The Minnesota State Fair - I am in love again.

Last year I was not working during the State Fair - and I took a day off from my job hunting to go and visit because @Iambooboolala had never been to it and my Dad loves to go to stuff like that.

Now this year I have a great job and I also have a lot of PTO - did I mention I have a great job?

So we went again.

Look how big my baby got!

 

My Mother doesn't want to go to the fair - my husband hasn't shown much interest since I lost my "free ticket I am a dj" status*.

Since my cousin moved about seven blocks from the Fair entrance we also have free parking - My Dad and I have got to thinking it is up to us to show Boo Boo the ropes of being Minnesotan and the Fair.  Just too bad the Oak Ridge Boys don't play there anymore.  ;)

What does it take to be Minnesotan and enjoy The Great Get-Together?

Bubba the Bunny

1. Good walking shoes.  A must because you will be walking around a lot if you want to see your favorite things. Machinery Hill to the Cow Barn is a long way!
2. An empty stomach - You WILL want a Pronto Pup or Corn Dog, French Fries, Lemonade, and at least a few sweets.
3. A love of the smell of manure.  It actually isn't bad in the barns, but you can't wrinkle your nose or we assume you are from New York City.
4. A map - yeah, it does not help to wander around.  It's better to stand in the middle of the road and stare at the map asking, "Are we on Dan Patch or Underwood?"
5. Cash - because those rides and Pronto Pups are not free.
6. A Blue Ribbon Value Book.  - If you have to ask, you are not Minnesotan.  ;)
7. Know when to go - When?  During the week and preferably on Thrifty Thursday or Kid's Day 
8. Know WHERE to get tickets - Where?  If you work where I do - work.  If you don't Cub of course. 
9. The ability to stand in lines so your child can get their picture with Phineas and Ferb --- or whomever is there that day...ahem.  #wheresperry #platybus
10. Good people to go with - those who won't complain, love the Giant Slide, will have a beer with you at lunch and help tow the wagon with the six year old  ;P  aka - My Daddy.  

I know you are all JEALOUS.  Do you State Fair?

Put your hands in the AIIRRRR!

*When you work in radio in Minneapolis you spend LOTS of time eating cheese curds while you broadcast LIVE from the Minnesota State Fair.  I got rockstar parking and free tickets for all when I worked in radio.

Two Squirrels

This is my Dad

He is retired now for a couple of years - which is way cool for Boo Boo La La because he comes to spend time with her - and cool for me because if daycare is closed Grandpa-Daycare opens.  ;)

He has a couple of traps:

The little one

The big one

And he plays a game of catch and release with the neighborhood fauna.

Yes, he catches squirrels, bunnies, raccoon's - and once the neighbors cat (!) - and takes them down to the park by the river and lets them go there.  The squirrels and bunnies, not the cat.

So they stop eating his plants.  

I think...

And he sends my brother and I emails with the number #14, #22, #30, and we are gonna have a party for #100 (maybe, maybe not).  

Even the neighbors get in the act as one sent him the following email:

DIDN'T I SEE YOU OVER IN C****A AT THE ###'S HOUSE?  YES, BUT I AM NOT EVER GOING BACK THERE AGAIN, TOO DANGEROUS!!

Actual Photo Neighbor sent my Dad.

Como Town for My Girls

I am totally serious...have you ever SEEN a cooler hat?  I mean come ON people!!!

My dad got a deal for two unlimited ride wristbands, face painting and water wars for his grandbabies so we went to have a pick-nic - Boo Boo was excited to say the very least.

Huffin' and Puffin'

GLITTER-FLY

ALL ABOARD

Shake ya later Peeps.  Mommy Out.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair!

Last Monday at the Minnesota State Fair was Senior and Kids Day - so I convinced my Dad to take Boo Boo and I for some fun.

Yeah, not a lot of convincing necessary, my Dad loves the Fair - for people-watching and Pronto Pups!

@Iambooboolala had to pet EVERY sheep in the sheep barn

Grandpa had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb....

