Where Does The Time Go?

Man, oh, man have we been busy! I just don’t know where the time has gone. Here is a quick rundown until I have time to post proper.

Shawn is back at school and enjoying it thus far
Heidi had pneumonia and then a reaction to her antibiotics
Pig, the bulldog’s allergies got so bad we had to take him to the doctor for antibiotics, steroids, and medicated shampoo that makes him smell like a bulldog
We went spent a wonderful weekend at the resort with friends
I went on a golf outing for work but did not golf
A number of family members had birthdays and I still have to deliver cards
The cabinet in the play room is painted and we are about ready to put it back together, if I can get a rug this weekend
And I have one more post about the fair to put up

Heidi starts her fall activities next week. She picked three – Dance, Gymnastics, and Ice Skating.

Hope everyone is well!

Makayla and the Sky Scraper

Makayla has not been to a concert before so Marjie told her she could pick one and we would go. She picked Kelly Clarkson at the State Fair.

We got out to the fair on Sunday night and discovered they canceled the show. Shawn had dropped us off so we decided to go find some food before we had him turn around and come back.

We were about to go find some cookies when Makayla decided she wanted to go on the Sky Scraper ride.

5 tickets. Not to bad. Until you know that tickets are $5 apiece!

She waited in line for almost an hour before it was her turn. Poor girl had to stand by a very drunk man and then since she was alone and so was he they had to ride together.

Her expression did not change much over the hour. She said she was not nervous but I sure was! I could not even look up to the top of the ride without getting dizzy!

The ride goes around one way four times. Then you stop at the top while they put new riders on the other side. Then you go around four more times facing the other way. So you get to go forward and backward.

This is a good picture to show how tall this thing really is. She said that when she was on the top she could see the entire fair and it looked really small.

She had a good time and that's what counts. But I think I aged 5 years watching her!!

MN State Fair 2009 - Heidi and the Rides

This was the first year that Heidi was big enough to ride the rides. She hit 42 inches just a few days before the fair.

From the minute we walked on to the grounds she was asking to go on the rides. We ate some food first and went to visit the animal barns. Then we took her over to the Kiddy Midway.

She has gone on the swings before but these were a much bigger version. I could not watch, I was so worried she would fall right out!

She may have been just tall enough at 42 inches but she sure looked small in that chair. And where is the seat belt?!

She was so brave! When she got off I asked her how scared she was. She said Zero! Shawn asked me how scared I was. I said TEN!

This was a cool attraction! First you walk through a maze of Plexiglas walls. It's harder than you think! Then you go down this really fast slide. I don't think Heidi was expecting it to be so fast!!

She was not tall enough to go on the roller coaster by herself so Shawn rode with her. They really enjoyed it. She had her hands up for the beginning.

And held on tight for the curves. She says this was her favorite ride.

The last ride they went on was the Farris Wheel. It was taking forever for them to get on the ride. After they were done we asked what took so long. Shawn said that it was not working right so they had to load and unload differently. I am sure glad they didn't tell me that until after they got off! I can't believe they still wanted to get on!

Heidi and Shawn had a good time at the Kiddy Midway. But we ran out of tickets so it was time to go find more food.

We Went To The Animal Fair...

The Cows and the Goats were there...

Heidi's favorite thing at the fair are the rides. My favorite thing is the animal barns. I would spend days in there petting the cows, goats, pigs, sheep... But my allergies are boss and we go through them all in under an hour.

My favorite animal in the barns are the cows. It is a dream of mine to have a pet cow. I doubt that will happen since I think our 120 pound dog is too big. This calf is only about 5 hours old and is already bigger than our dog!

They had a calf you could pet. She was so sweet. I wanted to stay there and pet her all day but Heidi was done.

But she posed for a picture first.

These sweet cows were cuddling with each other. I wanted to climb in there and join the hug!

What a pretty lady!

I got to pose with a cow too!

And then Heidi milked it!

Shawn wants a pet goat. Heidi already named him Sir Goatingham. Sometimes imaginary Sir Goatingham comes to our house. Heidi decided that this was the real Sir Goatingham so we stopped to pet him.

This is what I imagine our goat would be like. He was stealing food from his neighbors, pulling things down off the ledge behind him, and would do anything for a good scratch. Sounds just like our dog Daisy!

This goat just really wanted his picture taken.

And this one even posed! He had been wandering around his pen looking for food, making a lot of noise. Taylor said she was going to take his picture and he looked up and smiled for her. What a ham!

Oops! This is the ham! This pig was so friendly. He wanted everyone to scratch his head. Shawn approached him like he was a dog - let him sniff your hand first...

Kristen pet him too!

