Clackamas County Fair - August 2010

Every year, Canby Community Preschool has a float in the Kiddie Kaper Parade that kicks off the Clackamas County Fair.  Last year we had just joined the school, so we didn't participate.  Since I am on the school's executive board this year, I decided to take the kids...despite the fact that I had VERTIGO!  I had just been to the doctor the day before and was on drugs, but we made it there safe and sound.  WHEW!

If you participate in the parade, you get into the fair for free that day (before 1pm).  Since it was a Tuesday and Chris was working from home, he took off from work early and we walked to the fair!  To my surprise, the kids had a BLAST!  I wasn't sure how many rides there would be that they could ride on by themselves, and the last time we went to Oaks Park, Sienna wasn't really enjoying most of the rides.  Luckily, we got quite the deal on the tickets for the rides.  Before 3pm, you could buy a "pass" that allowed you to ride on 7 rides for $15!  If I remember correctly, that was about 50% off the normal cost of 7 rides.  So, we bought the kids each a pass and let them go on as many rides as they could.  Because they went on a few rides that took less tickets than others, we actually got a few extra rides out of our "pass".

Sienna is scared of roller coasters, so brave little Brayden went all by himself!  If you enlarge the pictures (click on them), you'll see just how much fun he was having!

WHEEEEE!!!!

Brayden had so much fun that he wanted to go again!  Sienna decided she wanted to try it, but, as you can see by the look on her face, she wasn't having nearly as much fun as Brayden! ha!

Brayden even tried comforting her during the ride...he's the best big brother!!!  I didn't get a picture of it, but during the last few seconds of the ride, Sienna actually started to enjoy herself and even had a smile on her face!  Of course, when we asked her if she wanted to go again, she quickly said "no"!

One of the rides/games the kids did was a hammer game.  No matter whether you hit the hammer hard enough to ring the bell, you got to pick a prize.  The kids came home and were hitting everything in site! Unfortunately, Sienna's doesn't hold air for long, but Brayden's is still going strong (3 months later)!

I had such a fun day at the fair.  I'm not really a big "fair" person, but watching my babies go on all of those rides by themselves was so much fun!  Next year will be the last year that we can get into the fair for free (it will be the last year we'll be at the preschool), so I hope that we'll be able to enjoy another fun day at the fair for less than $30!

Random September Fun!

The kids love "help" Daddy mow the lawn.  We might need to invest in a 2nd bubble mower next year so they both can "help" at the same time!

Thanks to 40% off coupons from Joann's Fabric and Michael's Craft Stores, we have been having lots of fun doing science experiments!  This experiment was all about colors and growing crystals.

After we completed all of the experiments, the kids had fun making their own experiments with the eye droppers. 

The kids were entertained for HOURS and HOURS!  It was well worth the $9 it cost for the kit.  And, we still have all of the eye droppers, bowls and test tubes.  After we ran out of the color tablets, we switched to regular food coloring, which was almost as much fun!

The kids are also good helpers in the kitchen...they took turns stirring the marshmallows (we were making rice crispies) and spinning the lettuce in the salad spinner!

Sienna was just barely tall enough...

Stephanie Klein Photography!

Here are a few of the pictures we had taken by Stephanie Klein Photography last month!  I wish the kids would smile better for pictures, but what can ya do???

Loon Lake - Spokane, WA

Back in August (yes, that's right..we are still doing August pictures!!), we headed to Loon Lake with Chris' family. His grandma owns a cabin on the lake and the last time Chris and I were there, Brayden was only 9 months old!

The view from the back patio! AMAZING!!! Here is the view of the cabin from the dock. Brayden loved sitting on the big yellow "lifeguard" bench!

Brayden and Sienna playing in the lake and sand with their cousin, Jack.

Chris, Brayden, Sienna and Cousin Brian decided to check out the row-boat! Although, Brian got bored quickly and ended up jumping out of the boat and swimming back to shore, leaving Chris to do all of the rowing!

Sienna wasn't too excited about the lack of warm lake water! I couldn't agree more...the water was FREEZING!

Brayden adores his cousin, Jack...he follows him everywhere, even if that means into the freezing cold lake!

We brought the kids' bikes, but their training wheels didn't do so well on the gravel road. So, they were stuck riding in circles in the driveway...

We hope to be able to go again next year...maybe the summer weather will be better and the lake water will actually be on the warmer side!

Random August Fun!

I'm back!!! Well, I wasn't really "gone", but I have certainly been busy! I thought I should try to catch up on the blog. Today I'm posting some random August pictures!

Brayden trying to "blast" me with his Nerf Shooter! I just love the look on his face. Boy, it is so crazy to see how much he's changed just since August!!!
Sienna and Daddy love to make snickerdoodle cookies together! Can you tell which cookies Sienna made?!?!?

In August, we met some school friends at the Oregon City Water Park. Across the baseball field was also a very cool playground. The kids were in heaven!

Sienna didn't like it when Brayden tried to get her with his water shooter!

Brayden actually ran into the water to pick up the cups they were playing with...I was impressed! Before they started swim lessons, he never would have even thought about rescuing the cups!

I turned 34 in August...how did that happen??? Right before Chris and I headed to downtown Bend for the night, I got a cute birthday picture with my kiddos!

My birthday dinner at Bourbon Street (Bend, OR). We had never been there before, but we were pleasantly surprised. :)

Next Up: Loon Lake (Spokane, WA) & Clackamas County Fair pictures!!!