County Fair

Of all the activities we try to squeeze into the too-few weeks of summer, going to the fair is always one of our favorites. This year things seemed to be extra busy or summer was extra short because we some how missed both of the weeks of the carnival in Mt. Airy. Thankfully the Howard County Fair ( just a few miles down the road) was late in season so we didn't miss out completely. We had never been to this fair so we weren't sure what to expect, but now that we've been I can definitely say it didn't disappoint. 

The fair is one place that I just can't help but take lots of pictures. The colorful backdrops, the adorable and elated children, the perfect summer evening weather and the nostalgia of the event  is too much to not go a little paparazzi on everyone.

The kids were so excited to get there, but less excited when we realized I had forgot to stop at the bank for cash and we had to wait for Sam to meet us.

This was Harlow's first trip to the fair. She may not have known what was in there, but she knew she wanted to find out.

First stop--farm life of course.

Once Sam got there we moved right on to the rides.

First ride of the night. Reed loving it, Max looking like he he might loose his lunch.

They both claimed to love it, but in the picture below they seem to display that love a little diferently.

Ruby was so excited to be one of the "brave big kids" this time. She jumped right on without any hesitation, however if you look in the picture with Sam below there seems to be a terrified little girl hiding under that hat.

..but she survived.

And boy was she proud!

After that she was unstoppable and wanted to go on all the rides that the boys did. She was almost tall enough for all of the rides too. This is her stretching tall before she is measured for the next ride.

I guess her stretching worked because they let her on even though I'm pretty sure she wasn't quite tall enough.

Ruby was thrilled, but someone else was not happy at all about being left out...again.

This used to be one of my most favorite rides as a kid so it was extra fun to see the kids enjoying it so much. Sam would have happily let me take his place, but sadly rides and I don't mix very well anymore. I get super dizzy and sick on just about anything. I wasn't sure if this would have done it but I didn't wait until I was strapped into a swing with no way out to find out.

For the next ride Harlow thought just hopping in line like everyone else would be her ticket on.

No luck for Harlow, but the other kids had a blast on Starship 4000.

Max passed on the dragon swing (I'm with you Max...I've always wanted to pass on that ride.) Watching Reed and Ruby ride together was the cutest thing.

Max looked a little sad, but I don't think he regreted his decision.

Harlow was getting a little impatient, so Sam gave her a ride of her own.

That girl is a thrill seeker for sure.

Seeing them hand in hand is the best.

The girls and I took a quick detour to the "kiddie" rides. I thought I could handle the baby teacups. I thought wrong. 

I was fine until Ruby started spining us, then Harlow and I were both a little concerned.

I love how these kiddos hang together.

I gave up trying to keep Harlow out of the gravel while we were there. It was hard for her to see her siblings hop on ride after ride while she stayed behind so we decided to let her play in the gravel and trade a sad girl for a dirty one.

She always wins the sunglasses battle with me.

And this is why I never buy sunglasses that cost more than $10.

A rare photo of just Sam, Harlow and I. I never turn someone down who offers take a "family photo". Little did they know that we were three short.

Our other three were spinning themselves silly on Starship 4000--again. Despite these photos it was their favorite ride of the night and ended up going on it two more times after this.

Here are the boys trying to punch each other in the stomach to see who actually felt the queasiest after the ride.

I don't know if it was the woozyness or the evening hunger that was getting her, but we had a moment of Ruby like this. Thankfully it didn't last long and we decided it might be time for a little funnel cake and lemonade.

Everyone was happy about that.

It's absolutely ridiculous what they can charge for food when you are trapped inside the fair gates. We opted to share one funnel cake and a lemonade. I think everything was devoured within a few minutes.

This family photo was a little more  like it.

After our very quick snack I insisted that we run over and check out the pig races. It didn't take much convincing to get everyone excited about that plan. Who doesn't love a good pig race?

By the time the races were over it was getting late with time for one more ride. The boys and Sam headed for Starship 4000 (again!!)  and the girls and I headed for the carousel.

It was Harlow's first time, but that didn't make her any more willing to let me hold her on the ride. She's a pretty independent gal.

We still had three tickets left so the girls and I wrapped up our rides on a small dumbo-esq ride that had me feeling like I was going to throw up the whole time. I seriously had to pray my whole way through the ride to avoid panicking.

It was a wonderful evening that unfortunately culminated with my phone dying and Sam losing his phone. We hadn't come up with a meeting strategy that didn't involve phones so it was two frustrating hours later that we were able to leave (thankfully and miraculously with Sam's phone.) In the end the miracle of Sam finding his phone (in one of the crevices of none other than Starship 4000!) along with the miracle of finally finding each other overshadowed the difficulty that preceded it. Even with our later-than-planned departure, I think it turned out to be just right.

Hard Things

As a mother, one of the things that I have tried to emphasize in our family is that "We do hard things". I really feel like having an attitude of perseverance is so important in overcoming life's challenges and allowing us to fulfill our potential so we've done our best to start making it a mantra in our home.  Talking about doing hard things is actually quite easy, however doing them it something else. Back at the beginning of this year we (yes, we) had the chance to not just talk the talk, but do some of that "hard things" walking as well.   

After a challenging, but in the end successful, first year of football last fall we decided we would give spring indoor football a try as well to hone and strengthen some of the skills the boys had recently acquired. It seemed like a logical plan at the time, however it only took one practice to realize we had made some major miscalculations. What we hadn't realized was that indoor football really is a different sport. It's much more fast passed, aggressive and skill player heavy. On top of those fine facts was the discovery that because indoor football is a much smaller program it included some of the best, most skilled and aggressive boys from the three nearby programs. Add in some absolutely frigid temperatures during practices and it didn't take long for Reed to feel over his  head. And it wasn't just Reed who was struggling, Sam and I were too. I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten us into and wondered if we should get out. Now, I've NEVER been a quitter---it's not something I ever like to consider, but at the time I felt we had to consider it--so we did. We had discussions  (waaaay too many) and weighed the pros and cons and in the end we decided that "We do hard things" had to be more than just a manta in our family, it had to be how we lived our lives--so that is just what we did. We did the hard thing and Reed stuck with it.  

I was proud of Reed for what he was able to do accomplish physically and emotionally outside of his comfort zone, however one of the most surprising discoveries I made was realizing how hard it was for me. As much as I want my kids to push themselves outside their comfort zones, as a parent  it's so much easier to watch them shine in something they already excel at. There were definitely times that I wanted to save us all from this experience, but in the end I'm so glad that I didn't.

Here are some pictures from the last day of practice. You can tell it's from the end of the season because the sun is actually making an appearance and we are not all bundled up in coats in blankets. It was a happy day for all of us.

Tackling drills. Being able to practice with these more experience players was a great opportunity for Reed  and he really improved throughout the season.

The not very spectating spectators. Max started the season as well, but after a not-so-great experience at one of his games we took him out. We actually later regretted our decision and he returned to his team for the rest of the season. Ugggg....this parenting thing is definitely a work in progress for us.

I may have regretted our decision to pull Max out for part of the season, but Ruby certainly did not mind having someone else to play with during Reed's practice. I love watching their made up games.

I'm pretty sure Harlow was just there for the snacks.

..and photo ops.

Even  she can let me know when she's had enough pictures.

If you ask Reed for a list of the hardest things he's ever done, I'm pretty sure he'll mention indoor football near the top. It was a growing and learning experience for all of us--not one I'd choose again, but still an opportunity. Watching him on the field now at start of Fall football I can see that through this experience he has developed skills, strengths and confidence that are so valuable, however more than anything I hope he has learned a little more deeply that WE DO HARD THINGS...and are better for it when we do.