Fall-ish

I swear it's close...you can feel it in the air between the hours of 7 a.m and 10 a.m, and then again overnight. the rest of the time, it's still very much summer. we learned this yesterday at our town's annual festival, Buggy Days. (at one point, we were apparently a huge manufacturer of buggies. obvs.) i actually got sunburned and Charlie was so wiped out that he rode in the stroller. it was HOT. but we had a blast. Kids' park, great festival food....(fried green tomatoes and kettle corn) and a lot of really great craft vendors. both kids got a prize and bounced until we feared overheating. after the parade, we headed home to get some MUCH needed rest, then ventured back for the Pig Chase at the old football field. this is something that's been happening here for years, and i had never been. i wouldn't have been able to imagine the amount of people who were there. it was craziness. there are different age groups who chase a piglet around the field until someone catches it. of course, the prize is...the pig.

when CF heard about the chase earlier that day, he let us know that he really wanted to do it, and that he was going to win the pig. we thought it would be good for him to participate, but we kept on pushing the "it's not about winning, just have fun" speech. we settled in the stands until they called his group. because they are younger, Adam got to go down to the field and stand with him before the race. there were SO many kids. i started to get nervous, thinking that there is no way they would all get out of this uninjured.

for whatever reason, this little piggie didn't give much chase. but the fastest kid got there first and pinned it. of course, that kid was Charlie. the crowd was gathered around so much that we couldn't really tell at first, but the people around us in the stands were already cheering and telling me that he'd won. sure enough, adam broke through the crowd, carrying the proudest looking boy i'd ever seen, who was carrying a ticket. Charlie told the story to everyone around us and was so sweet about the whole thing. then we had to decide what to DO about the pig. i felt sure that it would be one of those things we embark on that turn out to be a huge mistake. so, after getting the champ's approval, we decided to sell the pig. now CF is the proud owner of prize money, and the reputation of being the fastest 4 year old in town. ;)

here's a little video i got of the chase...look for the red shirt in the middle of the crowd.













the night BEFORE, we were able to take the kids to Atlanta to see the Sesame Street Live show for the first time. all thanks to my love of Aretha's Freeway of Love. I won tickets about a week ago by being the 8th caller and knowing that song title. i have NEVER won anything off the radio, and when it happened, i was screaming so much that i'm sure people driving past thought i had won the lotto. i was SO excited to be able to take the kids. we don't have a lot (er, any) extra money to buy tickets to things like that these days, so it was great timing. the kids loved eating dinner in the giant CNN Center food court and were in awe of the show, dancing the whole time. so, we've had two busy, awesome family days that none of us will soon forget.







this weekend made me even more excited to do things with the kids this fall...all the fair and corn mazes we can stand. they are at such FUN ages. along with the fun does come some (lots of) defiance and energy, but we are getting better at handling it and diffusing tantrums. Charlie starting school has proved to be a HUGE advantage for him. in just a couple of months, he has learned so much. he can now write his name alone, he's writing simple math problems out on the magnadoodle, and he's (wait for it) saying "yes, maam" and the like ON HIS OWN. he sits for long spells just looking at books by himself and "reading". he memorizes songs even faster than before. yesterday he requested the Talking Heads "don't touch me, i'm a real live wire"....haha. the kid's still got taste.

Here we are, Sunday morning, a much needed day to recover from our rock star family weekend. we're visiting my parents, and rumor has it that my mom is making some of my favorite things for lunch. need i say more??