She was so little. Sniff. Sniff.
So, the Texas State Fair starts tomorrow. Big Tex has his new Dickies digs, and he's ready to shout,"Howdy Folks!" clear through the middle of October. There's nothing more Texan than a 52 foot greeter cowboy... We are so going this year. I love state fairs (clarify: I love state fairs MINUS the carnival part). Garden bests, canned goods, crafts, livestock, photographs, blue ribbons, displays, strange assortment of people--bring it on.
We could see a bunch from the breakfast, but they basically hovered over the festival area while we were there.
Then when we were on our way home, we saw that a few were over above our neighborhood. One had even landed one street over, so I snapped a picture out of the car window. What I really wanted to take a picture of was the lady in her housecoat or the guy in his boxers out taking a picture of the balloon. For some reason that really struck me as funny. No time for pants! Get out there and get a close up of the balloon landing!
Here is Tessa balancing a hot air balloon on her finger. We've really been working with her. It takes a lot of focus.
We watched another balloon land right across the street at the middle school.
Other news:
*SMU was obliterated in their football game on Saturday by TCU. We didn't attend the game, but we sure enjoyed the tailgating at the school. I personally enjoyed the people watching...it's a very different crowd there in Highland Park than, say, the state fair, but still highly entertaining.
*I had the opportunity to go and help at the Bishop's Storehouse. We put together many many many boxes of food for the people in the Galveston area. I love doing stuff like that. Thanks, hubs, for taking the kid solo so I could go.
*Bike riding! We are having a great time using our bikes as a family. Tessa gets excited when we get ready to go and walks around the house reminding us that it's time for "Tessa's bike ride".
*The kid shocks me every day at how much she knows. I'm stunned at her vocabulary sometimes. We sang "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel" at church today, and she thought that was pretty funny. She kept patting our shoulders and saying the word shoulder as we sang. When did she learn to say that? Likewise, I tickled her back today and she sang the word "googumps" to me for goosebumps. Her dad used to make up a song about goosebumps as he tickled her, but he doesn't sing it as often as he used to. I guess she retained it.
*I think that my side text book reading job is a sweet job. It's fantastic. However, I believe that reading through the geology text book is a punishment for having skipped out on my own geology class in college so much. Yeah, I'm still maybe understanding only 50% of it. I'm not a science person.
*Jake started his volunteer work for graduation this last week. It's just an hour and a half each week. He will be working with 5th graders to teach them about the law. There will be a big mock trial at the end. He already loves it.
*Turns out if I plan meals in advance (like two weeks at a time), I don't detest making dinner so much. Go figure.
*I met a neighbor. I made a new rule. When I make French bread, three loaves come from it. We give away the third loaf to somebody. The neighbor I was going to give it to didn't answer, so I marched over to another house and met sweet Lorna with the awesome yard. This is out of character for me. I was so proud of myself and so happy that I did it.
*And finally, we bring you a hula hoop tutorial:
Tessa playing with one of her best buds (next to the decrepit fence).
The "game" of running in opposite directions. They aren't hard to entertain.
The next day...
When she started sprinkling dirt in his hair, it was time to come in.
If you know me very well at all, you know that Kenya is a place that is incredibly special to me (and the hubs). I have been blessed to go there three times in my life. I lose it emotionally every time June rolls around and I'm not going. There is a definite part of my heart that is devoted to the people of that country. ANYWAY, the reason for this post is that some of the best people I've ever known, World of Difference, is hosting a 5K run to raise money for this year's project, and if all I can do to help is make a few more people aware, then that's what I will do.
P.S. When Tessa starts the song on her own she starts it with "pocka' rosies" and then repeats. Also, you'll note that she thinks it is fun to put the lens cap on the camera. The video is not the best quality. This is due partially to the poor lighting and Tessa's need to be right in the camera and partially to the fact that our rechargeable batteries are wearing out and for some reason this happens.
