Farm Life Festival

On Sunday I took the boys to the Farm Life Festival. It wasn't quite what I expected but it was a nice time and a beautiful day so we certainly enjoyed ourselves. Nolen was most interested in how much money the cotton candy cost. One vendor was selling it for $4 and another for $2. He was quick to point that out to me so we could buy the $2 cotton candy! Ha! How can you pass up cotton candy for the bargain aware 6 year old?

There was a lot of old farm equipment on display although I had to make up most of what I told the boys about it. It would have been nice to have descriptions posted or pictures of it being used or something. In the Trades building there were displays of tools used in 26 different trades from leathersmithing and blacksmithing to broom making and barn building. I don't know what all was in there. A man who worked there stopped and said he hoped the boys were finding something that they were interested in. "There are 26 different trades in here. There has to be something in here they'd like. What are those boys interested in?" I thought I was making a joke when I said, "sadly, they're interested in video games." He did not think that was funny at all and then I felt bad. Sorry random volunteer at the farm festival! I know remembering these trades is important and I would love it if my boys were interested in something there but it was a don't touch kind of place with no explanations about what the tools were for. It was hard to spark a boy's interest when all I can tell them about an random iron bar is that was probably used to bang on something else made of wood...or thereabouts.

Max liked the chicks and the chicken. I'm surprised he didn't get pecked!

The boys fed this goat grass. It was really cute.

Always have to get a picture on the tractor.




This contraption had a sign on it that said "Two horse power treadmill". I'm guessing that means that two horses can be hitched up to turn the track and drive the belt that does something on the other end. See how informative the "mommy tour" was for the kids. No wonder it wasn't all that interesting for them! ha!


Any event is a success when there is cotton candy!

Catching Up....again

Well, I haven't posted in awhile...(that should be the new blogger's motto!) so I'll hit the highlights today. It seems like I keep track of people on Facebook so much that I forget to blog lately!

I'll start with our most recent (and cutest) development...we have a dog that seems to think we are his family. Don't worry, we are not taking in another dog. A few nights ago, after dark, I looked out the window and saw Jasmine playing chase with a fluffy collie-type dog. It was surprising because she can be a real bully to other dogs. She doesn't really socialize well and has nipped at about every dog on this street at one time another...sorry to Indie, Daisy, Bugsy and the yellow lab. But there they were, playing happily for about 30 minutes before I finally got her to come inside. Well, her boyfriend came back the next night and the next night! On the third night, he got close enough for us to get a good look at him. He had been pretty skittish before that and would run away from us. He came up on the deck and let us pet him which was when Ed realized he is pretty skinny. You know where this is going right? Yes, we fed the stray dog. He must have appreciated it because he showed us how grateful he was by crying at the backdoor for awhile and then spending the whole night on our deck. I have made flyers to hang up around town and hopefully someone will claim him. I hate to call animal control because I don't think he would have much of a chance there. He seems really sweet. The boys were running around with him before school today. He isn't around today. He has probably gone into the woods behind our neighborhood to hang out but I do secretly hope he comes back tonight.

Making Carmel Apples

I bought half a peck of apples at the commissary yesterday because they looked so delicious. I quickly realized that we would be hard pressed to EAT half a peck of apples before they went bad so it was time to get creative! I've always wanted to make carmel apples but I don't think I ever have...until today. By the way, whenever I think of carmel/candied apples, I think of the one I ate in Annapolis this past December with Edward. That thing was GIANT and cost like $8 or something ridiculous, but it was delicious! Anyway, I got the boys to help me unwrap the carmels and they watched me dip the apples. We put them in the fridge while they took their bath...great plan right? Hey kids, now that you're all squeaky clean, how about a sticky, sugary treat before bed? hehe


Nolen took a few bites then handed it off to me to finish. Yum! And he ate a plain apple instead. Boring.

Max ate EVERY last bite! He even ate the core. This morning I found the stick and 6 apple seeds on his plate. I am not kidding!

First Day of School!

