Friday, November 30, 2018

Family Picture Day!

Last year my friend Starr that always takes our family pictures decided to put photography on the back burner. I wasn't sure if we were even going to get family pictures taken at all. But then one day I got a message from her saying that she was trying to earn some money for vacation so she was scheduling a day of shoots in September. 

At first I wanted to have pictures taken at Lake Retreat...we are having our Women's Retreat out there next March and my co-leader and I had just visited and it was gorgeous. Of course that's not something they let people do. She said that since we were going to be staying there she would have said yes, but they were having a Men's Retreat that same weekend so there would be people everywhere. Starr was planning on meeting another family at Lake Wilderness so we just decided to meet there as well.

I will share her professional pictures in a different post. 



I love this picture of Ella and her Daddy. 



Of course when we were trying to take pictures all the kids wanted to do was play.



It was really a beautiful day...just a little cool. 




After pictures we let the kids climb, jump and play. 



Then Daddy started a pinecone fight. 



Armed and ready!



Handsome man!



The sass is...



strong with...



 this one!



Cute girl!




Doh!!! 



Not sure why I'm getting the stink eye!! 




More pinecone battles! 



Boys being boys! 




For pictures I bought Ella shoes just like mine and a jean jacket at Target. It's from Cat & Jack and it has sweatshirt sleeve and a hood with cat ears. It's so cute. I had to make her wear the one and only pair of jeans she has instead of leggings and she looks so adorable in them, but she just hates it. Girlfriend doesn't know what's good for her!!! 



My new favorite picture of us! 




Little guy...big tree! 




Time to go! 

On the way home we ended up stopping at Wendy's for the kids to have frosties and I had a full meal since I didn't have anything to eat for lunch. It was a rare occasion for us to actually eat at a fast food place. If we eat fast food we will get it in the drive thru and then eat it at home. It just drives me crazy how so many people use foul language all the time. Just normal casual conversation! When did it become okay to speak like that in front of children?? Ugh...

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Puyallup Fair Fun!

We don't go to the Puyallup Fair every year...we try to make it every other year or so. It's so nice that the kids get free tickets from school. Also one of Michael's co-worker's wife works at a school and always has extra educator tickets so we got in for free as well. That left us with quite a bit of entertainment money so we went and ahead and bought the Dizzy passes for the kids. 



The only day it worked for us to go on was Thursday September 20th. We kept the kids home from school and Michael took the day off work. The nice thing about going during the week and early in the day is that parking is cheaper so we were able to park right across the street from the blue gate. 




No....it is NOT the Washington State Fair....it will forever be called the Puyallup Fair! 



We had to stop by and see the firemen! We also went over to see the blacksmith, but unfortunately he wasn't working on anything at that moment. 



So instead we went over to the woodworking area and checked out all the amazing things cut out of wood. This giant Bigfoot was funny! 

It was getting close to Sillyville opening so we decided to stop and have lunch. We knew once the rides were open there would be no stopping the kids. 

I wanted to get a Gyro and Ella and Zeke wanted pizza. Jack wanted a cheeseburger. I have no idea what Owen wanted, but the older boys stayed with Michael while I took the younger two to find my Gyro. 



While we were waiting for my Gyro to be ready the kids had fun sitting on the giant hand chairs.



So silly! 



While we were waiting a bunny came along. I'm not a huge character person. People dressed up as giant animals and characters just kind of weird me out. You will not find me in one of those lines for a character meet and greet at Disneyland...no thank you! Anyway I asked Ella if she'd like to get a picture and she said yes. Zeke didn't want too at first. 



Once Ella was done he decided he did! 

After getting my Gyro and the pizza for Ella and Zeke we headed back to the Sillyville area to find Michael and the boys. If I remember right they were almost finished with their food and when I say they I mean Jack. That kid can eat....he ate his cheeseburger and some of Michael's food. I don't think Owen ate anything. 

Once we were finished eating it was time to set off for some fun. The kids all had their Dizzy Pass bracelets on so we were ready to go. Michael took the older boys since they could go on the bigger rides. Ella and Zeke hung out with me to do the smaller rides. 



Zeke's ready for the picture....Ella was strapping in. 




Now Ella's ready, but Zeke is too busy trying to fly the plane. 



I love this picture so much! I have a great picture of Owen and I on this same ride back in 2009 when I was pregnant with Ella. It's my favorite picture. I just love their littleness. They are so sweet! 



