Natalie & Ryan: Traditions

I almost missed out on this year's East Idaho Fair fun. The unfortunate side effect of babysitting a sick baby is that you and all your family will probably get sick, too. I started to get a sore throat and some chest congestion a few days before we were to go to the fair, but I just hoped that it would clear up before then. The day before, my lungs were burning so badly, and I felt so crappy, I backed out of the trip entirely. The fair was only the first stage of our fun. We were going back to Yellowstone for round 2. I didn't think hiking with burning lungs would be fun. The idea of having a few days to myself to unwind and nap sounded AMAZING, but I was also feeling pretty bummed about not going to the fair. So, I decided to tough it out. I could take it slow, and hopefully the Goodrichs wouldn't stone me for ruining the trip.

In the end, I'm super glad I decided to go. Tender mercies rained upon me the morning we left. I woke up that morning and the burning in my lungs was gone, my throat didn't hurt, and overall, I felt much better. We packed up the car and were on the road by 7. We got to the fair around 10, and met up with Ryan's parents and brothers, and the Bendalls. It rained for most of the drive up, and we worried it would ruin the fun, but lucky for us, the rain was easing up when we got there, and the rest of the day was cool and sunny. I only had one thing on my mind, though. Keeping up our fair tradition! We found the caricature lady and completed our 3rd caricature. She asked us if we wanted Ryan drawn with his hat on or bald. We opted for having him drawn bald, since it would be fun to see the physical changes in the caricatures as the years go on. The big, shiny dome that she drew was my favorite part of the drawing, closely followed by Lilly's bow and necklace. She was decked out in all of her "pretties."

Once the caricature was done, I was able to relax. We spent the rest of the day watching the Indian relay races, eating crazy fair food, and looking at all of the animals. I so loved getting to see how excited Lilly got when we saw animals, cows especially. She spent the entire time mooing at the cows and flailing her arms in excitement. We let her out at the petting zoo, and she showed us how good she was at poking the goats. Oh, and one poor, loose chicken had the unfortunate task of getting chased by Lilly. She flapped her arms and laughed as she chased it around. It was so cute!

After the fair, we headed to Alpine to stay with the Moores before our morning Yellowstone departure. Yummy dinner, grandmas and grandpas, and a very comfy bed were the perfect end to a perfect day.

Isn't it cute?! I made Ryan promise that if I didn't go, he'd still get the caricature done, but have her draw Ryan holding a sign that says "We miss you, mommy!"

She has discovered puddles and how fun they are to splash in

Petting daddy's head

Going against everything that is Ryan, he went out of his comfort zone for lunch. This is a donut burger. I was all for it, since I'm a huge fan of sweet & salty combinations. He let me have a bite, and oh my goodness, it was SO good. Bacon, BBQ sauce, and a donut....

Feeding herself bites of the yummy cinnamon roll that grandpa got

The cow was not amused that she was mooing at it.

She still doesn't really understand what pigs are

She hated doing this, but she had her sucker, so all was fine

Colton is such a good uncle

The view from the Moore's cabin

Running around in her new shirt. She met Buffy the Buffalo, the mascot of the Shoshone Indian tribe who had a booth at the fair, and she was so cute, they gave her a free shirt. I would give a baby a free shirt if she shared her kettle corn and gave me kisses.