Fair time

It's Calhoun County Expo time in Rockwell City!  I had no idea something as simple as a small time county fair could be so much fun with a 2 year old. At that age, everything is so new and exciting.

We started our evening off with the BBQ at 5:30.  Hayden chowed down on BBQ pork, Cheetos and baked beans.  How fun to be covered in BBQ goodness :)  Last year Hayden was too short to go on any of the rides so we were so happy that she was big enough to go this year.  She liked the swings that went round and round then we checked out the moon walk.  She LOVED it!  She was the only one in there and she bounced around on her knees, threw herself down, and bounced around all over.  I don't know what she liked more...the bounciness or the fact that she could scream and it sounded really cool :)  It was hard to get her out of there but we did eventually tear her away from it and we headed over to the giant inflatable slides. Now...these things are HUGE!  There's nothing but a ramp with some plastic pieces every foot or so to act as a ladder.  I wasn't sure what she would do but she climbed right up there and didn't even need my help :)  She plopped herself right down on the top of the slide and took off.  My baby girl has NO FEAR! :)  The guy at the slide was really nice.  We gave him a few tickets but he let her go down as many times as she wanted...which was over and over and over again :)  I guess it pays to go to a small town carnival where there's hardly anybody there.

Kyle and I had a wonderful time just watching her play and have fun on the rides.  I figure we have to have fun with it now before we have more kids and can't afford to spoil them with a bunch of ride tickets :)  She was laughing and giggling, running around, playing and just so excited about everything.  Life in the eyes of a two year old is so simple and carefree.  I think we adults can take lessons once in a while.

Moon walk

Going down the slide all by herself :)

Then came the rodeo.  Such excitement! Hayden loves animals, especially horses and cows.  In the beginning of the rodeo we watched the ropers.  She had a lot of fun watching the horses chase the cows and the cowboys tie them up.  Every time the cowboy tied up the calf and she saw it just laying there on the ground she would say, "Uh oh, what happened?"  It was so cute how she was so concerned about the calf :)  She had fun watching all the events, although toward the end it was getting a little long for her.  She did great though and sat very well through everything. 

After the rodeo there was a fireworks show.  Hayden LOVES fireworks.  She is completely enthralled with everything about it.  It was just a short, small show which was fine.  At that point it was almost 10pm; WAY past bedtime.  She did so great though.  She is just so happy to be around people and have things going on that she behaves so well.  After the fireworks we hoped back on our bikes and headed home.  It was a beautiful night for a bike ride (don't worry, we stayed in the lit streets) and the whole family enjoyed every minute of it.

We are so blessed to be/have been a part of this town.  It's nice to be able to go to the fair and rodeo events and see people we know everywhere.  Small towns are wonderful for getting to know people and feel like you have friends around every corner.  We are going to miss all the friends we have here...but we are moving to another small town where, hopefully, we will have that feeling again very soon. 

Just a little blurb on our house situation....our financing has officially gone through! We are scheduled to close on July 22 and we are so excited.  God has provided us with the perfect house.  We can see through so many situations how He is protecting us and looking out for us.  There was some damage done to the roof in a storm earlier this summer so the current owners insurance company is paying for a new roof.  We will actually get the money from them and will be able to choose the style and put it on ourselves.  It's so fun when we can do such a big improvement and not have to pay for it :)  A few weeks ago our realtor emailed us and said that a big rain storm went through the area and dropped about 5 in of rain in under 2 hours.  Several of their homes had 1-2 feet of water in the basements!  That statement really scared us but she want on to say that she checked out our house and there's not a drop of water in the basement!  Praise the Lord! It's so wonderful to know that we have a sound home that will hold up to a torrential downpour like that.  It definitely gives is peace of mind.

We are planning to move on July 30 which is coming up in 3 weeks! It's going by quickly.  There is still lots to do...but we have to take time to enjoy life too.  Things like the fair and rodeo keep us sane in these busy times.  Hope you all enjoy your summer, and don't forget to have some fun!