two great get-togethers

I'm not sure how this post slipped past me, but somehow I forgot to grace you all with pictures and stories from our annual trip to the great minnesota get together - otherwise know as the state fair. in sharp contrast to years past, the weather was phenomenal. it was so great that henry wore long sleeves...unheard of on a typical labor day weekend in minnesota. we packed up the van and ventured up to st. paul to take in the sights and sounds of the fair...on one of the busiest day of the year. by some stroke of amazing luck, seth routed us around to the northwest end of the fairgrounds where we quickly found ourselves a cheap parking spot within walking distance. thank you seth!

the boys were so well behaved. they tolerated the crowds and barely complained. especially kyle. seriously though, a special muuuah to my wonderful hubby for putting on a happy face and joining us for a jaunt around the fair. I think he would rather be shoveling six feet of snow than hanging out at the fair with thousands of other people who are just as excited for hot dish on a stick as beth and I were. it's fair to say (pun intended) that crowds are not his thing. we tried to ease the pain a little and came up with a plan of attack before we stepped foot on the fairgrounds. kuddos to beth for printing out maps and marking out all of the food stands we planned to hit up. we also scored a coupon book that basically became our menu. frugality at its best!

we always make it a point to hang out at the john deere display for a good half an hour. josiah started to relocate the mulch and quickly recruited miles. I'm sure the john deere reps weren't shedding any tears when we left.

miles and josiah really loved the little farm hands activity. they both donned adorable aprons, picked up a pint-sized pail, and made their way through a mock farm-to-shelf ditty. we were soaking in the cuteness of it all until we hit the backed up crowds half-way through. beth and I both decided that it wasn't quite worth the free stuffed sheep we picked out at the end, but fun was had nevertheless. next year we plan on going on some random weekday morning instead of the most crowded day EVER. adorableness prevailed, though, and we captured some great pictures.

I like to think of the state fair as my newest birthday weekend tradition. I'll admit, I celebrated thirty-two years of life on the 5th of september. I am sure I said this last year, but I feel like I couldn't be more blessed.

nothing like a shameless plug for thomas bubble bath...he's in love.

the gift of my amazing family is certainly enough for this birthday girl...but who doesn't enjoy a little morsel wrapped in pretty paper and a shiny bow? so thank you to all who spoiled me on my big day. you rock. besides a trip to the state fair, I really just wanted a good ol' end-of-summer bbq. my dad certainly knows how to do up a tasty cookout. it's definitely an added bonus that I get to "share" my birthday with my mom (her's is just one week later).

this year we posed for our annual mother-daughter-birthday-cake photo with my mom's good friend and our phenomenal daycare provider, go-go. love her.

I didn't set out for this to be such a long post, I guess it just happened. maybe it was me getting a little sentimental about my birthday, or perhaps an ode to my natural gift of gab. whatever it may be, it's long. so let's blow out the candles on this one. ta-ta.