How much money does it take to have fun at the fair?

No, I'm not really going to document how much money we spent this past Saturday at the fair. All I will say though, is when we explained to our oldest son how much money we spent, he was amazed. Then he offered to bring his money the next time we went so that it wouldn't be so expensive for us. That last bit was one of those unexpected moments that you live for as a parent. Seeing your child begin to appreciate what you do and want to contribute toward time as a family really makes the amount of money we spent seem worth it. It still was a boat load of money though!!

Enough of the economics of the fair and on to the fun!!
This being our second year going to the fair, we can officially say that stopping at the frozen lemonade stand first thing has become a tradition!

Then we are off to the animals. Our youngest was amazed at these huge creatures. Now, being from Wisconsin, lovingly known as America's Dairyland, you might think I know a thing or two about cows...and you would be mistaken.

We didn't spend much time with the animals though as our oldest seems to have an overly sensitive nose.

The next logical step was to the games!



Last year the Big Guy Lowe won one of these--with just one shot!

This year we were happy with a pint-size alligator and a banana-man! Go figure! After games, we headed to the rides! Our littlest guy took advantage of the ticket line for some snuggle time. He is proving to be wise in his use of time!

One of the first rides conquered by the Lowe family came in the form of The Zillerator! Does that strike fear into your hearts like it did to the heart of our oldest son? The Big Guy Lowe provided the consistent courage and reassurement for him while they stood in line. Even with that we weren't sure if he was actually going to get on.

He did! They boarded,

they rode,

they celebrated! You've just got to love what each of their "thumbs up" communicated after they finished the ride! Our oldest actually did say that he had fun on the ride...a few rides later.

Next, our middle son and I got to ride the swings! Yahoo!!


After another ride,

and another ride,

and yet another ride,

we decided it was time for some fair food! Both the Big Guy Lowe and I were excited about these tasty morsels of goodness that can only be had at a fair. If you look closely at that handsome man's face you might see what we actually thought after eating...hmmmm.

Our last hurrah was stopping by the fresh fruit stand on our way back to the car and enjoying watermelon and mango all together!

While "boat-load of money" is no exaggeration, as a family we did have a great afternoon with lots of fun memories to laugh about and remember. So nice...

Houston, we've got a walker!

This week has been the turning point. Up until now, our littlest guy has taken one unassisted step here and there, but this week he decided to start venturing out into the great unknown. These three pictures show some of his first few steps! In just a few days he has gained confidence and balance! YAHOO!!

More Lowes at the creek

We were pleasantly surprised this week when Aunt Christina arrived in town. We decided to have our Family Home Evening(FHE*) activity down at the creek. The boys were thrilled to have Grammie Lowe and Aunt Christina there to share in the fun!



In celebration of our new "creek guests", the Big Guy Lowe and our oldest son caught 11 live crawdads--a new creek record(for us, that is)!! I specify catching live crawdads because the unfortunate dead crustaceans don't offer much of a challenge!

I would love to know what our second son was thinking when these pictures were taken. This was the first time he ever held a crawdad by himself!


After a nice time at the creek it was time to head home. Our youngest lead the way in style!


Once again, a wonderful time at the creek!

*For those of you not familiar with Family Home Evening(FHE), here's a brief explanation--We believe that families are extremely important! In our church we dedicate one night a week, generally monday night, where we focus on our family by sharing Christ centered mini-lessons and fun family activities--all with the goal of strengthening our family. I can remember having FHEs as a little girl growing up too!! I hope my kids will be able to say that when they are parents someday too...

The Coast!

This year has been a busy time for our family. Busy with many responsibilities that have kept us close to home. While not bad at all, it is nice to get out every once in awhile and see what lies beyond the horizon. We decided to go exploring yesterday out to the coast. Because we invited Grammy Lowe to come with us the boys got to experience riding in the car in different formation!
While pretty excited about that, they were more excited when they saw Grammy Lowe leaving her house to join us! See Grammy--good choice to come if only to see the boys faces happy to have you with us!

The first beach we went to was "Road's End". We were all excited to get to the surf!

Did I mention that the wind was blowing like a mad man and that the temperature was in the low 60s? Yes, cold but wonderful day at the beach! Things like that have never stopped our oldest from experiencing life to the fullest! I love his intensity in life and am so grateful it rubs off on me at times!

Our youngest was not so easily entertained!

Gratefully, he was appeased with some Big Guy Lowe snuggle time. That generally works for me too!

After a nice lunch we headed south to check out other coastal areas. We pulled off 101 just before Depot Bay. Bundled up in our jackets we staged a family photo!

Then we overheard some people talking about whales. We started looking, and sure enough, we saw them too! First the water shooting up from the blow hole...

then again,

and finally, just enough of the back to know we weren't just seeing things!

We were all pretty excited to see the whales, but we also enjoyed being mesmerized by the beautiful ocean. There's just something about being by water that calms the soul.

That is good, because we had a long drive ahead of us. To make leaving the coast a little easier, we stopped for some great ice cream.

Sorry, no pictures of us eating; the photographer was busy enjoying her ice cream too!

Oh what do you do in the summer time...

This past week was a scorcher! Multiple days over 100 degrees isn't normal for the pacific northwest, but we made the best of it! Knowing that my brother and his family just moved to Arizona where the temperature has been well over 115 degrees made this week seem like a cool breeze, kind of. But what do we do when it's summer, warm and wonderful outside?? YES! We go to the creek!!

No longer do we go to the newt pond. We decided the last time we were there that if we couldn't see the water because it was completely covered by any type of vegetative growth, it wasn't okay for us to be murking around in it. Boy was I relieved when our oldest agreed without complaint!

With the seasonal change into deep summer, our focus has changed also. We no longer catch newts, er, salamanders, but go for CRAWDADS! The Big Guy Lowe and our oldest son are the hunters!

Our middle son's job was to tend the crawdads without hurting them or letting them go.

He was also our official snail hunter.


Our youngest son was the morale booster when the crawdads were elusive,


the camp manager when food/treats were needed,

and the general overseer of the entire trip.

He did a great job as everyone filled their responsibilities to their fullest!


The hunters caught 9 live crawdads that day (and a few that were not so alive), three fish and more snails than I cared to count!

At the end of our trip, all of them were released back to their homes.


We had to go back soon though to make sure the skills of our oldest son were staying in peak condition. Enter our good friends the Crumb Crunchers! Whenever we are in need of friends, the crunchers come through. Our memories of the creek will always be laced with fun times and this family!

Who wouldn't like a girl that isn't afraid to do more than get a toe wet on a hot day?

Now, this is a picture from a past creek trip, but I just remembered it and had to include it! Friends that can get dirty without hesitation. Dear to our hearts!

Our oldest was grateful for a young apprentice and the chance to have help catching more crawdads. I believe they caught four that day! Plenty of reason for a celebratory swim! Ahhhh summer!