A playdate with Mommaw

Since the rain was pretty persistent during the fair, we spent a good bit of our time indoors. I found it very challenging to keep my kids entertained in a house that is not exactly kid proof. It has been decades since small children have routinely stayed at their house, so Caroline and Will are constantly finding things left around Mommaw and Pappaw's house that their little hands probably shouldn't touch. Though she may not can move around without help, my grandmother does a great job of letting me know when the kids are into something. She is also a good sport in helping them babysit their dolls and playing tea party. I cannot imagine my life without this wonderful lady and I'm so glad my kids can enjoy playing with her too!

Let's go for a hayride

One of the best things about the fair is getting to see family and friends from out of town. This year was no different as we got to spend the weekend with Susan, Andrew and Brianna (aka..."The Twins") and Stephanie. On Sunday during the fair, we had originally planned to take our fun cousins who were visiting from Tennessee and Georgia to Geyser Falls. But, the storm clouds kept us away...as it continued to do for the most part of the week I am saddened to say. So, instead of sitting around and doing nothing, we decided to get Ol' Red out of the shed, fill him up with hay and take a hayride around the farm.
Caroline and Will couldn't decided if they would rather sit in the back or ride in the little bucket seats in the extended cab that were the perfect size for them. It didn't take them long to make a game out of sticking their heads out the rear window.I think everyone really enjoyed our little outing except for maybe Matt. There were a few too many sticker bushes along the trail that ended up scratching his precious sidekick. At one point, I looked at him before we went through a gate and he said, "If we didn't have a truck full of out of town guests and it was just us, I'd turn Ol' Red around right now." Instead, he was a trooper and Ol' Red officially became a farm truck with a few scratches from the farm.

Rain, rain, go away!

On Wednesday night of the Fair Mecie and I decided to stay at Uncle Randy and Aunt Sharon's fair cabin with Hunter, Helen and Caroline. Since Pop and Mimi volunteered to keep Will it seemed like the perfect opportunity to let Caroline truly experience the fair. Unfortunately, it rained most of the afternoon and evening, but we didn't let that spoil our fair fun. Instead, the kids put on their rain boots and had a blast playing in the rain and puddles.Thankfully, the rain finally let up around 9:30pm, so we made a mad dash to the midway for a few rides and fair food. Since most responsible parents put their kids to bed at a reasonable hour, the midway was ours for the taking...no lines and plenty to ride. After we had our fill of the midway, we headed to see Class Reunion at the pavilion. While Hunter and Mecie decided to sit back and just take it all in, the girls and I went up front and did a little dancing. Since we worked up an appetite from dancing, we decided to get a funnel cake and some cotton candy on the way back to the cabin. Believe it or not, the kids were undeterred by all the sugar, and we were all in bed by midnight! That is a record for me because I never dreamed of going to bed at midnight all the other times I stayed at the fair. Heck, when we were getting ready for bed, we accidentally woke Josh up from his nap...he thanked us kindly and informed us that our little wake up call was just in time for him to get in on the night action at the Fair.

I wish I could say that we all slept in the following morning, but when you are in the company of a prize winning cow handler, you must get up at the crack of dawn. Yes, we all got up bright and early Thursday morning so that we could cheer Hunter on as he showed his first calf. Now don't think for a minute that having a late night at the Fair affected his performance...no, he won a blue ribbon for showmanship in the cow show. Way to go, little man!
I should probably mention that getting up early in the company of a Deweese man is always a real treat. My Pappaw and Mommaw Deweese taught both of their boys how to make biscuits that make you want to "slap yo' momma". Uncle Randy did not let us down, because hot biscuits were coming out of the stove when we made it down the stairs. This was another treat for me because in years past, I got up too late and the biscuits were usually gone.
I didn't know that so many activities went on during the morning hours of the fair, because we also got to see Uncle A play the drums at the pavilion before Home Town Pride day got kicked off. This year he is the lead drummer and from the sounds of things, he's got his drum section under control. The kids and I are already looking forward to seeing him march once football season rolls around!

Once all the festivities were over, the kiddos began to meltdown quickly. So, we ate a quick lunch and headed back to Mommaw and Pappaw's for a good afternoon nap! When I asked Caroline what she thought about her night at the Fair, she smiled and said she was ready to go again. And if you are wondering what her favorite part of the night was...well, sleeping on the top bunk bed in our own little room with Hunter, Helen and Mecie in the bunk below us of course! Caroline and I would both like to thank Uncle Randy and Aunt Sharon for their hospitality and letting us stay at their cabin. We'd also like to thank Pop and Mimi for taking care of our little Demolition Man so that we could have a night to our selves!

