Deep fried demolition!

On a whim, we decided to head out to a county fair last night to check out a demolition derby and enjoy some food and various livestock (and food made from livestock). The fair was in Loudon County out in the country and it was so beautiful there.


As soon as we entered the fairgrounds, there was an immediate smell of things being fried. We tried the fried cheesecake and it was exactly as you would imagine. We didn't attempt the fried bologna sandwiches or the fried pickles.


There was a corn on the cob eating contest and a petting zoo and a lot of big trucks.



Amelia was just barely tall enough to ride the little roller coaster and we had a good laugh watching her get whiplash. She was loving it, we swear.


Please note the scary looking ride operator in the background. Most of the ride operators looked like this guy. We were pretty sure they picked them up off the street somewhere.


And who doesn't love a good demolition derby? Good fun for the whole family. They even had a special "heat" with just minivans.

Weekly shout-out.

This week's shout-out goes to my friend Kristilyn for crafting this fabulous gift for Amelia.

Don't blink or you'll miss it. (it being Monticello)

We were able to have one last evening with the Webbs before their move to Monticello, Utah. Amelia and Emma had fun playing while the truck was being loaded. (They insisted they were working.)

You guys will be greatly missed.






p.s. Phil, you truly are the Hope of America...

Emma made this mess.

Sadly, Amelia can no longer attempt to blame her friend Emma for, well, most anything. Our dear friends the Webbs have headed West and are most likely on I-80 somewhere with two happy sleeping children in the back seat. We hope.

Amelia can't seem to keep friends around for too long. Her good friend Ethan moved last summer and then her cousin Anna, and now Emma. Of course, Ben and I have also lost some great friends with each of these moves.

Amelia and Emma became friends instantly and have been inseparable ever since. Sometimes when Amelia would get mad, she would very firmly state "Mom, you need to take me to Emma's house." Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Amelia and Emma...

Some things are best left a mystery.

Last August Ben and I went to Minneapolis for a friend's wedding and I took the opportunity to show Ben around the city and the U of M campus and take him to all my old hangouts. We stopped by my old house (known as the "treehouse" to all my friends) and this is what I found:

I had been expecting to see some version of this:

It was surprising and sad and I wondered what had happened to the treehouse. I had shared the upstairs apartment with two good friends and had some great memories of this place. The ceiling had collapsed one night in my roommate's bedroom so I figured the place wasn't going to last forever.

But my old roommate recently filled me in on the demise of the treehouse. Apparently, it burned to the ground a few years ago and the people that were living in my upstairs apartment didn't make it out. How terrible is that? So yes, some things are probably best left a mystery.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

We put Amelia to bed the other night and she came out about 10 minutes later with a few new accessories. She reminded us of a 1920s flapper. It was hard to send such a cute face back to bed.

The Squirrel of Our Discontent

This is my arch nemesis:


He has taken up residence in our yard for several months now. He is frequently found in my flower beds, eating up all my flowers or digging holes in the dirt and making a huge mess. He is unusually fat and yes, he is missing his tail. I have a theory about this squirrel. I believe he was raised by bunnies and in an effort to fit in, he chewed off his own tail. He hops like a bunny and destroys plants like a bunny. We think he may be taking orders from this guy, who is also a permanent fixture in our yard:

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa Black...

We had a great visit with Ben's parents this past weekend. Despite the heat, we had fun and toured around a bit.


A delicious dinner in Old Town...

and a stroll along the pier...


Amelia checks out the man playing the glasses...

and Elsa gives us some good frowny faces.

On Saturday we drove to Shenandoah National Park and checked out some caverns and then drove along the Skyline Drive, had a picnic, tossed the frisbee, and enjoyed some amazing views.









On Sunday night, we strolled around the WWII Memorial and cooled off in the fountains...

Blessing day.

Elsa received a beautiful baby blessing from Ben in church yesterday. Ben's parents were in town for the occasion which was really nice. My mom made the most amazing dress for Elsa. She was pretty tired of being photographed and fussed over by the end of it all.

Enthusiastically promoting the following:

1. Archer Farms (Target brand) Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Biscotti Granola. So delicious. My favorite mid-morning snack right now is a vanilla yogurt parfait with this granola and some strawberries.

2. Trader Joes. It's small, cheap, delicious, and kid-friendly. I first learned of Trader Joes when we lived in Arizona many years ago and were fortunate enough to have one just a short walk from our house. The employees are always so helpful, there are free samples, mini shopping carts for Amelia, and she always leaves with a balloon and a sticker and a smile on her face (until her balloon pops on the way home). The Trader Joes in Old Town even has a stuffed animal named "Henry, the Old Town dog" which gets hidden somewhere in the store and if your child finds it, he gets a prize and gets to hide it for the next kid. Grocery shopping has never been so delightful (and tasty). Favorite purchase this week: Dark chocolate almonds.

3. Multigrain Tostitos. (Jill, I know you're with me on this one.) I realize that just because they are "multigrain" does not mean they are healthy. A chip is a chip. I wouldn't be surprised to see bottled water labeled multigrain these days. But these things are completely addictive.

4. XMU on XM Satellite radio. Great new music.

5. Phil and Teds strollers. No, I do not have one. Yes, I want one. It would solve all of my strolling needs. But would not help my budget.

Fireworks = Fun for All

We checked out more fireworks last night in Old Town Alexandria on the waterfront. It was a beautiful night and a lovely view of the fireworks above the water. The Alexandria Symphony provided the standard 1812 Overture, complete with cannons. The cannons caused a bit of a foul smell in the air, which did not go unnoticed by Amelia. She started to sniff her feet to see if she was the culprit.


Amelia was completely fascinated by Emma's clip-on princess earrings. Emma was kind enough to let Amelia wear one. Amelia also convinced us to buy her a glow-in-the-dark necklace (yes, Amelia is all-powerful).



Amelia's favorite thing is to climb on dad.