They had a "working" farm for the Li'l Farm Hands to get feed chickens for the eggs, ride tractors, pick vegetables, get wool from sheep, sell all of their wares at the market and then shop for an item.  It was fun once we got through the massive initial line!  AND they moved our wagon ahead as the other wagons and strollers were taken by their owners.  It was cool to just pick-up the handle and go!

 Also I had never been in the Butterfly House - Boo Boo saw it and begged to go inside.  It was AWESOME.  Loved every minute gazing at the butterflies...and they loved me!  At any given time I had  three or four attached to me somewhere.

Radio Disney was in the house!!!  Boo Boo wanted a photo op with Phineas, Ferb, Candice and clan!

And it was a celebration of Mr. Bubble at the Fair too!  She would have been happy if we stayed there
ALL.DAY.LONG - but Grandpa got hungry for some fries.

If you haven't gone to the Fair, are you going before Labor Day?  What is YOUR favorite thing?

Mine.  The memories.

Oh and the Giant Slide!  We went TWICE!

Penquins at The Minnesota Zoo

My Dad was supposed to get some one on one time with Boo Boo La La - but Mommy lost her job so he got the bonus of Mommy tagging along to the Minnesota Zoo.

We all wanted to see the new PENGUINS!

Boo Boo has become quite the little photographer - much to Mommy's dismay at having to delete so many shots of, "I just want to take another picture of the sea otter's toys Mama!" and "That girl won't mind if I take a picture of her nostrils along with the ceiling of the dolphin area!"

Most of these are her photos.  Enjoy!

p.s. The penguin exhibit is NOT as large as I imagined.  I have no idea why I thought it would be huge, I mean it's not like penguins are emus or something.  Right?

Grandpa is a pushover...

I was looking for a picture of my Mom and Dad yesterday - so I cruised on over to Snapfish, our family album of choice, and found this one from Parley Lake Winery and Apple Orchard.

If you need to go apple picking, I highly recommend one with wine tasting as an option.

Cute

Then THIS one from my Dad's photo album that day caught the corner of my eye.

I had not noticed it before...

Pull out your wallet Grandpa...I want some Honeycrisp Apples NOW.

I now see the action that got my Dad to fork over $10 for ANOTHER bag of apples.  She just took them out of there and looked at Grandpa with the look that says, "I am taking these out of here and you WILL buy them for me old man.  I am cute, named after YOU, and you love me so, nyah."

He never stood a chance.

...and the fun comes to an end for Boo Boo La La!

Sorry I missed giving you a Boo Boo La La Saturday last week - I was in a wedding and it was a CRAZY week!  You see DAYCARE HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR TWO WEEKS!

So for the past two weeks Grandpa (My dad, not T-Bone's) has been helping out by driving to our house - 30 miles each way! - to spend time with his Boo Boo La La.  The man deserves a vacation to Hawaii!  He did three days each week all by himself - they went to:

7/13 The Como Zoo to ride rides and see the Polar Bears
7/14 The Minnesota Zoo - cuz they both LOVER it so much! (she was afraid of the crocs though and would not go see the new Africa exhibit....hmmm.
7/15 The Splash Pad, naturally
7/16-17 Grandma joined the fun for a local "beach" and she stayed OVERNIGHT while we were in the Groom's Dinner and such...
(Grandpa and Grandma got a break Saturday night cuz they were ALSO invited to the wedding - Candice stepped in!  Boo Boo loves her some Candice!)
7/20 They laid around and only went to McD's playland for two HOURS.
7/21 Willy Wonka at Stages AND the company picnic at the job my Dad just retired from...whew!
7/23 They laid around and went to McD's playland for anothe two HOURS! (Dad got to read the paper, he was good.  But I think my child ate McD's 4 out of the 7 days!)

Grandpa was also a good sport about playing kitchen, even if she fed the stuffed animals and told Grandpa he could serve himself "Cuz your a grown-up!"  He even let Boo Boo La La paint & color a bunch for Mama....including the one above that I got the full lowdown on Thursday night before dinner.