Ride 'em cowboys!

It has become somewhat a tradition over the past few years that my Dad's side of the family go to the Saturday night rodeo at the Fair. This year I even made Caroline an outfit just for the occasion. After borrowing Abby's boots, she was all "cowgirled" up and ready to watch some cowboys in action with her favorite cousins! The kids all love the rodeo, so it is not hard to keep them still...well, assuming that the rodeo starts on time and is not delayed like it was this year. Not to worry, though, because Will the Thrill kept us entertained. He even impressed the other spectators around us so that they asked to take pictures of him. He obliged and smiled for the camera even though we didn't know them. Of course the rodeo isn't complete without some Lindsey's lemonade and a corn dog. Notice that Caroline kept a close eye on Pop as she shared her coveted lemonade with him.
Heck, even the smallest members of our family like the sweet and sour taste of that addictive stuff!As expected, the rodeo was everything we hoped it to be...cute cowboys (especially the pickup man named Josh), the clown was funny, and the food was tasty. No wonder this is one of our favorite things to do at the Fair!

Photo session

On Friday night, Tamah and I decided to take advantage of Pop and Mimi's beautiful country setting, so we dressed the kids up and took some photos. While my pictures turned out okay, master photographer Tamah's were better. Hopefully I'll get my hands on them soon. In the meantime, here are a few I took:

"Faired" Out

The kids and I spent the last week at Mommaw and Pappaw's house so that we could enjoy the Neshoba County Fair, aka Mississippi's Giant Houseparty. We had a blast, but needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we returned home this weekend. We spent time with lots of family we haven't seen in a while, so I have tons of pictures to post. But...considering the massive amount of laundry I have to sort through...that is soiled with red clay I might add... it may take a few days to play catch up. Until then...

He did it!

I am proud to report that my man finished the Heart of Dixie Triathlon! Over the last few years he's been spouting at the mouth that he would do it at some point and this year was the year. Of course, our luck isn't the greatest and the night before the big day his tire blew. He came inside and said, "You are not going to believe this. My tire just blew." I responded, "Yeah, right. You're doing this triathlon so don't try to weasel out of it with an excuse." To which he said, "No, really...I blew a tire and I don't know what I'm going to do." The circumstances: we were staying the night at Pop and Mimi's, it was about 10pm, the race starts at 6:30am the next morning and he didn't have a backup tire (note to self: never, ever not have a backup tire). I thought to myself, seriously...could this be happening...he has trained all summer for this thing and he might not even be able to finish it? Thankfully, the kids and I got him a tire repair kit (meant for flats on the road...not for big fixes before a big race) for Father's Day. Another blessing was our friend Danny. The Whites were staying at Pop and Mimi's with us so that Danny could do the triathlon too, so it was a major blessing that he could help Matt repair his tire. The guys figured that if the tire stayed inflated through the night, Matt might be able to make it through the race okay.

Well, none of us really slept well the night before the race...the guys were a little nervous about the oh so long race they were about to complete and hoping not to oversleep, while I was concerned about Matt blowing the tire on the highway. I figured if he made it through the bike portion, my cheap little Father's Day present would be the best gift he ever received. When we woke up, the tire was still fully inflated so off to Louisville they went.The girls, Tamah and I got up at the crack of dawn too in order to cheer our guys on as they entered Lake Tiak O'khata. The kids made the cutest little signs, so we wanted to be sure to show our support.
Once the guys finished the swim, we hopped in the car to head to Philly in hopes to see them bike. Since traffic was slow, it took us a while to get to the bike/run transition and I was so relieved to see Matt's bike already in the bike rack which meant had made it through the bike ride successfully. Never mind that his tire was now completely flat...he had made it through with a little help from above, I'm certain!

We then made our way to Pappaw and Mommaw's house to join the rest of the cheering squad to await for Matt and Danny to run by as we sat on the sidelines eating donuts, breakfast casserole, pigs in a blanket and lots of caffeine.After we filled our bellies and both of them had passed by, we headed to the finish line. I am so proud of Matt and thank the Good Lord for keeping him safe throughout the race...but especially on that faulty tire. I'm also glad we got to share this fun day with our good friends...Danny, Tamah and Abby.I must admit that a part of me hoped that once he completed the 1/2 mile swim, 27.5 mile bike, and 7 mile run that his triathlon fix would be over, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Instead, he's already planning for next year!