Ren fest 2013

We were too busy very weekend last year and missed to renaissance festival for the first time since we moved back here. So, we could not let this happen again! Too many fond memories (Chris' family introduced me to the ten fest when we were just dating) and way too much spectacle that you simply won't see anywhere else that we had to expose the kids to. We had a really good time :-) 

Sadie at almost the entire pickle :-)

After we'd been there a few hours it started POURING!!

SO cool that dad can juggle :-)

Sadie is our child with a need for speed and wanted to go on this long, bumpy, fast wooden slide (ella refused!)

My absolute favorite performer by far. I've seen his show every single time I've been and it's almost exactly the same and I love it every time. Jonny Fox, the sword swallower rocks.

We happened to walk by the huge rock wall castle as some dude dressed like superman was climbing and the crowd was cheering! Hilarious.

Jousting!!

Awesome Saturday :-)

Kayak adventure!

We bought a groupon for a 2 hour kayak tour and I took Ella on a date :-) for quite a while, (years?) Ella always wants dates with me so it was good to make sure i focused some attention on her before school starts. Plus...it's kayaking!! I really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day, the tour was awesome and I'd totally go again. It was a little harder bc Ella isn't quite old enough to actually be a consistent, helpful paddler but, still, good times :-)

Hair cut for Ella!

Ella gets haircuts about once a year and we happened to go when they were running a special where for every child's haircut, they donate a free haircut to someone in the community who can't afford one. How cool!!!!

County fair 2013!

The fair is an annual must-do on our calendars. This year we got to go with 3 families we're really good friends with :-) Ella and Sadie were brave and went on the (huge) Ferris wheel! Ella was very nervous and almost backed out butSadie  couldn't wait! Definitely different personalities in those two :-) great time and my annual deep fried Oreos were as amazing as I'd remembered since last August :-)

Watching pig and duck races. Live how these kids are like a little family :-)

Corn pit

Snowballs!

Mozzarella!

We bought a cheese making kit a while ago that had stellar reviews on amazon and tried it out last night. I was so pleased that it was as easy and fast as the directions promised and successful!

You start with a gallon of milk...

And a few things from the kit that you wouldn't have at home-rennet, citric acid, cheese salt, and a dairy thermometer 

After combining the rennet and acid with the hot milk-it does this! 

You separate the curds from they liquidy whey...

Heat it and knead in the salt...

Stretch it...

Put it in an ice bath for a few minutes...

And voila! Fresh mozzarella that tasted awesome!!

Kayaking and County fair (aka: we do summer days big!)

Thanks to an awesome groupon deal, Ella and I got to go on a kayaking adventure. I loved it. Ella liked it. Is totally go again on this particular tour-it was a gorgeous day and the tour guide was hilarious. So fun to step out of my routine and do something unusual.

A few hours after kayaking we met our POD friends at the county fair. I'm pretty sure we've been every year of Ella's life and it's one of my favorite summer traditions. We lie the pig races, corn pit, animals, and both girls did the huge Ferris wheel this year! Ella was scared but faced her fear and LOVED it. So proud of her. My most indulgent tradition is my annual partaking in the glories of the deep fried Oreo. Nothing like 'em. Deliciousness :-)