Saturday Markets

One of the best things about where we live is that we are so close to several Amish farms and market stands.  After having a nice lazy morning at home, we picked up Paxton and headed out for fresh produce.

 

At the first stand, we found wonderful melons.  Camden and I both really wanted a watermelon even though Kevin doesn't like them.  We selected a nice heavy one and some corn on the cob for one dinner this week.  The kids quickly found that there were rabbits in cages under the trailer and were fascinated while I shopped.



 

Just about 1/2 mile down the road was an Amish homestead.  There corn was much better and I wish I had waited!  But they also had some nice zucchini and tomatoes.  The kids were once again fascinated by the animals nearby.

We were in a little town called Bellmore.  One of the best things about this one stoplight town is The Big Berry.  It's a classic Indiana ice cream shop (think Tasty Freeze/Frozen Custard/Lindy Freeze) and is also known for it's cheeseburgers.  My favorite reason to stop here is the onion rings!

 

We enjoyed lunch inside the small building, but took our ice cream cones outside.  It was a beautiful sunny, but not too hot summer day.

Kiwi Lantern

We are behind on Kiwi Crates.  Our summer has been busy!  We finally got one out and did this project.  Camden loved using the star punch to make stars in 8 sheets of paper.

 

She then used stickers to attach the paper in each side of the lantern.

The finished project!

A little battery operated light placed inside makes it glow.  She is excited to put it on the porch when it's dark.  Thankfully the sun is down shortly after 9 now, otherwise it's bedtime...school has started!

First Day of Kindergarten

Camden woke up super early for her first day of school.  I think she was excited.  Can't believe the difference a year (or 4) makes.  What a big girl!

 

 *Oops...date on this should be 2009.  I'll correct when I have access to a different computer.  She was 1 and just had her cast off the week before.

 

She dressed herself and waited patiently for me to be able to do her hair.  It wasn't until she got home from school that we realized she had her shorts on backwards all day!

 

I like the crown braid I put in her hair.  It kept her hair from being in her face, but lots of her fine strands made their way out.  She plays so hard it is no wonder, but it was still better than all down in her face.

She desperately wants to ride the bus, but since we are literally 2 minutes from the building, we are dropping her off and picking her up.  The timing in the morning is perfect for me...and Kevin would need to get up at the same time whether she walked or rode. 

She waved her envelope of breakfast/lunch money as I took her picture.  She is not a morning person and doesn't like to eat breakfast early, so her decision to eat breakfast at school is a good one.  It's cheap and a great option for her.

She was so excited and ran in...I hollered at her, "what about my hug and kiss"...she did a quick about face and came running back, "Momma!".

After our goodbyes, she was off.  Her reports that evening were all positive and she seems to really love being back in school.

To celebrate, GaGa and Grandpa joined us that evening at Up the Creek for an ice cream treat.  Yes, that is a HUGE brownie sundae in front of her.  She did split it with her mom (my side has the whipped cream; hers has the gummy worms).

So happy and proud of our little Kindergartner!

Waveland Elementary Open House

On Tuesday night we attended the Waveland Elementary Open House.  This was the night before school started, so we were thrilled to be able to see her classroom, meet her teacher, and generally walk around the building and show her things like the cafeteria and music room.

 

We also took her school supplies in her new backpack (thanks Aunt Carole!).

 

So far there are 11 kids her class.  Her desk will be next to Braydon (who went to Kid's Kingdom with her) and across from Conner (who she knows a little bit from VBS and church).

Her teacher is Mrs. Barr.  Camden looks suspicious in this picture, but she did like her and was simply being a punk for the camera.

Mrs. Barr was a realtor for 16 years, then got involved in her kids schools and decided she would go back to school for teaching.  She has taught for 9 years in all grades.  Last year she was a 6th grade teacher, but has taught Kindergarten for 4 years, so it's not a huge stretch for her.  She did just find out LAST WEEK that she would be at Waveland with Kindergarten so she has had to prep very fast.  The classroom is full of organization - charts, signs, etc. so I think she will be very good.

