Thursday, August 30, 2012

A Fair Day

Wow.  Time is all of a sudden whizzing past.  It's actually been over a week since I've written a new post!  I can't believe it.

We did it.  We went to the magical place called the Minnesota State Fair.  Our annual trip that I look forward to every year.  This year started out tricky, but in the end, it was really a great day.  It was hot.  I don't know if I've said it before, but heat and I are not good friends.  I honestly would prefer to have two months tacked on to winter, and shorten the summer heat by a couple months.  But a move to Alaska is not practical for my little family, so here I am.  Anyway, it was hot at the fair that day.  It really is impressive how well my kids did, considering.  It is the State Fair, after all.  There are Sno-Cones.  Soda.  Lemonade.  Ice cream.

Another problem starting out the day was, well, cell phones.  For so many reasons.  First of all, we met my mom and my sister there right away in the morning.  My mom had decided not to bring her cell phone.  Why should she, after all?  My sister had hers.  what?  She has a major tendency of wandering off.  And the State Fair is honestly like a massive ocean of people, and you do NOT want to lose your people without a plan.  So my sister had to try to watch her all day, as if she was a stray toddler.  NOT an easy job.  Not that we were in much better shape--my cell phone was almost dead.  The battery has not been holding up as well lately, and it was about to die.  But we had the hubby's!  Except that all of a sudden his locked up about an hour into the fair.  Completely useless.  But A brought his!  So at this point, we had two phones between the six of us--A's and my sister's.  At this point.  More on that later.

Folks, I love the Fair.  It's a major happy place for me.  I love everything about it.  The food (which isn't all just deep fried crap on a stick, for those of you haters out there), the exhibits, the shows, the people watching, everything.  Most of all, the tradition of it all.  For me, it's a day to completely dive into being a Minnesotan.  And I LOVE my state.  I love how we have the second-largest State Fair in the country, the only one that is completely self-supported.  There is a comfort to it, walking in those gates, smelling those smells, knowing where all the buildings are, and being familiar enough with the fair to recognize what's new or different each year.  For hubby and I, it's impossible to not walk down memory lane every year, talking about childhood trips to the Fair, how much we miss his mom (who loved the fair), and being amazed at how fast our kids are growing up and how familiar they are with the fair.  They are growing up with it, just like hubby did.  They have their own favorite traditions, favorite foods.  It's become a part of our family.  We have marched in the parade.  This year we watched my nephew's best friend march in the parade.

This year we did as much as we could.  We went to the Midway for a couple rides and some carny games.  The kids won hats at a "Guess your pitch speed" game.  And then the other cell phone problem.

After the midway, we were talking about our IRRITATING phones, when all of a sudden A started panicking, searching his pockets.

He had lost his phone.  Complete and total devastation.  This is a phone that he had bought with his own money.  We ordered it on the internet, and when it came in the mail, he was crazy excited.  He was SO proud of this thing.  It was his third phone (in a very short time) due to the others breaking and going through the washing machine, and he knew we would not replace it if he lost it.  Like I said.  Devastation.  He was so crushed.  And we knew there was little to no chance of finding it, here at the GIANT fair.  So a day that was supposed to be fun, for him was ruined.  He was crying.  He was so angry at himself.  It was very sad to watch, even though we were pretty irritated.

After several hours of continuing on at the fair, watching the parade, riding the sky cars, all with a very broken-hearted A, it was almost time for mom and sister to take our kids and go home.  Hubby and I had concert tickets, we were there for the long haul.  J was over-heated, laying on the grass.  Hubby and I sat at a picnic table and figured out his phone!  Yahoo!  We got it working again.  A sat at the table, sad.  We had gone to the lost and found office, and a couple other places, fruitlessly searching for his phone.  We had called it, texted it.  He was so very sad.  In a last ditch effort, A and I decided to head to another fair office to check for it before they had to leave.

They didn't have it.

But the office was right next to the Midway, so we decided to make a quick run over there and check around.  It was hot.  Our feet and legs were sore.  We walked all the way to the end of the midway, where the roller coaster was, our very last stop, our last resort.  I ran up to the attendant and asked if a phone had been found there.  A phone with a keypad, with a picture of our cute brown dog on the screen, a phone that said "A....'s Phone" on the front.

They had it.