It must have been nap time for this big guy. This picture reminds me of our bulldog Pig. He sleeps just like this.

The swine barn reminds me of Pig and the cow barn reminds me of Daisy. I guess we don't need farm animals with the dogs we have!!

Crystal Vehicle Fair

If there was a theme of our summer it was family time and home renovations. It was wonderful having Shawn home most of the summer. He was able to get a lot done around the house and we were able to pack up and go on the weekends without worries.


We were inspired to do things in town as well as out of town. One Saturday we went to a vehicle fair at the Crystal Community Center. I was not sure what to expect but we figured that since it was free we would give it a shot.


We sure were surprised at all of the vehicles that were on display.

Heidi, Emily, and Willy climb in to the Road Side Assistance Truck.

This is an old tractor that smells and shakes when running. The kids loved taking turns climbing on and pretending to take it for a ride.

Heidi climbed in the scoop, she was hoping for a ride but that didn't pan out...

These kids sure do like causing trouble together but I didn't think the police would get involved so early!!

Uh, oh, what did Heidi do now??

This lawn mower is used for lawn mower racing. Who knew there was such a thing!?!

Heidi getting ready for the race!

Grandpa Bill, Terri's dad, got Heidi hooked on Golf Carts. She is going to take Emily and Willy for a spin!

Now, she is off on her own. Everyone look out!

Heidi posed with the skid steer since Cousin Hunter was unable to join us.

This is the boat Hennepin County uses in our lakes and on the river. The Patrol Man said that after the event he was going to put the boat on Twin Lake. We all wanted to go with him!

Alex took the kids thru the ambulance and we got a good picture at the end!

And the best part of the event, Heidi got to ride a Zamboni!! She has wanted to ride a Zamboni since she was about 18 months old. This made the event for sure! It is from the New Hope Ice Arena, which is straight down the road about 5 blocks from the Community Center, so we assume they just drove it over. We all imagined what it would be like to look out the window and see a Zamboni drive by.
We are all looking forward to going again next year. Now that we know what to expect we will plan to spend more time looking around!

Our Day with Bill and Betty - AZ Trip March 2009

Three things that our family values very highly and holds dear to us are: Traveling, Good Food, and Good Company.

In March we spent our Spring Break in Arizona with my Grandma. We were able to spend an afternoon with Terri's parents in as well.

I think we all had a great time. They took us to the club house for lunch and then we went back to their house for a visit.

Betty made a killer Strawberry Shortcake for desert. I wish I had taken a picture! It was so good, my mouth waters thinking of it...

We had a really nice visit. We did not know each other very well be for this visit. Heidi and I saw them at Erin's wedding the Summer before but this was the first time Bill and Betty met Shawn. The guys hit it off right away!

Heidi was our photographer for the day. She is getting really good with the camera!

Bill took Heidi for a ride on the golf cart. Safety First Heidi is patently listening to the rules of the cart before they go for a spin. This may have been the highlight of the day for both!

Now Heidi is ready to drive on her own! Too bad she can't reach the gas...

Yum... You can see some Strawberry Shortcake here... mmm.....

Heidi and Betty enjoyed each others company as well!

Grandma Terri asked that we bring her Moose on vacation with us. We took pictures of this Moose all over the Phoenix area. Betty was more than happy to pose with the Moose.

It really was such a wonderful day. The weather could not have been better, we spent most of the time out on their patio enjoying our much needed vacation, good food, and even better company. Can't wait for next year!!

The rest of the pictures from our day can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawnkaraandheidi/sets/72157621099291545/

A Perfect Night for a Softball Game

Shawn plays softball most of the summer and fall for a local men's league. Heidi and I like to go watch him play though we usually end up at a park or talking to the other wives so much that we miss most of the game.

Heidi likes to bug daddy when he is supposed to be paying attention.

She tends to get bored after awhile and gets silly.

Puppy dog faces mean she is looking for something new to do.

Like goof off with Uncle Justin.

Or play with the camera - Say Cheese Momma!

This week we brought Kristen and Taylor with us. We had planned to have a picnic but ended up eating Arby's on the bleachers. That's okay, that's fun too!

Kristen's turn - say cheese!!

Heidi enjoyed having more than just Momma there to entertain her. Smile girls!

There is always a playground by a softball field. Swinging sounds like fun!

While Heidi swings...

Kristen takes a try at the zip cord - half way is good!

"Ride on Horsey Ride!" Heidi tries out the Horse Ride.

Practice is over...

Time for a race!! Keep up Kristen!

When the game is over Heidi takes a turn at running the bases. Go HEIDI!

And it's a home run! Way to go Heidi!!