Boulder County Fair

Kids and animals go hand in hand, so we had to make it to at least one day of the Boulder County Fair! We didn't catch any of the rodeo style events, and we didn't go in the evening for the rides, but we saw every farm animal at the fair grounds. We started with the poultry room, (that's just what I'm calling it.) Chickens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys, oh my, where to start!?

And that led us to the goat and sheep. So many cute baby dairy goats to pet. And we got to watch one mama being milked.
We moved on to the dairy barn where we saw cows, and got a glass of milk, (pasteurized.)
And then the highlight of the day - the pony ride!! Now when we drive by horses in fields Natalie says "I rided a horsie, mama!" (We're working on her past tense conjugations.)
The petting zoo was also a hit. I didn't know chickens would be so soft!
And then Natalie got to make her own stick horse, which she is still very proud of.
She had to show it to Sparky.
Her only disappointment from the day was that I didn't let her get ice cream since we were on our way home for lunch. She won't let me forget that one.

house progress

It's both exciting and very frustrating having a new house built. It was very fun going to the design center and picking out all the colors and textures that will be a part of our future home.

And my brain is constantly working with ideas for the new back yard, and how I will set up my sewing room etc.

But in reality, it feels like it's all moving very slowly. Two weeks ago we were excited to see a hole start to appear.
And last week, when the concrete molds were removed we actually had a basement!!

And that's how it's been all week. There has been some activity at the site, but nothing noteworthy, (or even noticeable) has been done.

I'm not even sure which will come first - the house or the baby. But starting this week, I'm officially in my third trimester! The baby in my basketball-sized belly is moving like crazy and very healthy.

And send good thoughts our way because, ready-or-not, today we officially close on our first house and move in with my mom to await the new construction. Cross your fingers that the buyers don't back out on us, or we'll have to go through all this selling stuff again!!

farm fresh

One of my favorite things to do in Boulder in the Summer is to go to the Farmer's market. No pics of the market here because it was just way too busy. But be assured that we sampled our fair share of veggies, cheese, and other treats. Natalie got her own baby cucumber and a carrot to chew on while we meandered. But that only sparked our appetite for lunch, so after stowing our purchases in the car, we made our way to The Med.

They have great bread at The Med, and great pizza. This is the first time our waitress ever deemed Natalie old enough to play with a ball of pizza dough. It came in a close second to the tastiness of the bread, but didn't taste as good dipped in olive oil.
And it was much more fun to squish between little fingers.
We had a near meltdown when, after lunch, we said it was too close to nap time to visit the splash fountain, so we made a detour on the way to the car.
Later that day we began our dinner preparations. Everything but the beets came from our own garden! I'm going to have to do another carrot and potato harvest before we move out, and all but one tomato plant will go with us.
Natalie's job is to peel the shrimp.
I helped with the skewering.
Everything was a hit with Nat except for the beet greens and green beans.
My faves were the roasted root veggies and the BBQ rubbed pork chops! (I wasn't too into the green beans either!!)
I can't wait for the next farmer's market day... I heard that the watermelon are in town!

big girl swim lessons

The last few weeks, Monday thru Thursday, have all begun with Natalie's new swim lessons. She's in big girl swim lessons now, and the best thing about them is that I get to watch, and stay dry. Natalie is very comfortable in the water... almost too comfortable. She has learned to wait for her teacher the hard way after jumping in when it wasn't her turn. She told me later that she touched the bottom of the pool and that it was cool. Though her teacher didn't quite feel the same way about having to come to her rescue. One of the neatest things about Natalie taking a class on her own is that she later gets to teach me things. She taught me the "red light, green light" game, and "Mrs. Shark, Mrs. Shark".

Monkey walking is another favorite swim class activity. Natalie told me today that she didn't like it when Steven subbed her swim class because he called Monkey walks "Crab Walks". I suspect this bothered her because she didn't get to say "ooh ooh, ahh ahh" when she did them.

The skill that seems to be the hardest to master is the backfloat. Natalie is supposed to be able to float on her back alone for three seconds before she can graduate on to Preschool 2. She's getting close. We should know by the end of this week where Natalie stands, but wherever she's at, she loves her swim lessons, and we will keep them up through the Fall.

lazy days of Summer

Our days have been pretty full lately of packing our stuff up to move. I've been hesitant to write about it here so as not to jinx it, but our house had a couple offers on the eighth day it was on the market, and the sale closes on the 16th, (next Monday!) so we're moving out this weekend! Of course our house is still little more than a hole in the ground, so we're moving in with my mom for a couple weeks, and then moving again into her not-as-yet-quite-vacant condo. Poor Natalie has been a bit stressed with all the packing, and not sleeping very well. She also keeps asking where stuff has gone, and "taking things to storage" has become a regular part of her play vocabulary.

There are a few crazy months ahead of us! Hopefully Fall will bring with it some fun new activities. We're looking forward to more swimming, plus dance and gym classes. That should keep her busy little brain and body occupied.

We also should get out hiking more, because it is so nice in the Fall. Here's a shot of Natalie being the ultimate Boulder girl. This trip also included her first "pooping in the woods" experience. But don't tell Boulder Mountain Parks Services! And no... she's not wearing diapers anymore... at least not when she's awake!

And here's Natalie at my mom's house helping water the garden. It will be very hard leaving my garden in mid Summer when everything is fruiting, but at least we'll have this one to share for a bit!
What fun is watering the garden if you don't get a bit wet!?

And here is her "first day of school" portrait. She wasn't actually going anywhere special that day, but she was happy to pose for the picture when I told her how cute she looked in the outfit!

I have more pictures I'm going to try to post before we dismantle my computer for the move. Stay tuned!