You see its a girl Mama.  She has to climb up those red & green spash poles to get to the beach.  And she has purple hair...and the green thing, that is the button you push and it makes a noise like spllloush and you get lots of water on you.  And that silver part is her hat.  She needs the hat to climb up to the pool and spinny slide and the beach...the whole thing is the beach and right here (pointing to the side of the blue "pool") that is the lifeguard and they keep everybody safe and tell the rules and blow their whistles like this TWEEEET!  Really the WHOLE THING is the beach and this part (pointing to blue "pool" and darker blue "slide") THIS part is the pool and slide and she has to climb those splashing poles to make it in there. 

You get it?

Sure babe.  Its as crystal clear as your pool.

My yard has more flowers through the spring and summer than it ever has thanks to the kind generosity of my parents. My father was/is a Master Gardener and he keeps a family history of sorts in blooms.

...like these large hostas from our "Grandpa Tom" and "Grandma Marvel"'s yard when they sold their home and downsized to senior apartments.

Or these loverly daylillies. I cannot be positive they are from my grandfather's yard - but he always had this color combination...plus, I have Stella D'oro's and Iris from my dad too and I am confident some of the iris came from Grandpa.

And of course the peonies rescued from my GREAT-grandmother's yard when they auctioned off her home and its contents. (those are done blooming now, but they are HUGE and heavy in the early days of summer...The striking flower above is off a plant that blooms LIKE CRAZY that my Boo Boo La La chose when we went to Malmborg's this spring...it loves sun and the blooms last and last!
And these daisies? They did not come from anyone else's yard, but my great-grandmother ALWAYS had them by her front door. Daisies are so cheerful, don't you think?

So - why do I garden...or try to garden?

I was raised in the gardens of my Grandfather's. They were very different men, with very different ways, but they both took me to the garden to "work".

Grandpa Bye always had me weeding and chasing the moths away from his cabbage. I got a nickle a piece for all the moths I would catch. I would even help him change out the beer in the pie tins he used to keep away other creepie crawlers.

The bounty that was his vegetable garden is legendary. Tomatoes and beets, peas- just for me! I always got the peas. Cabbage and carrots, corn and potatoes. And CUCUMBERS BY THE BARREL!!! We crunched them on the stoop with our little picnic size salt shakers and soaked them in vinegar and onions...so many cukes!!!

The whole family, my dad and his three sisters, got so much that the mother's canned for days every year to keep it all. He even gave away to the neighbors he got so much out of his little plot on the side yard!

My Grandpa Studer was another kind of gardener. Nothing in his garden was particularly practical, but we spent as much time caring for it. Each evening after dinner dead-heading the seemingly hundreds of daylilly plants. Weeding and pruning. Picking just the "right" rose for grandma to have in a little vase. He and Grandma even entered small bouquets in the Freeborn County Fair to show off his beautiful flowers.

All I need now to be more like him is some hydrangeas.

But, to aspire to my Grandpa Bye's garden...I need Boo Boo La La to be a little older so we can share that time too. We started this year with tomatoes - but they might not be so fruitful...it has been pretty cool - and herbs that failed miserably. However, I feel that I need to try to do both because the only Grandpa she has that gardens much is my Daddy - and unlike the original Grandpa Bye, this one sticks to flowers, shrubs, roses and trees.

I still have my jumbo patch of chives though! I'll get there.

We might be weirdos...

So I wrote before about my Mom and what happens when we go over to her house... This Thanksgiving, as you can see, things got a little out of hand....it started with my Mom and Boo Boo La La coloring in the basement on top of the chest freezer. Weird place, but that is where my mom keeps the paper and after dinner Boo Boo wanted to color!!! NOW!!!

Slowly people began going downstairs to see what they were up to...until it was just Dad, T-bone and myself who were upstairs. I went down to see what was up...OH GOOD 'LANTA! My child is being tatooed by Granny, Auntie Krissy and her sister Sair. *sigh* Daddy hates the tatoos... You might ask, why was the child shirtless? Well, we had dinner right? She IS almost three and there are mishaps with water....

We did get good pics with Gramps and Nora though...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Tickle Me Boo Boo