And I have to tell you, this was a moment I will remember for the rest of my life.  I know it's silly.  It's a stupid cell phone.  It's just a thing.  But the pure joy this 10-year old felt at finding it was so huge that I couldn't help but feel it too.  This is a kid who feels everything to his core, and has little filter with sadness or joy.  He was jumping around.  Hugging me.  Dancing.  Thanking the roller coaster guy (who was watching this like it made his day).  Hollering.  Kissing his phone.  Running in circles.  And over and over again, yelling, "I'm so happy!"  And you could feel how true it was.  Holy cow.  It made my day.  I don't give much of a crap about that phone, but to see my kid that happy was an unbelievably good feeling.  It carried me for days, and obviously made the rest of our fair day, no matter how hot and tired we were, very joyful.

Well, enough babbling for now.  It really had been too long since I've written, I feel like I'm just rambling.  I need to write about school and football, so I'll write again very soon.  Maybe even tonight. Five days until school starts!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Happy Birthday to My Blog!

Just this past Father's Day, I wrote this post that included a comment about how kids bringing breakfast in bed to their moms only happens on TV.

I was wrong.

I swear to you, I have never mentioned the subject to my kids.  Or anyone.  Frankly, getting served breakfast in bed does not sound that appealing to me.

So I've been attempting to get of my ass lately and do some things around the house, in an effort to feel like I'm doing something useful.  The other day I did a major "mom-job" to A's room.  His room has always been difficult.  He does his best to keep it picked up, but it eventually gets away from him.  He's a quirky kid, and always involved in some kind of project or creation that involves duct tape and paper and paper clips, fabric, string, cardboard, whatever.  Lots of small stuff.  And organizing is NOT a talent of his.  So I went in to do battle and start the school year with a clean, streamlined room.  It took the entire day.  But it looks really good in there now, and he's thrilled about it.  J's room is next on the list.

Anyway, they were so excited about it all that they wrote me a DARLING little card that night.  Very sweet.  And then the next morning, I was served breakfast in bed.  Yep.  The hubby had to get up to go to work, and apparently the kids had told him their plan and asked him to wake them up when he got up.  He did.  They made the breakfast completely by themselves.  It was scrambled eggs, a couple waffles, and a glass of milk.  By the way, some of the best scrambled eggs I've ever eaten.  J knows his eggs.  And at 7:30 in the morning, they came in and woke me up with the tray.  I was completely surprised.  And groggy.  So then, half asleep, and with two boys standing about 4 inches away from me, I ate the breakfast.  I was very touched, and now I know that it really does happen.

So cute.

But this is not necessarily the subject I was thinking about today.  It is an anniversary for me.  Well, tomorrow it is, but I'm writing this today, so...

On August 22, 2011, I wrote my first blog post!  I can't believe it's been a whole year.  And this morning I was spending some time looking back at some of my old posts, and what a year it has been!  I also discovered another benefit to writing this:  It's like a journal.  I can look back at it and remember what I was doing those days, what my life was like.  Pretty emotional.  In a way it has been a big year.  Of course we were all shaken up by the loss of my dad, which was certainly the biggest event of the year.  And although we don't lose loved ones every year (thank God), every year really is significant.  If you take the time to really think back, that is.  We've gone through a school year.  Another year of sports.  I have gone up and done and inside and out emotionally, and I'm still doing that.  It makes me wonder if I'll ever stop...

I also noticed how cyclical my life is.  Here I am again, ready for a new school year to start.  Cleaning the kids' rooms.  Obsessing over the STATE FAIR!!!!!  Excited for fall, and feeling nostalgic.  It's almost like Groundhog Day over here.  Year after year.  The same, but different.

I looked at some of my drafts that I never published.  I wrote some boring starts.  I wrote some intense starts.  Too intense for the public.  I wrote some personal family grief.  Stuff I couldn't post because I don't want to hurt anyone or cause (more) drama in my family.  So although I open myself up on here, and I am very honest, I have to keep it close to ME, and make sure that I'm not opening up others too much on here without their consent.  And sometimes I feel like I'm pushing it, so I hold off on hitting the "publish" button.  Looking back now, I made the right choice.  But it was still therapeutic to write it all.

So here we are, a year later.  Thanks to you all for hanging out with me, and thanks to any of you newbies for joining the club.  I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're willing to give me a piece of your time to "listen" to me, and how much each and every comment means to me.  Believe me, I think about what you all say.  I follow your advice.  I tell hubby about it.

