During the second weekend in August my parents came up for an extended four day weekend. Their visit marked our third straight weekend with visitors. Although it was a busy few weekends, we love having visitors! Mom and Dad came on Thursday and we planned to go to the State Fair on Friday. They hadn't ever been to the Illinois State Fair and the weather forecast was calling for beautiful weather, so we decided that a trip to Springfield was a no brainer.
 |
| Mamaw, Papaw, and a little piggie |
We headed out early Friday morning and got to the fair around 10:30. The weather kept its promise and produced a beautiful day. We tasted lots of classic fair food and saw lots of interesting sights. Addy and Carter loved the fair. Carter especially loved seeing all of the animals. After going through several barns and the FFA petting barn we learned that Carter will pet any kind of animal including goats, calves, pigs, sheep, fish, and turtles. Addy wasn't as enthusiastic about petting the fish. She and Derek did participate in the fishing clinic in Conservation World. Addy has been requesting to go fishing for quite some time now, so this was the perfect opportunity to take her. They used real poles, learned about fishing safety, and fished in an overstocked pond. Addy was very excited that she caught her limit of two fish and we were excited that we could do the whole "fishing experience" at the fair. Addy was also excited to make a tye dyed t-shirt. She chose the pattern and colors and she and I applied the color. We were very happy with the way it turned out. We had the perfect day for the fair and really enjoyed showing my parents "our" state fair. The kids enjoying taking in the sights and Addy loved collecting all of the free stuff from the various booths.
 |
| Spinning the Wheel. Someday I hope to spin the real one! |
 |
| Papaw enjoyed taking the kids aroundto see all the farm animals. |
 |
| FIshing with Daddy |
 |
| Addy's big catch--a sunfish |
 |
| Carter wasn't so find of Smokey |
 |
| Carter and Papaw taking a walk |
 |
| No visit is complete without a trip to see the Butter Cow |
 |
| Playing in the soybeans |
 |
| Addy was so excited to be on a tractor her own size |
We designated the next day as girls' day out. My mom, Addy, and I headed out on our own to enjoy the day. We started with a pedicure for Addy that she had earned through the local library's reading program. Then we went to see The Smurfs, which we really enjoyed. We ended the afternoon with lunch at Olive Garden. Addy has wanted to take her Grandma Schum to Olive Garden ever since she and I went there for lunch one day and I told her it was one of Grandma's favorite restaurants.
In an attempt the boycott girls' day, the boys decided to organize their own day out. Derek, Papaw, and Carter headed to Peoria to check out a few playground stores and eat lunch at Red Lobster. They seemed to have a good time and came home with a ton of information about playgrounds.
Mom and Dad headed home on Sunday. We are so glad that they decided to make the trip up for a long weekend! We a had a ton of fun spending some quality time with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment