Back in September, we took the family to the Clay County Fair (that's Clay County, IA). Apparently it's kind of a big deal. It's supposed to be the biggest county fair in the world and is certainly supposed to rival the state fair. It's such a big deal that the school gives the kids a day off so they can go. Anyway, this picture is of our one fair food this year: poutine. If you're not Canadian, you may not have heard of this delicacy. It's fries and cheese curds covered in gravy. It may not sound all that appetizing but trust me, it's delicious. We were pretty excited when we saw the booth.
We went and wandered the fair for an afternoon. We saw some cattle and hogs. We watched a calf roping competition for a while (the kids found that pretty interesting). We spent a large chunk of time at the huge model train exhibit. We even watched a live bear show. We ended our day with everyone (except Albert) getting to go on a ride. Elias chose the carousel. And the bigger two chose the swings. Asher looked so tiny sitting in that chair, but seemed to enjoy the experience (for the most part).
We went on a biking trip through Okoboji (a vacation spot about an hour north of Albert City). We biked and biked and then went out for dinner. After dinner we all shared a milk shake. I was spooning the very last of it out and Albert thought every bite was for him. He followed every spoonful with his mouth wide open.
Albert can fit through the legs of our kitchen peninsula (which we've/I've named Stanley, for future reference).
Elias had a visitor while he was in the hospital. He was pretty excited to see Colin and to watch the movie Cars with him. "Tolin" is his favorite.
We went to Estes Park for the Midwest Conference Pastors' Retreat. While we were there, we saw these elk wandering through the grounds of the resort.
Elias was super tired on our trip (as we all were; apparently 6 people in one hotel room isn't super restful). He fell asleep in the dining hall during dinner and was out cold for a good 30 minutes.
Albert got stuck in a sea of leaves.
Smiley face.
We went to Twin Lakes Bible Camp for their Pumpkin Fest. Twin Lakes is only about 45 minutes away and has a lot of ties with our church. It was our first time there to see the grounds and meet some of the staff.
The kids were all hooked on the trampoline they had at Twin Lakes. I don't know if you can see him, but this is Elias jumping with all his might.
And then Asher.
And then Addilyn. The kids were in their happy place. They also got to go on a zip line, jump in a huge bouncy house, and play in a corn maze. Albert loved their big tunnel. It was short enough that all the other kids had to stoop or crawl but he could just run right through. Big fun!
The school's Halloween costume parade.
We went to Kansas for Thanksgiving. It was very cold when we left.
Our van does this whenever it's really cold out. It doesn't really matter how hard you have the blowers on, it will still fog over (and if it's super cold, then freeze). It makes trips extra fun.
We went to my uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner and then on to Clay Center. On Friday we saw all the sights including the playground. I think we have a similar picture of Asher in this same jacket riding one of these horses. Good times.
Asher tried his first ever Tasty Pastry donut. If you read labels carefully, you'll see that at least a few of them are egg-free. Yippee!
On Saturday after Thanksgiving, we went to a Kansas State game with my parents. Here we were tailgating in a field. That trailer (not ours') made a really handy table.
All excited for their first (for all but Addilyn) K-State football game!!
I need to pay more attention to the game.
Chilling with Grandpa.
This picture is completely out of order. It was from a trip to Kansas City back in October. I think it will reappear at some point in the future as an invite to some sort of support group. "Got a monkey on your back?"