In addition to her desk, Camden has a cubbie for her gym shoes and blanket for rest time.  Camden is very excited to get started!

Play Date

Camden wanted a last play date with Paxton before school starts this week!  We set up a "redneck" water park in our little pool and they had a ball!

 

Love his Mohawk.  He wanted me to get several pictures.  He is a clown just like Camden...I think it is definitely the reason they like each other so much.

Afterward, we came inside for sno-cones (thanks Gramma Pat for the bday gift; it is definitely being used!)

When Kevin woke up it was dinner time, so we headed to Up the Creek for pizza and play.  Camden said it was the best playdate EVER.

Fair Rides

This day was such a fun day together.  Camden is finally at the age where we can do something like this and just enjoy it.  She can walk the entire time, not need constant vigilance (just occassional reminders to stay next to us), and participate in everything.  It felt like we kinda turned a nice corner on this outing. 

 

Most fun for her were the rides.  The fair had set up a second midway on the opposite side of the grounds from the main midway for kid rides only.  It was perfect!  No battling to go on rides she couldn't, no overly priced game every few feet, and no teenagers.

 

Camden's first choice was the "fun house" type slide.  She had to climb up rope ladders, slide down an inflatable slide, and cross plank bridges before going down the big tunnel slide. 

 

 



 

She did ride the boats and had a ball, but I think once she got a taste of some of the bigger stuff she can now do, she won't elect to do the "kiddie" rides much longer.

One of my favorite summer options at Columbian Park was the big dipper.  My memory makes it much bigger than this "Super Slide," but I still got such joy out of watching her go down.

I think she this was her first coaster ride!

She went around one time, then we showed her from the sidelines how to raise your hands.  The rest of the time it was her constant position.

Her favorite ride was the "planes."  Not sure of the exact name, but she laid on her stomach and the ride went round in circles while lifting them up to fly.  It reminded me of the Giant Swing ride just laying down.

She also flew on the bees.

We all three rode the ferris wheel.  Great views of the entire fair grounds...and even downtown Indy in the background.

Indiana State Fair

Kevin's last day of vacation was Tuesday and Camden starts Kindergarten next week (yikes!), so we took one last summer "hurrah."  It was $2 day at the State Fair, so that was our destination.

 

Lots of tractors to climb, mowers to sit on, and barns to explore.

 

The kids area had been revamped (or at least we don't recall this neat "farm trail" before).  Camden was given an apron and a bucket then had to walk along the trail, performing various farm chores at each stop.  One of the fair princesses was at the chicken coop.

 

At the end of the trail, she turned everything in and got paid for the chores.  She took the play dollar into the final barn where she could buy a snack - applesauce, cheese stick, milk, juice, etc.  Really neat activity for kids.


We stopped through several of the 4-H farm buildings checking out horses, goats, cows, and pigs.

We came across several Spongebob items, so pictures were requested!

She helped catch jellyfish (one of SB & Patrick's favorite games) and drove the Scooby van in an exhibit building dedicated to cartoons and animation.

Of course, one of the highlights of any fair is the food.  Most of the stands had some $2 special so it was nice to be able to share a big variety of items for a little bit of money.  Camden's favorites were sno-cones and deep fried cookie dough (and oreos).  Kevin and I enjoyed those (well not so much the sno-cone), but also King fries, rib-eye sandwich, and an inside-out grilled cheese.

We had to get some ice cream at the dairy barn and a picture with a HUGE cow. 

We decided to take the tractor trolley back to the other side and get an elephant ear before we left.  Unfortunately, we were too tired to walk much further (we'd already been walking about 5+ hours) and there was no place selling one nearby.  I can't believe we ate so much food...but not the classic fried dough (our ultimate favorite).  Next year I think we'll get it early in the day!