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Minnesota State Fair 2018

We tried to soak up as much fun as we could this last week of summer. On Friday night, the kids decided to build a fort in the family room. They had grand plans of sleeping there overnight, and both Scott and I squashed their fun and gave them until 10pm to enjoy the fort before bedtime.



I ended up going out with a friend on Friday night, so I asked Ava to wake up Scott at 10pm, so they could be tucked into bed safely. Sure enough, our first born followed the directions and woke him up, right on time, so they could be shuttled off to bed! What a good kid! And they loved the fort while it was available!

Saturday was spent doing chores around the house and then out for a nice family dinner (I think we were all too lazy to cook, truth be told...) I finally had the time off/nice weather combo to clean our deck furniture...when we got our deck re-surfaced a few weeks ago, there was a bunch of cedar fuzz that adhered itself to our furniture, and it was driving me nuts. Now, it's all nice and clean, and looks great on the finished deck!

During breakfast on Saturday morning, we heard a loud pop, and then glass shards flew everywhere...the light bulb above our table popped! No one was hurt, but it scared us, and resulted in a very thorough vacuuming of the entire area to make sure all glass was picked up. We have also switched to LED bulbs in that light fixture, so this shouldn't happen again.


G entertained me while I was cleaning patio furniture


Sunday morning we met up with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Doug, and took the 1st bus into the Minnesota State Fair. G absolutely loved the bus ride...it was his top highlight of the entire day... This was the kiddos' first time at the fair, and we had prepped them telling them it would be lots of walking, people, eating, and a few fun rides.

Ava did a fantastic job...she was very patient, and was willing to try new foods. G, however, was a disaster. He had some very good moments, and a few really bad ones where he was yelling, hitting, crying, and having overall meltdowns about everything. We had a really good trip to the fair, except for when G made it miserable. I'm not sure we'll bring him back next year, honestly.

It poured while we were in the DNR building, so we spent some extra time enjoying the exhibits there!



G chose to ride Bumper Boats in the Kidway...totally fun!



Ava chose to ride on the Swings - great choice!!



We were a bit scattered this year, and didn't even make it down to see the animals, the global bizarre, or the radio station both that we listen to on my drive into work (that was one of Ava's requests at the fair...) We also missed out on some key foods, as well, so next year, we need to have a plan. We kept walking up and down the same streets, and continually forgot things along the way. And we didn't even have that much beer!

Oh well...now that the State Fair is checked off the list, I guess that means that school really does start tomorrow. Ava's SO ready to go back and see her friends. G moves into the K-Prep classroom tomorrow, and he's super excited, although he will miss his teacher. I'm excited to have structure back in our lives, and to have Ava be just down the street at her school instead of having to haul her to the north side of Eagan each day (for summer care.)

Scott surprised me with these lovely flowers on Sunday night...clearly he could see how badly the State Fair trip stressed me out...



For the last several years, we've celebrated Labor Day with our neighbors...they host a root-beer float gathering at their house, and we love it! It's a great way to spend a fun afternoon before the school year sets in.

Happy 1st Day of School!

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