Iowa State Fair and more!

 As August winds down I have time to sit down and update our latest adventures.  The week after our trip to the Omaha Zoo was the beginning of the Iowa State Fair.  Rick and I went to the first day of the Fair together and left Natalie at daycare so we could see all the things that we wanted to (and eat all the terrible food) without her.  I love her dearly, but sometimes things are just easier without her.  And she got her time at the fair too.

 My sister used to work at the State Fair and she and her family came down for their family vacation and stayed with us Friday through Monday of the first week of the fair.  I was able to take the first Friday off from work as well so Natalie and I joined my sister's family for a fun day at the fair.  My parents were also on grounds that day, so there were plenty of hands to help with the little ones.  And the girls had so much fun!

 I was a little nervous to go all day at the fair without a real sanctioned nap, but Natalie did ok sleeping in the stroller.  Not great sleep, but enough to get her through the day.  She was crabby for a while but did well for the most part.  She loved spending the day with her cousin and seeing all the animals!

The next morning my sister's family was headed to the Blank Park Zoo, so we tagged along.  Natalie was a zoo pro from the weekend before and the girls had a lot of fun looking at all the animals.

 

Of course we had to go on a train ride, Natalie's favorite part!  It was great to have so much play time with cousin Kendall and it's always great to spend time with my sister.  

We've been a little lower key the past few weeks.  Rick and I made a quick trip to Mason City last weekend for the Pyrotechnics Guild International Convention.  My parents have been going to these fireworks shows the past few years and my dad got the whole family tickets for Christmas last year.  The show was spectacular.  The fireworks are set to music and is amazing.  I found videos for the two big shows that were presented the day we were there; hopefully they can give you an idea of how cool the night was.  Thanks Dad for the tickets!

 

This past week I headed to Canada for work and left Rick and Natalie home alone Monday through Wednesday.  I missed them, but it was a good trip.  This weekend we tried to catch up on rest but went to Hickory Park in Ames (which we had forgotten how much we loved) on Friday night for a treat.  Saturday we were fortunate to have supper with my good friend Wyatt.  The rest of our weekend was spent trying to stay cool but still having fun with our little lady.  Stay cool and enjoy the last sips of August!