A couple fun things

We took Patrick to the Puyallup Fair last week. On a Tuesday, to be precise. Last year he screamed for the final 30 minutes and I had to nurse him in a stinky corner of some food lot. I was hoping for improvement. And I did! But not a time extension. Patrick lasted for about 2 hours (and this was a post nap visit), and then he hit over-stimulation. Based on this experience, I think we'll wait til he's at least seven (and baby around five) to try Disneyland. I know other parents have taken young kids with great success, but I don't think Patrick is that kid. He loved seeing stuff, but he didn't want to ride in the stroller, he wanted to run ahead at his own pace. It was just a bit too stressful despite the fun he did have. And he did have fun, just not when I was taking any pictures.


But we saw goats and cows, some baby piglets, ate an ice cream cone, spent 20 minutes on the escalator outside the fine arts hall, and hit a few rides. The biggest hit was the giant slide. Kevin and Patrick took several runs, and then we ran out of tickets. But it was fun while it lasted. It will be nice, someday, to see what I want at the fair again. But I did get to check out the Charlie Harper exhibit. Very nice.


I started MOPS again on Thursday, serving as a table leader again. It's a great group, and we're looking to have a very exciting year. Any mothers reading who are interested, pop me a line! I'd love to tell you about MOPS and invite you to check it out!

Later that week we headed south for a giant family visit. Both of us. At the same time. This took quite a bit of work, as our joint non-traditional working schedules make it a challenge to go together. But as it probably won't happen for another six months (or more), it was worth the fuss. Aside from Wade, who works a schedule like ours, we saw everybody! Plus, we had two adult-only nights...in a row! First was Edgefield with Glen and Stacia, where we got to feel like the cool experts as they picked our brains about babies. The next night was at Gustav's with Jay and Chenoah, where we picked their brains about life with two kids. A fun contrast. Both nights were just lovely, to sit in a restaurant without small children and have multiple conversations! Big thanks to my Mom, who tackled bedtime two nights in a row for us. Saturday was the only disappointment. We were hoping to hit the Portland Pirate Festival, but it rained. Sniff. My poor husband was a good sport, and settled for some time at Cafe Sip-n-Play (coffee shop with enclosed play space, so cool) and a manicure. That evening the crowds descended on my mom's house, including all four dogs. It was wild. The only unfortunate occurrence was Bug, my brother Dave's fab mini schnauzer, sampled Danica's food. It did not agree with him, as Dave and his wife (my gorgeous sister in law) discovered the following morning. The rest of us survived. On Sunday we got to visit with Kevin's parents, who prepared us an amazing brunch, pulled out all the grandkid toys for Patrick, and overall showed us a wonderful time. It was great to see them, and Patrick had a wonderful time with all his grandparents this weekend.

Such a fun week, but a reminder of why I don't like to be that busy. Looking forward to a much better week with a MUCH lighter schedule.