Up and Round. 



Around and Down! 



Have you ever seen and Elephant fly????



The carousel was the only ride I actually got to go on with the kids since I didn't have a Dizzy Pass. The next time we go we are definitely getting passes for Michael and I too. It would have been way more fun actually being with them on the rides. It was fun watching them experience things on their own, but there were also things they couldn't go on without an adult like the ferris wheel.



Sweet Zeke and Mama! 



He picked a black horse! 



My attempt at taking a selfie in the mirror! 



These run through rides were definitely a favorite. I remember loving them when I was little!!! 



I just found a seat and they'd run through the same one at least 3 times. 



Watch out...underage drivers! 



I love that they have two steering wheels....wouldn't want any kids to have meltdowns at the fair. It makes me laugh when they actually try to steer the car. :) 



Dragon Coaster!!! 




This ride is when I realized how ridiculous the height restrictions are. Zeke was tall enough to go on this dragon coaster, but there was a tiny and I mean tiny roller coaster that was a tiger and he was too short to go on that one. Maybe the signs got mixed up or something. 



Did you guys have fun???



The swings! I have a love/hate relationship with these things. I used to love them, but the older I get the more I can't handle the tummy tickles they give me. Plus I have visions of the chains breaking off and I go flying out. I know I'm ridiculous! You might be thinking how I can let my kids go on things like this...well first I don't want them to have silly fears like I do and the second...I pray! 



Another run through ride with a fun LONG slide at the end. 



Zeke's shoes got him stuck at the end! They went on this ride over and over as well! 



Up up and away! 



For some reason Zeke did not like the idea of going in a bear tummy! 



Ella was all for it though! 





The three of us were tired so we decided to stop for a snack and meet up with Daddy and the bigger boys. 


After our snack it was time for more rides! 



This ride looked painful! 



The bikes would pop a wheelie and it wasn't in a nice smooth movement it was quite jerky. 



It wasn't too long and Ella decided she wanted to go on bigger rides with the older boys. She tried out this ride first to see if she would enjoy it. She LOVED it! 



While Michael had just the older boys he took some fun pictures! 



That face!!! 



This was their favorite ride...Zero Gravity! 



Hang Gliders! 



Super fun! 



They also went on the run through rides...



and went down the LONG slide. 



I'm coming for you Jack!!! 



Better luck next time! 



Just hanging around! 



When Ella went with Daddy and the older boys Zeke and I went back to SillyVille. The Dizzy passes included tickets to play 2 games. Zeke played the hammer game and won this giant hammer. 



Then he played a fishing game. 



It took awhile, but he caught a fish. I only had him play games where it was a guaranteed prize. 



This boy has always loved maps. I do too! I could look at maps for hours! 



You can't go to the fair without going on the canoes!



The funny thing about this ride was the guy that had the scanner to scan the bracelets just up and left. He walked away with the scanner. The other workers were yelling at him, but of course he couldn't hear them with the noise of all the rides and the crowds. I heard one of the other works say...well I guess it's free for now! 




Floating through a teepee! 



His smile is the best! 



Spaceships with blasters...yes please! 




At the back of SillyVille is a free face painting place. I tried to go with Ella and Zeke earlier, but the line was atrocious and it hadn't even opened yet. No thank you. Later on Zeke and I were over there and saw that the line only had a couple people in it. 



Turned out it wasn't typical face painting that takes forever...it was airbrushed. It was SO fast!!! 




ATV rider! 



Zeke was the only kid on this ride...twice! :) 



This was always my favorite ride at Wild Waves. Zeke was so cute...he was tall enough to ride by himself, but not tall enough to get on the ride...I had to help him up! 



I thought he might be a little freaked out by this one since it was the highest fastest ride he went on, but he loved it. 

Right after this we met up with Daddy and I grabbed Ella and we walked all the way back to SillyVille. 



She had wanted her face painted so badly I just knew that we need to make the trek to get it done. 



Her unicorn was so beautiful! 



It was also quite fitting since she was wearing her unicorn shirt! 



She also wanted to use one of her game tickets so she went fishing like Zeke. I think they both chose sharks as their prize. 



The last little bit of money we had went to buy cotton candy. This kid cannot eat without getting stuff everywhere. Cute Jackson! 

It was such a fun time, the weather was great...a little warmer than expected really, the food was yummy and the kids had a blast on the rides. Perfect family day at the fair!