Yankee Girls and County Fairs

Carmen's milking a cow.  She is making Daddy proud. :)

Go Carmen!!!

Carmen competed in the tractor pull.  She is making Daddy proud. 

Mommy has no idea what any of that is.  Mommy grew up in New York.  

Here is video 1 of Emmett competing in the tractor pull.  Note: by the time I realized I could video it, Carmen's turn was done. That is why there is no video of Carmen.  

Video 2 of Emmett's tractor pull.  He competed with about 20 kids in his age group (7 to 8 year olds) and he came in 4th place!  

Video 3 of Emmett's tractor pull.  

Emmett did a GREAT job! There was this one little boy dressed to the nines in his cowboy boots, jeans, cowboy dress shirt and hankie in his pocket.  He could have pulled that load right on to Staunton and back!  So glad our friend, Judy, and her husband showed up and cheered Emmett on!  It was cute.

And here is the ride everyone rode the most at the fair.  It is called the tornado.  I actually went on it with Emmett and Carmen and I almost got sick.  I don't get it.  To celebrate my 30th birthday I rode every roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH.  Um, a ride at the fair now make me sick? Huh...not cool.  When the ride stopped, the ride attendant asked me if I was ok.  I wasn't moving and I was just staring and I was white as a sheet.  I just told him, "I am a cool mom.  I will not be throwing up in front of my children."  

LOVE LOVE this picture of Carmen on the Scrambler.  She LOVES the rides! She is just a free spirit just flying around on all the big kid rides and throwing her arms up in the air.  We were all sick from riding rides at 10:30 and this is her on the Scrambler.  She didn't bat an eyelash and was grinning from ear to ear.  Emmett and I were just on it a few minutes before and I was miserable and Emmett had to lean into me and close his eyes and he felt a migraine coming on.  Poor guy. 

Well, Emmett rode the Super Shot last year and he loved it.  This year he was convinced he had an actual heart attack.  The poor guy!  The ride slowly brings you up and then out of nowhere drops down.  Emmett cried.  This was right after the tractor pull drama so I am thinking he was just a bit over excited and overwhelmed!  

Well, here we are at the end of the night before we left.  The kids had so much fun riding the rides with Pilar and Della.  

So where is John you ask?  I had the brilliant idea to leave him home with the sitter and save money by not having to feed him or pay for the wrist band for the rides.  Duh. I ended up paying more for the sitter and just missing John the whole night.  Oh my.  Live and learn, I guess.

Oh, and about the fact that I am from New York.  Lest my Tennessee kinfolk get confused about whether this yankee can lift a finger in the yard...

I know mulch

This picture is courtesy of my father-in-law.  He video tapes me and takes pictures of me doing "things" in the yard.  Last time he visited, I believe he got a picture of me down by the woodsplitter stacking wood.  Mmm hmm, read it and weep people.  I don't even see a house in that picture above!  Just some mulch, a pitchfork, and a trailer.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go get the oil changed on the van to get it ready for our trip to WHERE??? NEW YORK!!  We are off on Monday!   Empire State, here we come....