Haylee off at her first day of Kindergarten and instead of walking the half block back to my car my Mom said she'd just drive us down (since we'd walked back with her and Aunt Katie to her car). So Abby got to ride in Haylee's carseat and get a taste of what the future would hold. 

Abby had so much fun playing in this tent at Grandma's house. She played peek-a-boo with anyone who was willing. 

My parent's dogs are the best. They put up with a lot without fuss or complaint.

We had a science experiment one day. I put a bunch of baking soda on a cookie sheet and then had Abby drop dye-colored vinegar onto it. The look on her face when she saw the vinegar fizz was just precious. Big eyes and excited coos. Her first foray into school and science was a hit!

Playing with Jacob Aardal at Howard Amon. I think they're just the cutest together. Jacob loves on Abby and Abby tolerates the 'older brother'. :-)

Abby putting herself in Time Out. :-)

She blows her nose!!!

Abby's really gotten into pretend play with her baby dolls lately. She loves feeding them a bottle and even makes a  tongue clucking song when she feeds them. Here she put on her baby carrier and tucked her baby inside all by herself. I still carry her so she knows how this works. 

Such a good Mama!

And such a good helper!

We're training her right!