Wednesday, August 27, 2008

And the Winner is...








My dad and his friend Steve won the "Mystery Bag Cook-off contest at the county fair. They won first prize in showmanship and the cook-off. They were allowed to bring an electric skillet, two utensils, and three condiments. When the contest started they were handed a bag with a can of spam, biscuit, one green pepper, a can of pineapple and two cups of liquid (either milk or water, their choice). They had 1/2 hour to prepare the food and had to use at least a little bit of all of the ingredients.

Half way into the contest they added a mystery ingredient...red licorice!

It was fun to watch the teams cook and I had no doubt my dad would win. He makes up recipes all the time and can make anything taste good!

They were the only team that brought a tablecloth, chairs and water for the judges, and real plates/silverware to eat off of. They also draped a white towel over their arms while serving the judges. They also wore matching aprons that they had made for the event. Their team name was "The Brown Nosers" and it was quite fitting. It was pretty cute.

They won a monetary prize and got interviewed by the local papers. I'm sure they'll do it again next year!

The 4-H Fair









Every year we spend as much time as we can at the local county fair. It happens to be right here in Britt and the girls love seeing the animals. This year Papa was on a deadline for a big newsletter so he worked from home while I got the girls out of the house. He did get to go with us on Sunday, the last day.

Friday we checked out the animals and rides with my friend Cassie and her daughter Amelia and son Isaiah. We spent a lot of time with the pigs because those were Zella's favorite. Madeline liked the bunnies best and almost had her Papa talked into getting one. (I promptly reminded Travis that we were going to have another baby. Soon. And I am NOT scooping poop out of rabbit cages on top of having a newborn. I did enough of that as a kid!)

They had a petting zoo which was a big hit. We watched my dad and his friend in a mystery cook-off contest (pictures of that to come).

We also ran into Aunt Gayle, Uncle Louie, Cousins Sarah and Jayson and ate supper together. The last picture is of Zella and Uncle "Ooee" as Zella says.

All in all we had a great time.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Belated 4th of July Pictures

I'm still trying to catch the blog world up on everything we did this summer. So here are some belated 4th of July pictures. Aunt Carrie (Trav's sister), her daughter Katelyn, and Great-grandma Norma came to visit. We had a lot of fun.

We went to the 4th of July parade in Belmond, and went to the Clear Lake carnival the next day.


Zella, Aunt Carrie,Katelyn and Madeline anxiously awaiting the parade to begin


Madeline and Papa goofing around


Papa and Zella checking out the parade


Grammy and Madeline


Carrie and Katelyn posing for the camera


Zella waving her flag


Riding the rides


We all took a ride on the merry-go-round.

We went swimming in Clear Lake and played in the splash pad after we were done with the rides. We had a great time!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Overheard at our House Part 2



Zella escaped from me during a diaper change. She ran around the living room yelling, "Stinky butt! Stinky butt!"

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Instead of saying "No way, Jose!", Madeline says, "No way, Monet!"

I Scream for Ice Cream

A trip to Dairy Queen this summer proved to be messier than I anticipated. I brought a bib for Zella but figured Madeline didn't need one. Boy was I wrong!

A Visit from Christian

My nephew and godson, Christian (my twin Lisa's oldest) came to visit earlier this summer. We had a great time and he the girls absolutely adored him. We had a blast at Clear Lake and spent the day at the beach.

Here are some of my favorite photos: