The Great Minnesota Get-Together!

On Sunday morning, mommies woke up really early and were trying to decide what to do for the day.  Mommy threw out the idea of going to the fair, and like that, we were up and out of bed and rushing out of the house to get there early enough to try to beat the crowds.

Mommy had only been once and Mama hadn't been to the fair in a long time, so I think they were both REALLY excited.

The fair was HUGE.  Bigger than either of them remembered.  We started by walking around and just trying to figure out what all we wanted to see.  The first ride we went on was some boat that went through dark tunnels.  We're not really sure what that was all about.  :)  After that, we made our way to the giant slide.  Following the slide, we headed to the butterfly exhibit, then to the Rainbow playsets.  (one of my favorite "exhibits")  :)  We finished up the day looking at some animals and finally making our way to all of the games.  We won a few prizes in the game area, but the biggest of all was when Mommy threw a tiny ring around a soda bottle and won me a HUGE giraffe.  We named him Bobby.  He's almost as tall as Mommies! 

All in all, it was a very fun day and I can't wait to go back next year!  (hopefully some time during the week - it gets CROWDED!!)

Me and Mommy on the big slide.



Looking a little nervous in this one.  It was faster than Mommy expected!

Posing.

Me and Mama in the butterfly exhibit.  Look at the butterfly on her shoulder!

Checking out the rainbow exhibit.

I'll take this one!

Much more fun (and less scary) than the big slide.

Strolling along with my bucket of Sweet Martha's cookies.

Mommy posing with Bobby after her big win!  (I'm in the background trying to throw a few rings myself)  :)

Bobby was too big to carry, so I shared my stroller with him.  I'm offering him a cookie in this one.

Reading to Bobby at home.

Giving Bobby a kiss.

Showing Bobby how we kiss the mouse when reading Goodnight Moon.

Big hug for Bobby!!

Night at the Cabin with the Nelsons!

On Friday night, we headed up to the cabin and invited the Nelsons to come with us.  We had a great time while we were there.  We got there pretty late on Friday afternoon, so we didn't have time to swim or do much on Friday, but me and Aftin and Bailee spent the evening getting comfortable with the cabin and eating bratwursts on the deck.  We all went to bed really easily which made the grown-ups happy.

I'm not sure what the grown-ups did while we were all sleeping, but they looked awfully tired the next morning.  :)  On Saturday, we swam in the lake for a while, then took naps while the parents cleaned up the cabin.  After that, we headed to Cumberland for the Rutabaga Festival.  It was a fun time with lots of rides and good food!

Unfortunately, mommies were terrible about remembering to take pictures at the cabin, so all they have is one of me walking up to the cabin (more like "running" - I was REALLY excited!!) and one of me (and they think Bailee?  Can't see her face in the picture) playing in the cabin.

So happy to be here!

Me and Bailee roaming around the cabin.

August Birthday Celebration at the Cabin!

Last Saturday we headed to the cabin to swim, eat and, most importantly, to celebrate August birthdays!  (for Grace (7), Lucy (5) and Ella (2))  We had SUCH a fun day.  I only napped for about 30 minutes on the way to the cabin, but that didn't slow me down.  The second we got there, I was a swimming and playing machine!  We swam for a couple of hours, then headed up to the cabin to eat lunch.  (thanks for grilling, Aunt Kelly!)  After lunch, we swam some more, then headed up to dry off, eat some cake and open presents.  After presents, while the adults were cleaning up, us kids ran around the yard and had fun with cousin Wayne.  I also found this old fishing pole on the ground and would dig it in the dirt, lift it up and scream "gaaaaah!", then start to giggle when all of my cousins would laugh.  Mommy was watching it and found the whole scene to be strange and hilarious all at the same time.  :) 

We left late in the afternoon, and I fell asleep in the car at around 6PM and proceeded to sleep until 8AM the next morning!  I barely even woke up for mommies to put me in my pajamas and put me to bed.  I guess that's the sign of a GREAT day!

Saying "cheese" for the camera!  :)

Testing out the water wings.

Lounging.

Hamming it up for the camera.

Me and my girl cousins getting ready for cake.  (they couldn't get a picture of all of us, so Leyton, Cal and Luca are missing in this one ... sorry boys!)

Roller Coaster Fun at Grandma & Grandpa's!

I spent the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa McNamara's yesterday, and after feeding the chickens and playing with my cousins Leyton and Cal, they pulled out the roller coaster for us.  After watching Leyton do the roller coaster once, I jumped right on and LOVED it!  Here's a video Mama made of me enjoying the roller coaster.

