Australian Potatoes, Gyro, Deep Fried Cheeseburger, Salt Water Taffy, Deep Fried Spam Curds, Sunfish in a boat, Cheese Curds, Deep Fried Ravioli and Martha's Cookies. Yes, that is everything I ate while at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday! I am so happy right now. (Well a little irritated because there is a fish bone stuck in the back of my throat from the fish, but otherwise quite content!)

Don't these look delicious and so not nutritious! Top is Australian Potatoes and bottom is the deep fried cheeseburger)...

We were able to go to the fair with my parent's and our family friends, Bob and Cindy. This is how we were able to consume so much, there were plenty of people to share with. Oh, and of course, there was lots of beer to be consumed!

Dusty and I also sat in the Coliseum for a little while and caught the Jr. High Rodeo. It was actually really fun, as the boys run out with the young bulls and then after they pass a certain line they have to wrestle the bulls to the ground as quick as they can. It was really funny, although apparently I was one of the few who thought so as I got a lot of weird stares as I'd laugh at the wrestling being done. I guess I'm not country enough!

The reason we chose to go to the fair on Thursday was because my cousin's band won Battle of the Bands and they got to play at the State Fair. How exciting is that?! So obviously we needed to catch the show! She's the bassist on the right!

Andrea and Tara also met up with us later that evening so we had to get a sisterly shot!

We had a really great time! Now if only I could convince myself to go again this year with the kids. I mean, I didn't even get time to see the animals, you really do need to go more then once to attempt to see everything, and there is so much more I want to eat! Yeah, that probably isn't going to do the trick. There is always next year!

Here are a couple more pictures from last weekend and stories to be told.

Max has become obsessed with fishing! Every moment spent by the water must be spent with a fishing pole in hand. While I know he gets this from his father, he really reminds me of his Uncle Ed. Ed and Max both are constantly on the move, but when it comes to fishing they are both content trying to catch the next fish! Max is already braver then his Mama and will grab the fish with his bare hands and throw them back into the lake.

Here he is getting ready to throw one back:

Here is the after shot when he threw another one, showing the splash from the fish; check out the distance!

I think he and Daddy will have many happy memories of catching fish, and many fish stories to share! Rory so far has not shown an interest in fishing like Max, but she did like looking at the fish once they were caught. I'm perfectly content entertaining her while the boys fish, it gives me more time to try to work on her hair...

Every morning I great her and she has this massive, poofy mess! To make matters worse, she insists on grabbing the top part of her hair and pulling it over and over and over again. It's her soothing mechanism to go to sleep! So every morning the top of her hair is sticking strait up and I'm stuck wetting it down or clipping it.

The longer her hair gets, the messier, curlier, and poofier it goes. My mother in law said it best when she said "Your hair keeps getting longer but it sure doesn't grow down!" I promise I'm working on learning how to maintain the curls. Naturally, Daddy loves them and continues to poof her hair out even more behind my back. Our family pictures this weekend should be interesting as I have no idea what I am going to do with her hair!

Dear God,

Thank you for the beautiful rainbow that stretched across our sky this morning. It was so fun to have Max run outside and look in awe and wonder. It was a great way to start my day!

Love,

Ashley

After our stressful week we were so happy to leave for the lake house that I think we left skid marks in our driveway! We had a really great time.

We spent most of our time outdoors. It was windy, but that just kept the temperature at a really comfortable level so we're not complaining too much. Max got to fish a lot, which he was happy about.

Both kids were just wiped by nap time from being outdoors. Rory fell asleep while eating lunch on Saturday and would have again on Sunday had we not known to watch for the signs that time!

Grandma was not able to join us, but the kids sure had a fun time loving on their Bopa! (Something tells me he had just as much fun as they did.)

On our way home we stopped in Cumberland for their Rutabaga Festival and had Louie's brats and I got my favorite - a gyro! Here are the kids at Louie's Finer Meats.

Max and I both really wanted to go on a ride. Max was really intrigued by the dragons and he was big enough to ride with me so away we went. He did really great and we both giggled as we spinned it to go faster and faster!

Let's hope our carefree weekend leads to a less stressful week!

Don't you wish you had an awesome red, bejazzeled, Jonas Brother's bracelet to wear everyday?!

Sunday I was fortunate enough to get to spend time with both of my sisters as they came over to hang out with Dusty and I. OK, maybe they wanted to hang out with the kids too. Tara came over when the kids woke up from their naps and since it was a beautiful afternoon I decided I wanted to take Tara for a tractor ride. Yup, you read that right. I drove with Tara and the kids in the back. I'm such a great hostess!

The kids had fun riding around and Tara got a kick at how incredibly ridiculous the whole thing is. Andrea stopped over while we prepared dinner. We discussed getting some hay to put in it the trailer for Rory's 1st birthday party so that we could give "hay rides". I'm not sure how Dusty feels about that idea.

I'm guessing you are all curious as to how Max is doing, and I don't blame you, it's been a pretty stressful week over here. Max did not bite at daycare on Tuesday or Wednesday. Unfortunately he did bring his biting issue home on Tuesday and bit the neighbor girl. After the initial upset I realized that the incident was a blessing in disguise; now that Max has brought the problem home and it is no longer just a daycare issue, I get to take control!

So we bought Max a biting bracelet (it's a Red bedazzled thing - so pretty for my little boy - HA!) and I informed daycare what our plan will be. Yes, I like being in control. I also like that I get to focus on the individual (my son) as opposed to waiting to hear how the small group focus is going. Although that too appears to be working as he hasn't bit in the last 2 days which is a huge jump from the 10 times between Thursday, Friday and Monday. (Yes, I found out Monday about all those incidents when we should have been informed at the end of each day - so we had no idea things were so bad and so fast.) So we'll continue to work on the problem and hope that he will outgrow it soon. I know this cute little boy will figure it out!

I'm really sorry, I'm not greedy, I realize I already bother my family and friends once a year to raise money for MS as this is a cause that is near and dear to me for reasons that have been disclosed before. I have decided to continue to raise money for this cause while also starting a team to raise money for The National Ataxia Foundation.

Dusty and I have donated privately to this organization for many years as Ataxia is a disease that greatly affects his family. It is something I've always been passionate about and have even sent letters or emails on occasion asking others to donate.

This month I received an email from them letting me know that they have decided to start a first ever walk here in Minnesota. It's also a "virtual" walk for others around the world to join in. Needless to say, a family team had to be started, and since I have experience with fundraising and getting a team organized I decided to take the lead.

So, I will be raising money for MS in the spring, and raising money for Ataxia in the fall. That is just the way it is going to have to be. I've never once been upset if someone doesn't donate to me, I realize we all have our causes that are near and dear to us, but I'd love it if you could help me out! My goal is $50 this year, so even $5 will go far.

What do you say? Will you help me out? Click here to go to my page:
https://naf.myetap.org/fundraiser/TCWnR/individual.do?participationRef=3467.0.86174853