The Great MN Get Together

Our first stop at the fair was the "Miracles of Life" barn--which is one of my and the kids favorites, and one of Jon's least favorites. This little calf was born the morning before, and was so cute.

After this we made our way to the food building where we had our favorite State Fair food: Cheese Curds. These are a necessity when you go to the fair with Jon--he is a cheese curd connoisseur, and will only get the ones from the food building. All others, are strictly imitation.
We then tried some fried pickles, which were ok--but didn't compare to the curds.

Here we are in the Creative Activities building, which is another of my fav's. Hayden picked up the Obama sign at the DFL booth where I was looking to pick up a few buttons, but AS ALWAYS, they were already out. Argh...that really bummed us out. The same thing happened to us in the last election. Anyways, he loved that sign and walked around the fair holding it up over his head (as shown above) saying "Vote for Change"--it was pretty funny. No one wanted to tell off a kid. We were secretly and quietly very proud!! :)

Here are Erica and I on the carousel ride by Machinery Hill--which, if you can believe it, is Jon's favorite place at the fair. Erica kept saying, "Mommy, I ride on the bunny round and round" and when it stopped, she looked at me and said, "I do again?"

After a few rides, we stopped for a Pronto Pup--and a bit further down the road we found the Tiny Tim mini doughnuts, so sat in the shade and enjoyed our insanely sugary doughnuts and a large cup of cold Root Beer. Below the kids are holding up their sticky little hands for the camera.

Our last stop before heading out was for my State Fair weakness: A Bavarian Pretzel with cheese. Delectable........ even on an already full stomach! As we got to our exit we caught a glimpse of the crowd. Wow, what craziness!!

Erica enjoying the view from my shoulders--looking exhausted.

We are home now, the kids are napping soundly, and I don't think we will need to eat again until 8pm or so!!!!!!!!!

Isle O Dreams -- July 2008

Well, our favorite week of the year has come and gone, and amidst the chaos of moving, I am finally getting a chance to update the blog with some highlights from our vacation.

This year was no different than any other year, in the respect that we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of rest and relaxation. Nana Sharpe allowed us to sleep in every single morning--god bless her--and occasionally we even snuck a nap in when they kids laid down in the afternoon.

We also enjoyed MUCH time in the sun & water:

A family trip into Buck Lake (a small adjoining lake) on our floaties

Some action packed tubing, which both kids LOVED!!

Erica cuddling with mom and dad on the boat

Fishing was a huge hit again this year--

Dad and E with a sunfish

Jon with a nice large mouth Bass

and Mom and H with a measly perch...go figure!! :)

Here are Hayden and Papa returning from a successful trip out fishing one morning. They caught so much on their mornings out that we enjoyed fish for dinner many nights.

Some Wildlife observed:

A Great Blue Heron hanging out on our dock

A mama Loon and her baby

...and a HUGE dragonfly H & Papa found in the boat. He wasn't even hurt, and he let H hold him and check him out for quite a while before he flew off.

Major Breakthroughs that are news-worthy:

1.) Tammie learned to wake board FINALLY (and made Jon so proud)

2.) Hayden learned to cast his fishing pole--

3.) Erica learned to jump into the pool all by herself--

And finally a few shots of the Sharpe family, as this is the real reason why we love & cherish our week at Isle O Dreams so much:

Girls Rule!!
(we've got the guys out numbered 5:3)

The Sharpe Family
July 2008