My Daughter, the Cheerleader?

We had a big day on Friday! We went to Boyd Orchard with my mom for lunch. We had to go early, so as not to interfere with naptime. We chose one of the hottest days of the year to go and play on their big hay playground. It was close to 100 degrees with high humidity that day and I was MELTING! I don't know if you can tell that from the pictures. Maura loved the swings and the climbing section, but when I took her to the top of the 40 foot slide, she began to have a few reservations. She clung to me tightly and looked with trepidation down the monstrosity of the slide. We waited at the top for a second, then WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

We began sliding! Notice, the look of joy on my face and terror on hers!

At the bottom, though, she giggled and turned around to go back up. What a daredevil!

Later that day, we went to Brent's football team's first scrimmage. It was a crazy event involving four different middle school football teams all playing on one football field. You can imagine the chaos that ensued. There were also three different cheerleading squads cheering in front of the crowd. Well, let me just say that I think my daughter might very well have a future as a cheerleader. Now, those of you who know me well know that it wouldn't be my first choice of hobbies for her, but I like to try to keep an open mind about these things. Here's how it went down.

The cheerleaders start practicing beside us. Maura is instantly drawn to all the clapping and yelling. She stood, transfixed, and watched for several minutes while they continued with their cheers. Then...

She turned around and started a cheer of her own. She was clapping, she was dancing, she was doing everything but turning cartwheels!

This was by far her best cheerleader pose. She puts her hands in the air and yells "GO!" Even now, if you ask her what a cheerleader says, she says "GO!"

Here's Brent in action. If you can't tell, he's the one in the white shirt on the far left yelling at his team. They actually played really well, tying the league champions in the quarter that they played them. He's got high hopes for this years team. I, on the other hand, am not so sure of my own chances of being able to control my child while at the football games. Last year it was so easy to just put her in a front pack. This year, I'm going to have to keep at a full run to keep her from joining the cheerleading squad! It should prove to be an interesting autumn.

Fair Days

On Monday, we went to the Kentucky State fair with my Mom, and sisters Katie and Emily. I don't know if I can adequately convey how much I love the fair. It appeals to me on so many levels. I love the crazy, dangerous rides, the animals, the exhibits, and ESPECIALLY the fair food. I think I've only missed one Fair in the nineteen years we've lived in Kentucky. It's a milestone for me now, signaling the end of simmer and beginning of fall. I was so excited to share the fair with my little one this year. I talked about it for weeks leading up to it about all we would see and do. I'd ask her, "Maura,do you want to go see the piggies at the fair?" "No," she'd say with a shake of her head. And again, "Maura, do you want to go see the horses at the fair?" "No," she'd say with another shake. Well, she obviously didn't know what she was talking about because she LOVED the fair. Her first favorite thing was the filthy stroller we had to rent because her horrible mother forgot to bring hers. It was shaped like a car and and a steering wheel and all she could think of for the first half hour was that stroller.

THEN we found the pigs! I am terribly proud of my child--she does the best pig impression that I think I've ever heard. It only got better during our visit to the pig exhibit. Maura got very excited about the pigs and was snorting all over the place. Then, some pigs got loose and went running right by her. You would have thought it was Christmas morning. Her face lit up like she was seeing Santa! She was so funny!

We managed to see pigs, sheep, dogs, ducks and baby chicks before leaving that part of the exhibit. She treated us all with impressions of the animals. The next part that she loved was the cake exhibit. There are beautifully decorated cakes in glass cases which are close to the ground. I don't know if she knew they were cakes, but she was VERY excited about them. She ran up and down the display case squealing over each cake, pointing and occasionally hitting her head on the glass trying to get a closer look! I don't know why they were so exiciting, but maybe she'll grow up to be the next Ace of Cakes. After that, we indulged in some fabulous fair food. In all actuality, this post's pictures don't really convey a sense of our fair experience simply because you don't see us eating in any of them. That's really what we're there for. My favorite indulgence this year was a deep fried Snickers Bar. What, you may ask is a deep fried Snickers? It's a sinful confection of a Snickers bar on a stick dipped in funnel cake batter and then fried. You don't see a picture of me with it because I ate it while holding my dead asleep child and spilled powdered sugar all over her! It was truly a successful day. We went home tired, happy, and slightly sick to our stomaches with all the fair food!

Summer Fun

Hi Everyone!

Ok, Ok, I've been a little slow on the whole blogging thing. For those of you who haven't noticed, I've had this blog since April and never updated the stupid thing. For some unknown reason, my computer does not handle Blogger very well. It stubbornly refuses to allow me to upload even one image to my blog. Personally, I just never saw the point of continuing to blog if I couldn't smear pictures of my precious, adorable little girl across the internet!! So, it is with renewed confidence and a sense of optimism that I try this again. I think I can, I think I can, I think I might actually make this work. You'll know if this post shows up without any photos that I was again thwarted in my efforts! Obviously, I haven't figured out how to edit the photos yet. Hang in here with me!

It's been quite a summer for us. We have travelled literally nearly every week this summer and we're so glad to be home. We started out in June with a trip to Florida with my parents. We went to Navarre beach and had a fabulous time. One week later, we headed for TN to visit with Brent's parents for a week over the 4th of July. We were able to visit with Brent's brother, Matt and his fiance, Brenda, who are getting married September 1. It was so great to get to see them. A week after we returned from TN, we headed up for four day weekend to visit my grandparents. My Dad's parents were so excited to see Maura, but couldn't help but exclaim about 100 times how busy she is! My mom's dad was in the hospital, but he still enjoyed a visit from Maura and we took some pictures with him. Unfortunately, he passed away three days later and we were heading up to PA yet again for his funeral. Although it was really sad, we had a great time seeing the whole family. We did get to be home two weeks before I headed off for a conference in Michigan. Sherran, my mother-in-law came to stay with Maura and they had a fabulous time while I was gone.

Needless to say, this summer has flown by. Brent is back to school and football has started again. Won't be long until we're all headed off the the pumpkin patch for our jack-o-lanterns. I will try to post more reguarly in the future and look forward to keeping all our friends updated to all our adventures.