One of my goals for this second year is to get out there some more.  I'd like to write about some different subjects, and really test out my chops.  I might try some reviews, try some commentary, maybe even some creative writing.  We'll see.  I'm just having some fun with this.  I look forward to sharing more with you all and to hopefully earning some new followers.

And in between, I'll be learning how to become an expert on the motorcycle.  I got a new helmet the other day!  It has purple butterflies on it.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Confessional Part Three.

It's another morning with an extra kid in the house.  Last night we had J's buddy "V" over for a sleepover, and now the two little cuties are downstairs giggling.  So another fun summer night, and we're looking forward to a lovely weekend.

I've had some true crazy in my head lately, as you guys know.  It's not really getting any better, but I have made a couple decisions.  I'm almost afraid to put them out there for you all to see, but here it is.

I withdrew from my class.  I had only registered for one, and it was a stupid one.  American Pop Culture from 1900 to 1940.  I know, critical, right?  But the several days time I spent obsessively looking at classes and trying to figure out what I was supposed to take really made me even more messed up in the head.  I know the idea of graduating and going back to school sounds honorable and worthwhile.  I know that I would feel good about finishing.  And, I know I have an incredible opportunity staring me in the face because of the benefit my dad left us with, where I can finish tuition-free.  I know all this is true.

But I don't know what the hell I want to do.  And looking at the class schedule was FREAKING me out.  The one class I was considering would have brought me out to campus twice a week, for 2 1/2 hours per day.  It takes me an hour to drive to the campus.  I need to squeeze any classes into my family's schedule, which believe me--does NOT always work well with the University's time frame.  There are no classes at the University that I can take that are on-line.  I was really hoping I could do some of it that way, but I cannot.  So this is not impossible, but very very difficult.  I could probably take one to two classes per semester, and at that rate graduate in about six years.  Six.  Years.  Of constantly driving back and forth.  And of being less available to be involved with the kids' school stuff, like volunteering and field trips, things which I have always done and are important to my kids.  Six years of homework.  Six years of exams.

All of this still does not make it impossible.  Just difficult.  Here's what caused me to make the final decision to withdraw:  I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL I WANT TO DO.  After meeting with my advisor, hours and hours of thought, obsessing on the website over classes, I STILL could not come up with a degree that I thought I really wanted to pursue or that would make it so that I could do something I really wanted to do and could not do without it.  Six years, for that.

Not worth it to me.  At least right now.

If I have some sort of epiphany and figure out that I desperately want to be a (insert profession here--I seriously can't even think of an example to use right now), then I will consider going back then.  And maybe by then the kids will be grown and moved out and I will feel like taking my wrinkly ass back to school full-time.

But right now, I mostly do know what I want to be:  a mom and a wife.  And looking back on my 8-, 12-, 16-, even 22-year old self, that is all I've ever really wanted to be.  And as luck would have it, and by the Grace of God, that is exactly what I am.

Don't get me wrong:  I am still in the throws of an intense mid-life crisis.  I still feel like I need to do something to feel like I am more of a contributor to this life on earth.  A job?  Maybe.  A hobby?  Definitely.  Every day lately I spend more time than I care to admit mentally berating myself for something.  I'm not good enough.  I'm lazy.  I'm talentless.  I fail at everything.  I don't know what I'm doing.  I should be earning money.  I should be a better cook.  I should lose weight.  I should keep a cleaner house.  I should see my friends more.  I should finish a project.  Why can't I get anything done? I'm worthless.

Now don't go call an intervention on me.  That sounds really bad, I know.  Like I-should-seek-medication bad.  But at least I'm aware of it, and I know it's not all real.  Sometimes I am aware of some truths in me:  I am a good mom and a pretty good wife.  My kids are happy and fulfilled.  My husband loves me.  We always have clean clothes and food in the house.  I get the bills paid.  I can be entertaining.  I'm relatively smart.  I know I'm a pretty decent person, and that all that negativity is not rational.  I am trying to battle it.  Trying to replace it.  It's really difficult.  But hopefully when my hormones level off I'll find it a bit easier.

But for now, there is my admission.  I will not be going back to school.  Yet.  My sister still is, and I wish her all the best in the world.  She always has been braver than me.

