Taste!

Saturday was the annual Taste of Montgomery County. We love this low-key event and enjoyed the beautiful evening outdoors with yummy samplings of local restaurants.

Camden was entranced by the band that was playing. I think it's because it was soooo loud for her.

She ran into a little buddy from church and she gave him a ton of hugs and kisses. She was so tender and gentle. It was really sweet. Then he followed her around for the next 5 minutes.

She kept asking for a drink of my diet coke. We really prefer her to drink water, milk or juice, but we didn't have any with us at the time...and who can resist this face.

Yes, that is a swollen lip. She busted it earlier in the day while climbing UP the slide at Chick Fil-A.

Her favorite activity at the Taste, though, was running around the grounds behind the Lew Wallace Museum where the event was held. At first she just played with a few other little kiddos.

But then Kevin got in the action and they ran all over the place.

At one point she drew a small crowd and began entertaining them with her jumping skills. It was hilarious to watch her make the other children laugh.

Needless to say, we had a hard time getting her to leave. It also makes us really want a bigger house (and yard) for her to be able to run and play like this.

Indiana State Fair

The Indiana State Fair closed on Sunday and we decided we wanted to spend the afternoon there. We hadn't gone in 3 years with Camden being born and the accident last year. Kevin and I both enjoy it so much.

Of course, there were animals to feed and pet.


Kevin got bit by this little rascal! He wanted to be fed...not pet.

We also checked out a few of the 4-H exhibits and hands-on displays.

Of course there was food to be eaten! We did our normal fattening food (breaded tenderloin, elephant ears, etc.) and didn't try the very extreme (Krispy Kreme Burgers).

We checked out all the big tractors.

And Camden rode a pony! Unfortunately we grabbed our little camera and the battery was dead. We could only get one picture and then have to shut it off for several minutes before we could try to get another. But Kevin did capture on picture of her with the pony. She didn't want to do it at first, but I put her on promising I wouldn't make her go if she didn't like it...and she said it was okay. By a few feet into the loop she was smiling and talking about "pulling the pony" as she held onto the handle on the saddle. I was so proud of her for braving something she was initially scared of.

Makin' Whoopie...Pies

Camden got sick shortly after we got home. When we dropped her off in the church nursery that first Sunday she was pretty clingy, but we chalked it up to not being away from us for 2 weeks. But that afternoon she had a fever. She was pretty lethargic and cried a lot. She was also holding her mouth, so I thought she was teething. Unfortunately it meant she couldn't go to daycare, so we were heading into 3 weeks out of routine. Luckily Kevin was home on Monday and Tuesday, so I could go back to work. On Tuesday morning she went to GaGa's for a few hours and Grandma noticed she had white spots on her throat. Off to the doctor...just a virus that had to run it's course...but no daycare for the rest of the week.

By this past weekend she was much better and we did some baking. Our treat: oatmeal whoopie pies!

They really did taste like the Little Debbie snack cakes! Camden had fun putting the sandwich together for me.

Melons!

We also knew the timing of our trip was going to leave some of our garden harvest in question. We were thankful to still have a bounty of good tomatoes...enough for two BLT dinners. It's just not a good summer until that point. Plus we still have a few plants producing!

There were also several melons that were "thisssss" close to being ripe when we left and we were sure we would come home to rotten canteloupe.


Not the case! We had 3 great melons when we got home and several more have come on since. I think in total we've had 7 melons off these two vines. It's the best success we've ever had.

Leaky Faucet

The day we left for Colorado, we discovered that our garbage disposal was leaking. Kevin did a short-term fix, but had to tackle it when we got home. Of course, Camden wanted to help her daddy.

Kevin said there was actually one point that she WAS a help!

Day 9: The Final Leg

We left Des Moines at about 10 am since we only had about 7 hours to travel. But first, Camden had to "wash hands" in the hotel sink about 20 times. It's another "me do it" thing that she wants to do when we are using the restroom.

We were traveling through Illinois near where Kevin grew up. We had talked about finding something to do along the route, and he realized we would be going past a park and lake that his family used to go to when he was a kid. It's called, "Lake of the Woods." It was a beautiful area. When we first drove in, we saw several deer grazing along the road. We got further into the park and found the old tower that Kevin and his brother Brian used to climb the stairs in and roll down the hill toward the lake. We got out, only to discover it was closed for repairs.

Not surprisingly, the trees had grown significantly (and many more had been planted)in the 30 years since he last came. You no longer could roll down the hill or even see the lake from the tower.

We walked over to a playground area. Kevin remembered these swings being there when he was little.

Next, we headed over to the lake and crossed the suspension bridge. Camden enjoyed making it sway back and forth.

Kevin really enjoyed revisiting his childhood and sharing those stories and memories with his kids. It was a great end to an amazing vacation.

Day 8: Traveling Home: Des Moines

We got up at 4am and loaded the kids to begin the journey home. They slept the first 3 1/2 - 4 hours of the 10 hour trip, so it made it much easier on them...and really on us. Plus the last 2 hours were Camden's nap. Perfect planning.


We made a lunch break stop at a large Cabela's somewhere in Nebraska, then arrived in Des Moines for our night stop. We decided to go home on I-80, partly to have a different drive and see a few more states, and partly to see our friend, Lindsay (who lives in Des Moines) for the evening.


We pricelined our hotel again and scored. It was a all suite hotel with a great outdoor swimming pool and a full breakfast in the morning. All for $40. Plus, it was really close to the Iowa Machine Shed Restaurant where we had dinner with Lindsay. It has great food that was partially served family style. Plus they had all kinds of farm equipment and "animals" outside for Camden to enjoy.

They also had a free tractor ride that we took advantage of after dinner. Camden was really opposed to it at first because it was so loud. She is very sensitive to noises.

But in the end she loved the ride around the grounds and seeing the equipment up close and we LOVED our short, but very good, visit with Lindsay. She is a special woman who is hip and funny and smart and very well grounded. We miss her in Lafayette, but are happy for her and her life in Des Moines.

Day 7: 16th Street Mall

We stopped at a fantastic family-owned Mexican restaurant in Monument, CO on our way back to Lora's house. Then we all crashed for a few hours and rested up. Camden wasn't the only one who took a nap!

Finally, we ended the evening back in downtown Denver at the 16th Street Mall. The mall is actually a street lined with shops and restaurants that is closed to automobile traffic. There are buses, trolleys, horse-drawn carriages, and rickshaws that transport people up and down the way if you don't want to walk.

We had dinner at Cheesecake Factory, then walked up and down the Mall window shopping and chatting.

It wasn't a new restaurant option for any of us, except Camden. And she highly approves of said cheesecake.

Day 7: U.S. Air Force Academy

Our next stop was the Air Force Academy. We drove by the place several times and liked seeing the Chapel and the gliders (sail planes) in the air. These sail planes are used to train the cadets how to fly solo.

We went in the far gate and were able to stop and see a few planes that were on display.

We arrived in time to see the noon formations. Unfortunately it was raining and we didn't watch very long...

At each corner of the field there was a different aircraft. Kevin and Austin were sure enthralled at this stop. It made it even more special that Papaw had served in the Air Force.

We took a quick look inside the chapel. The bottom floor is the catholic chapel.

The top floor is protestant. The stained glass window and huge pipe organ were stunning.

We ended the stop back at the visitor's center with a peek through the museum and a stop at the gift shop.


NOTE: Camden's stroller was soaked from the rain, so I took off her shorts so they weren't soaked the rest of the day.

NOTE 2: Another look at that face scrap from earlier in the morning. Poor, poor baby girl! But she took it all in stride.