the fair: back to back

As what is fast becoming tradition we attended the fair on opening day this week. There were friends, games and more. Katie rode rides without abandon, Mo not so much. All in all it was a pretty exhausting day.

I however, forgot the battery for my camera, which made it very difficult to take pictures for a piece I was supposed to be doing.

Because of this, we headed back the following day with the aim of completing my interviews, and seeing the (perhaps) calmer side of the fair.

Bonus: when you interview 4H kids, they bring their animals out of cages for your kids to pet.

I don't know how those kids keep those all white outfits clean.

All the kids I spoke with were delightful. You can see some of them here if you're interested.

The girls wanted to take a picture with Willie the horse.

This is as close as they would get. Future 4H girls, I fear they are not.

From the baby animals, geese and pig races to the fish and frogs in the aquariums, the day was really nice, and almost leisurely compared to the day before.

Perhaps the best part of the day was the live butterfly exhibit. You dipped q-tips into nectar, placed them under their feet and they would climb right on.

And, in the end the Little Wickies were rewarded for being so patient with mama while she was working.

out and about: hiking

We've gone on a couple of hikes recently.

The key to a successful hike with the Little Wickies?

1) Friends

2) Snacks

Yesterday we checked out a little creek and swimming hole.

super tiny lizard we found on the trail

Katie still talks about the "amazing" heart (yes, yet another piece of glass) we saw on one of our hikes.

Ah, nature at its best, right?

maddie meets monet / katie covets chagall

Today I took the girls to an art museum for the first time.

Mo had little interest, she kept walking around saying "me no touch da art, right mama?" in a sort of Rainman way.

I'm thinking of taking Katie back as she seemed to really enjoy it.

She was able to describe to Papa in detail later that night her favorite piece of the day -- floating fish, painter in the background and all -- which I was surprised by.

Blue Angel by Marc Chagall, Katie's favorite piece of the day

Now, don't get me wrong while they did fine in the museum the stairway back to the car provided WAY more fun. We spent at least 15 minutes playing on these.

"Did you like the museum girls?"

"Yes, mama."

Two minutes later going down the ramps in the parking structure, "Wee!!!! Mama, this is fun, do it again!"

And later, "Mama, can we come back so we can go down those ramps again?"

in the bushes

Blueberry picking season has officially begun at one of the farms near us.

We tagged along with some friends this week to gather some bounty.

The girls are actually really good at picking berries now.

And, at only $3.75 a pound -- well, it isn't really child labor, right?

We ended up picking more than 5+ pounds of blueberries.

I'm going to make breakfast for dinner tonight and I'm going to try this recipe because it looked so good.

Part of the berry-picking crew