I will, however, be learning to drive a motorcycle and get my license for it.  And maybe I should get a tattoo and start wearing a leather vest and some black eyeliner.  I don't know what is next for me.  Right now I just know that I have to fix breakfast for two 9-year olds, a 10-year old, and the hubby.  And that my sister is moving home this weekend.  I know that the grass needs to be mowed, and that is my job.  I'm very good at it.  I know I have ironing to do, which I love, and I know my hubby has the day off tomorrow, and we're going to do something fun with it.  I know I have to go to Costco.  And that today is going to be a very good day.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Last Week We...

I'm not naive enough to think we're done with the sticky hot summer weather, but this week has been so beautiful!  It's been cooler and lovely outside, and I've been able to get back out on my porch and feel like I can breathe outside again.  Ahhhh.  I can't WAIT for Fall.

It's been sort of an eventful week!  We've been busy.  I got my hair fixed!  What a good feeling.  Especially since I pretty much do it only twice a year...  I got several inches chopped off, and freshened up the color a bit.  It feels so much lighter.  I always feel like such a loser when I go in to get it done, though.  I haven't gone to the same stylist more than once in many years.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm not that thrilled about them, or because it's always so long between visits that I'm too embarrassed about the three-inch roots and the bangs that I've hacked away at several times since the last visit.  I'm also always wishing it didn't cost so dang much money.  But anyway, getting back to feeling like a loser--I go in there with gross hair.  It's always on a day where I can't take it anymore, so I'm already feeling unattractive.  Then I just pull it all back into a sloppy ponytail since I know we're just going to color it, wash it and cut it all anyway.  And when I'm feeling like that, I don't usually bother with the make up either.  So I go in looking awful.  And knowing me, feeling fat.  Then some cute little thing with perfect make up and a great figure, dressed all up in some little black outfit stands RIGHT behind me in the mirror for a couple hours, and the dramatic comparison does the OPPOSITE of making me feel pretty.  I get my hair all combed out, which is not a good look for me and my curly hair, by the way.  I am asked, "so what are we doing with your hair today?".  Mostly I want to start bawling and tell them to shave it all off, it's never going to look as cute as theirs, but I just end up saying, I don't know, but obviously anything will be a dramatic improvement.  Then I try to smile and we figure out what color to do and how short I want it.  It's really not ever a great experience, except for two moments--one when they're washing my hair (I love that), and the other when I finally am in my car afterward and can shake out the weird hairstyle they sent me out with, and really look at it in my rear view mirror.  And it is always an improvement.  As long as I look past the Frankenstein brow that I usually have from getting my eyebrows violently waxed.

I love being a girl.

I need to find a salon filled with stylists that are chubby and older than me, and tell good jokes.

The kids had a sleepover!  They were invited to A's bestie's house on Friday night.  Hubby and I decided to make a date night of it.  After dropping them off, we took off on the motorcycle.  It was a perfect evening for a ride.  We drove into Wisconsin and ate at a great place right on the river.  We were seated on the outdoor patio, and had a couple beers and some GREAT food.  Then we decided to go to a movie!  We drove back across the border and saw the Bourne Legacy in Hastings.  It had been a while since we'd had a date, and it was so much fun!  Until the middle of the movie when our phones lit up with calls from the 10-year old.  Of course, we're IN the movie, so we couldn't answer.  It was a late movie, though, and the middle of the movie happened at about 11:00 at night, so of course I was worried.  Hubby texted A to see if everything was all right, and he texted back that J wanted to come home "badly".  Now J had never successfully completed a sleepover at a house that wasn't a relative's before, and I knew there was a chance I'd have to go get him in the middle of the night.  It's happened before.  But I really did think this one would work.  It's been a year since his last attempt, and this one was different--his brother was there, he's very comfortable with the bestie (I think I should start calling him "R"), and he's been at their house before and knows the family.  But no.  So we sent him a message saying we're in the middle of a movie, and we'll have to call him afterward.  The rest of the movie was a bit stressful for me, but I made it.  Even though I couldn't stop obsessing over it, wondering if he was all right, if he was crying, if he was keeping the whole family up over there, blah, blah, blah.