Horseback Riding at Pat & Teri's!!

On Saturday afternoon we headed over to Pat & Teri's to go horseback riding.  I had only ever ridden a pony, so this was such a treat for me!  My cousins Lauren, Ella and Luca came too.  (and Aunt Jessie and Grandma)  While we were there, we got to feed the chickens, pick eggs out in the chicken coop, feed treats to the horses, ride the horses, and we even went on a "jeep" ride on their jeep power wheel.  All in all, it was a fun, action-packed afternoon!!

Feeding the chickens.

Getting a lift from Uncle Pat while Lauren took her turn on the horse.

Riding with Lauren.

Holding the horse's hair to make it look like my ponytail!  :)

Riding with Ella and Lauren.

Tickled pink by my solo ride.

Feeding the horse.

Once I figured out how to give the horse snacks, there was no turning back.  Mommy eventually had to take the bag of treats away from me.

Me and Lauren looking "cool" with our ring pops in the jeep!  :)

My New Elmo PJ's!

In case you didn't already know, I'm pretty much obsessed with Elmo.  Knowing this, mommies recently found this pair of Elmo pajamas that they knew I had to have.  Ever since we got them, I've been trying to pick them out to wear them almost every night.  The pajamas make mommies laugh because they're the first button-down pj's I've had, and they say it looks like I'm going to bed in a business suit. 

Here are a couple of pictures they captured of me being cute and silly in my Elmo pj's!

Relaxing on my couch.

"Cooking" dinner and hamming it up for the camera in my new "suit".  :)

My New Cousin, Luca James

On Saturday, July 16, my newest cousin, Luca James Weimart made his grand appearance into the world.  Mama made it to the hospital in time for his birth, but me and Mommy stayed behind, so we went to visit him in Rice Lake a couple of days later once he was home.  He's an adorable little guy, and for the most part (under close supervision), I was pretty gentle with him.  I can't wait until he's old enough to play with us!

Mama and Luca.

Isn't he adorable?!!

First glimpse of my new cousin.

Showing Mama that I can touch him "gently".

Pointing out his nose.  I love finding people's noses!

Mommy and Luca.

Luca + our family!

Fun Friday at Mary's Park!

Given my current obsession with all parks, mommies have made it a point to take me as often as possible.  A couple of weeks ago, we spent our Friday evening at Mary's Park in New Richmond.  It's SUCH a fun park, and had it not been for the extreme heat, I could have stayed and played for hours!  And I'm not the only one who loves parks.  Mommy's usually right there with me trying everything out.  She claims she wants to make sure the slides aren't too hot, but that only explains the first time she goes down, not all of the other times!  :)

Sliding with Mommy and laughing about what the static is doing to our hair!

Merry-go-round.

Say cheese!

Exploring.

My New Desk

There are so many perks to having older cousins.  They teach you things.  They're fun to play with.  (in my cousin Grace's words, "Cousins are the funnest!"  Another perk is the hand-me-downs!  I really scored on my latest hand-me-down - a new desk!  I'm seriously obsessed wtih it.  I color there.  I play with my toy lap top there.  I read books on it.  I eat on it.  I sit on it.  I do pretty much everything at my desk these days.  Thanks, Mansells!!

Working on my latest masterpiece.



I wonder if I can get some better light for my work if I sit up here?

Abusing the desk in this one.  :)

St. Croix County Fair Continued...

Mommy's trying to catch up on my blog, so these next few are a little dated and maybe even a little out of order, but better late than never!  I had done a quick posting about the St. Croix County Fair a few weeks ago, but mommies finally uploaded the rest of the pictures from the camera, and there were some that were just too cute to not deserve their own blog post.

After going to the fair on Thursday as a "warm-up", we went back on Saturday with Mommy's friends Nathan and Veronica and had a blast.  I went on nearly all of the rides, sampled some great food and got to see and pet a lot of animals.  I also got to ride the ponies again, which was one of my favorite parts.  Can't wait to go again next year!!

Another pony ride - so fun!!



Riding one-handed.  Mommy's think I'm going to be a very adventurous one!  :)

Loving the ride.

Petting a mini horse.

Mommies were just glad the sculptor wasn't watching what I was doing....

Me and mommy on the mini car ride.

Riding along in my automobile...

Going on another ride with mommies.  This one pushed Mommy over the edge and she didn't feel too good after it.  I, of course, LOVED it!

Merry-go-round with Mama!

On the train all by myself!!

Such a big girl!

Mommy's friends posing for a picture!