Camera Phone

I love whipping out my phone everywhere we go to snap memories I want to remember for always.

Like these:

We attended a high school football game last weekend to cheer on a kid from our church youth group. I reminisced about my high school marching band days (Ha!) while Aaron discussed football plays with Eli that he remembers from his time on the field. It was a fun night!

FHE lesson = David and Goliath. 

David's favorite part was eating the marshmallows after he conquered Goliath!

Eli's new kicks. I found them on clearance at Target! They're kind of big for him right now, but he loves them. I do too!

Lunch with dad. Why does it never get old giving a kid a lemon?! He's the one that asked for it so Aaron gave it to him. These faces have been making me laugh all week.

We bid farewell to Rita's by visiting one more time before they close for the winter! 

Rainbow sprinkles were mandatory. 

On Saturday we participated in the Mid-Atlantic Day to Serve. We cleaned up an old slave grave that's on the farm and it was a perfect service for all of us. Aaron planted trees and cleared the weeds with the weed wacker. Eli and I put mulch around the tombstones.  I volunteered to write a press release about the event and it was published in the Maryland Independent. A reporter came out to the event, took pics and published a story. It was a PR success story! I love PR. You can read the press release here. 

The fall weather is here and FALL in the EAST COAST is my favorite!!

Fun at the Fair

I grew up going to the Kansas State Fair every year so when my mom and dad told me they were going to the fair, I hopped online to check for the nearest fair in our area. The Charles County Fair was last weekend so we decided to go Saturday morning.

I love the fair!! We loved being together as a little family and enjoyed the animals, food, and 4-H displays. Since it was just a county fair, it didn't have quite as many activities and booths as I remember at the state fair, but we still loved it. Aaron and I talked about having our kids join 4-H and making it an annual tradition to attend the fair wherever we live. :)

Our first stop was the John Deere display. This pic is my favorite!

My baby petting a baby chick! So cute, right?! This little chick was a few days old. 

We also watched several chicks that were trying to break out of their shell. Adorable!

Eli led the way with confidence. The smell and huge animals didn't even phase him. 

He's got farmer blood in him for sure. 

My embarrassing moment was when I asked a 5-year-old girl what ribbon her sheep had won that morning. She looked up at me like I was an idiot and said, "This is a goat." 

Goat. Sheep. Same thing, right?

Aaron busted up laughing and told everyone around us that I claimed to be a Kansas girl. I had to remind him I didn't grow up on a farm and there were sheep on the other side of the barn we were walking through. Common mistake I'm sure. :) 

Eli wanted to eat Cornilla. 

Waving his Republican balloon proudly in a Democratic state. 

I'll admit I was hesitant to have him hold this, but no one gave us dirty looks so it was okay.

I don't know what this thing is, but it seemed like a great photo opp.

The highlight of the morning was the petting zoo! Aaron even loved it. ;)

The other highlight of the day was the food of course! Pizza from Pizza Hotline (where Aaron worked in high school and the manager still remembered him! Ha!), corn dogs, fresh lemonade and Thai food. Everywhere we go Aaron runs into Thai people - he starts talking to them in Thai and they're extremely impressed with how well he speaks so they start giving him extra food for free and then they look at me and I have no idea what anyone is saying so I just smile awkwardly.

Bye fair! Thanks for a fun-family-filled-day!

Baseball, Bubble Bath and Birthdays

My blog posts have been extremely random lately - sorry about that. I recently printed out my blog from my single Chicago years and it's SO fun to go back and look at all the pictures and blog posts!. My plan is to print out my blog at the end of this year so I want to make sure I have all our family memories posted! 

We went to a Maryland Crabs baseball game last weekend. Our friends have box seats so it's extra fun when they invite us to go with them. ;)

A couple from church has adopted Eli as their grandson and they purchased this shirt, hat and mini-baseball bat for him. He's obsessed with the bat! That thing is dangerous!! I hardly recognized him when he walked over to me!

 

Bubble baths are a hit at our house!

My mother-in-law turned 50! It was fun to celebrate with family and friends all weekend. Clearly it was past Eli's bedtime. He looks so exhausted!

Megan flew in to surprise her mom for the weekend and Eli enjoyed wrestling with her.

For more randomness: 

Aaron somehow manages to balance being a father/husband, working full-time, serving in the bishopric and grad school. A few Saturdays ago, he was slaving away on a final paper. Eli was intrigued by Aaron's headphones so Aaron shared.

We bid farewell to our dear friends who are moving. I hate goodbyes! 

These little ones were all born last year!

These guys all serve in the Air Force!

His favorite activity all summer was playing with the hose. 

He also enjoys baking cookies and sneaking cookie dough! I love when Eli runs over to a chair and asks if he can help. I hope he never outgrows wanting to stand right beside me! 

He's a cleaning machine - he sweeps the floor, scrubs the toilet and tosses his trash! 

Happy September! I love this month. And now, I've been home for 6 years from my mission! I still have the same thoughts and feelings as I did 3 years ago when I blogged about being home. 

Enjoy your weekend!