As soon as the movie was over, I called A.  He answered and put J on the phone.  It was 12:30 at night.  J was awake, but sounded perfectly fine.  He said, "can you come get me?  I want to sleep in my own bed."  Ugh!  So then I had to explain to him that Dad and I are a ways from home, and we're on the motorcycle.  We would have to zip home to get the car, and then come get him, and it would be well past 1:00 in the morning when we got there.  Could he please try to relax and go to sleep there?  And his response was, "ok, but I'll be very sad."  A told me that R's parents were asleep (but I don't think they were).  When we got home, I texted A again, hoping they were all asleep and I wouldn't have to drive into their nice and quiet neighborhood at 1:30 in the morning to get my kid.  He texted back that J "wants to stay", so I was off the hook and all was well.  Yahoo!   So we were very proud of J for completing his first official sleepover, and very grateful to R's family for supporting him (and us).

The next day they brought R over here for a sleepover at our house.  Gramma and I took all three boys to the County Fair for the afternoon/evening.  It was so great!  The kids had a ball eating junk food, running around, and playing carnie games.  The three of them get along so well, and it's so much fun to watch.  They're at this great age--I remember being 10.  They're making memories that they'll have forever, and sometimes I feel honored to see it happening.

We also took the kids to a Gopher Football practice this week!  What a great day.  It was at the stadium, which was exciting because the kids got to run around in the near-empty concourse.  After the practice we were able to go down on the field and meet players and coaches and get autographs.  Very exciting for all of us.  I was so impressed with the whole experience, I was thinking of writing a letter to the coach about it...

So the summer continues.  School starts three weeks from today.  We've done so much the last couple weeks, and we have more to do still.  Football starts in just under two weeks, so that's my timeframe.  We need to fit a trip to a waterpark and maybe the amusement park still.  And maybe another trip to the zoo.  But for now, I need to eat something and take Freddy out.  Have a great day, everyone!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I'm Completely Mental.

It's a warm summer night.  My porch goes really well with a bottle of Pinot Grigio and my iPad.

Today I went to the zoo.  In the literal sense.  The Minnesota Zoo.  Not my living room.  Or my brain, if you know what I mean.  My chihuahua buddy and I have been planning to go, and I told my kids we'd be going with her and her kids soon, and then she went and ripped off her toenail in a bicycle/sandal wearing incident.  I'm sure it was very graceful, and knowing her, she probably looked very cute even while she was crashing violently.  If I didn't love her so much, I'd hate her for being so darling.  Anyway, that resulted in her not being able to go to the zoo to do all the walking, but my kids were still desperate to go.  So we went.  We have a membership there, so we can go again when she's back on her feet.  Do you hear that, missy?  You're not off the hook....

We picked up A's bestie and met Gramma out there.  It really was a lovely day.

So be proud of me.  I'm keeping up with the whole summer thing.  We did the Science Museum, the County Fair, and the Zoo.  We still need to get to a water park and the batting cages, and then I'll be proudly accepting my "Mother of the Summer" award.  Insert applause.

But seriously, this hot weather is making me nuts.  I am SO ready for the fall.  And the cooler weather.

Today I'm thinking a lot about one of my enemies.  Specifically, the extra 10 (OK, 40) pounds I'm hanging on to.  I haven't been going to the Weight Watchers meetings.  I stopped going for a while for a very valid reason--A had trumpet lessons.  And it was well worth it.  But I'm going on two weeks now since he's been done for the season, and I haven't gone back.  I've missed two meetings for no good reason.  I come up with reasons, of course, but they're not very valid.  I could go.  I haven't stepped on a scale in weeks.  My clothes aren't any tighter, and I don't think I've been putting weight on, but I certainly haven't been taking any off for a while.  And some recent pictures of me that I've seen (posted on Facebook, dammit) are proving the point in painful detail.  It's so brutal.  You know that feeling (I hope), where you're sort of feeling all right about things, and then you see a photo of yourself.  You can't blame it on the lighting or the angle or whatever.  It's the undoctored you.  So there it is.  All of me, out there, for myself and everyone else to see.  Sheesh.

Shudder.  I'm trying not to focus on it too much.  I'm all right.  I'll jump back in, right?  It's not like I don't have enough to think about these days.