Just a quick post of pictures. I promised the boys hot chocolate chip cookies after school so I need to get upstairs and get started!

The boys had fun at open house yesterday. Nolen was kind of nervous but perked up when he got to visit his old teachers. Max was his usual carefree self. I have no worries about that one!

All ready for school today. Nolen wanted his hair spiked! And even Jazzy was excited for school.

Ready to go. It was so nice to drop them off together this morning. I think Nolen likes having his brother with him. And even though my baby Max is in school today, I'm not too sad. I miss him but I know he will do great! Max doesn't know a stranger. I can't wait to hear all about their days tonight!

Max Turns Five!

My baby turned five yesterday! He had a great birthday and a party on his actual birthday! I made him blueberry pancakes for breakfast while he told me all the people he wanted to invite to his party. Then we headed to Jazzercise where the Jazzer girls all sang Happy Birthday to him while he stood on the stage with me. I think he liked that. Afterwards, we had to run a few errands (sorry Max) and then we headed home. The boys played video games while I finished some last minute party prep. When it was party time, Max came upstairs and oohed and aahed. He is so sweet. I had hung a few yellow stars from the ceiling low enough so that the kids could touch them. Max thought that was amazing. He is so sweet and easy to please! We had mystery boxes filled with gold coins (just like in the game), some pirahna plants left from Nolen's Mario party in May, a few balloons, a balloon popping game, a pinata, pizza and cake. The kids had fun and Max had a blast!

Spitting on the...I mean, blowing out the candles.

I made his pinata - I'm not sure if I would do it again. It was fun to paper mache for the first time but I had a hard time figuring out how to attach something to hang it with. In the end, it held up alright and made it through 6 kids before it broke off its zip tie! By the way, its supposed to be a mushroom or turtle or something from Mario Bros.

Here is the homemade cake! Again, it was a lot of effort and its not the most beautiful cake. The actual decorating wasn't that tough but I wasn't sure I had enough icing and I only have one icing coupler so I could only do one color at a time and then wash everything and do the next one. It turned out pretty nice though and cost about five bucks so you have to love that! And also, I think somehow the boys liked it more because they got to watch me decorate it. They also loved that I squirted some extra icing directly into their mouths! They both looked at me like I was crazy and Nolen asked me why I did it. hehe!

All of the kids waiting to whack the pinata!

Max loved opening his presents - of course! Thank you to all of our friends and family that brought and sent gifts. Max had a wonderful birthday! So many people love my boys and I am so grateful for all you. More people love them than they know. They are lucky and sweet boys!

Beach Day in Leonardtown!!!

We had heard a lot about Beach Day so we had to see for ourselves! The boys had a blast! It was a great evening in the square with friends and neighbors and PLENTY to do for the kids! The boys got to run through the fire hose, climb a rock wall, go in a moon bounce, play with a giant Jenga set and eat junk food. What more could a kid want?

Thanks to the lake house, a Florida vacation, swim lessons and countless afternoons at the pool, both boys are pretty tan. Many people commented on how blonde and tan the boys are! Max looked like a little hispanic kid when he took off his shirt! ha!


There is a small rock wall in the gym at Leonardtown Elementary and Nolen has told me before that he likes to climb it. So, when we saw the giant rock wall and wanted to climb it, I thought we would give it a shot. And of course, if one boy is going to do it, they both have to try. Max is on the left. He got a decent start but I don't think he was very committed and he didn't seem to understand that he had to keep going up. He would let go and come down and start again.

Nolen (my chicken) is apparently not afraid of heights! He made it almost all the way to the top before he got stuck and couldn't climb any more. I think for a minute he was scared to let go and "rappel" down but he finally did it and was smiling all the way!

On his way down...

I think this is a funny picture - the crazed look in his eye!

The Fassett's gave us a ride down to the square but we decided to walk home (it is less than a mile). The boys beat us to the front door and looked so cute sitting there after such a fun evening! (Please ignore the half dead potted plants that need to be cleaned out!)