There's the whole dang college thing.  Call me crazy, but I'm debating withdrawing from the class I've registered for, and waiting until next term.  I just really don't know what I'm doing, and it's not giving me a good feeling about registering for this semester.  The fact is, I have NO idea what to major in, or if I really care if I finish or not, and it's a heck of a commitment to go back to school.  Especially when I do have a lot going on in my regular life.  It's not like I've decided, "I want to go to school to be a nurse," and so I go to nursing school with a plan to finish and begin a career in nursing.  It's more like I have an itch that I don't know how to scratch and I'm searching for something.  Is that really a wise time to take on college courses?  I don't know.  I have a couple weeks to do some soul searching to figure the whole thing out.  Hubby wants to be supportive, but it's hard for him. Because he's sort of blindly supportive.  I'm in that incredibly fortunate but somewhat frustrating position of having a hubby who just wants me to be happy.  And that's difficult when I really actually am, and cannot figure out why I'm searching for some mysterious "something".  If this is an all-out mid-life crisis, why can't I just fix it by getting a tattoo or learning how to belly dance?  Ugh.

I don't know if I'm really getting close to a break down or if this is just really good wine.  It's going down way too easily.  And the crickets are really loud tonight.  All I know is that right now, in this moment, my life is pretty good.  My hubby rocks.  My kids are amazing.  I love my home, and it needs a lot of attention from me, which I've been too distracted to give it lately.  I have a dog who worships me.  My sister is moving back to town.  I have great friends.  I'm busy.  I have eight years before my oldest kid heads out to college.  So why am I thinking of rocking the boat right now?

School starts four weeks from today.  I will be back in my normal school/football/laundry routine.  I wonder how I will feel then?

By the way, tomorrow I'm going to do a couple REALLY HUGE things--I'm going to get my hair fixed (hopefully) and I'm going to deal with my bedroom.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for reading, and for being my buddies.  Where would I be without you all?





Sunday, August 5, 2012

So Far This Summer...

We are on a roll!  We have gone to Gramma's pool a couple times.  We have gone to the Science Museum.  We have had a big barbecue with some families from baseball.  This week we are going to the Zoo and hopefully a water park.  Packing it all in, baby.

This has been a HOT summer.  Sticky, sunny, horrible hot.  Heat and I are not friends.  So yesterday and today, we have been blessed with these beautiful, less than 80 degree days, that are a gift.  I actually enjoyed sitting on the edge of the pool yesterday while the boys swam.  It feels amazing outside, and the best news of all is that I have no plans for today!  Yay!

So the barbecue was really fun.  When I have things like that over here, it reminds me that I love living out here.  I go through lots of times where I wonder if it was the right thing to do, moving out here in the middle of farmland, where our kids will never be able to ride their bikes to their friend's houses.  But Friday night cemented my love for this place again.  Big family gatherings out here are really nice.  The parents can honestly relax.  The kids run around like wild things, and nobody has to worry about the noise level.  There's no streets with traffic.  It's very safe and spacious.  So not only can everybody enjoy themselves, but when it's time to go home the kids are all super exhausted.  Win-win for everyone.  And I think everyone enjoyed the place, and I was pretty relaxed about it all.  Oh, and the golf cart was a big hit too.

Except for the horrific five minutes during a "tour" of my house that a couple of the ladies wanted, when I actually showed them my bedroom.  Ooooooooh.  It's really the nastiest room in the house.  We haven't done anything to make it homey since we moved in.  So boring white walls with random pictures tacked up on the walls.  SUPER cluttered night tables.  Too many clothes.  And horror of horrors, I didn't think anybody would come in that room, so I had been sorting clothes for donation, and they had been piled on the bed.  But hubby had shoved them all over onto the floor of my side of the bed, so there was this SEA of clothes almost as high as my bed on my side, that I didn't know about until I went to bed after the party!  AUGH!  It probably looked like a hoarder's pile of dirty clothes.  How freakishly embarrassing.  But I did make the ladies promise to still be my friends after I allowed them to see the room, so hopefully there was no judgment (or at lease it was silent).

Anyway, oh well.  Right?  At least I had enough beer.

Oh my God.  There is this amazing breeze coming in right behind me from my open office window, and it feels incredible.  I CANNOT wait until fall!  Tomorrow is the first day of our county fair, which means we are three weeks away from the State Fair!  That is the true sign of the beginning of fall.  I need to hurry up and decide if I'm going to have some kind of fall party out here.

I am sorry, but it is way to nice to sit here anymore.  I'm outta here.  Have a beautiful day, people!