The County Fair

The San Juan County Fair has always been a big event in my life, but for the first time in many years I didn't have any responsibilities or obligations to fulfill at the fair.  It was nice, but also a little weird - I didn't really know what to do with myself!  So, I just took my kids and we enjoyed everything we could.

The first event we watched was the Bull Riding Rodeo.  It was mostly just bull riding, but they did have some mutton busting too.  I had asked Stetson before if he wanted to ride a sheep this year, and he said, "no way"!  But after watching the other kids do it, he decided he wants to try it next year.

The next event we went to was the Farm Bureau Talent Find, an event that Kenny and I were in charge of for several years.  It was a little strange just sitting there watching, but I really enjoyed it.

One of my favorite singers when I was in High School was John Michael Montgomery, so I was pretty excited when I found out he was coming to our fair to do a concert.  We took the kids and sat in camp chairs.  Thanks so much to Andy and Alicia for the yummy sno cones the kids enjoyed before the show.

Yum!

Just me and my cowboy

I think Lucy is up to something, don't you?

Gotta' love Stetson's blue smile!

 So, I was a little disappointed in the concert.  John Michael just isn't the singer he used to be!  In my opinion, famous singers should save some money while they are in their height of glory and then retire when they get old and do something they enjoy - like hunting!  Anyway, still love his songs . . . the way he used to sing them - but we had a good time.

I've always been too busy to watch or participate in the family fun games and "honey money", but this year was different, and I was almost as excited as Stetson.  We had fun competing in the games, but were a little disappointed when our number didn't get called to rub honey all over ourselves and find some cold hard cash - oh well!

Stetson competing in the hula hoop contest

Stetson in the bag race

 I didn't get a picture of the egg toss, because I was Stetson's partner and we were too busy trying not to break the egg to take a picture.  I think we did pretty good for a 4-year old and an old pregnant woman, plus it was a lot of fun!  And, my brother Jens and his partner Tracen won that game - good job guys!

I think Stetson spent more time standing in line for the balloon man to make him a balloon than doing anything else!  The first three times he got a blue and green sword, and each time it popped within an hour.

Stetson with one of his swords (and an ice cream cone:)

 So finally he had the man make him a blue and green pistol, and it lasted a little longer - thank goodness!

The super durable pistol

 This dirt pile was right by my parents' camp trailer, and it was great entertainment for the kids (and kept them off the blow up slides that scare me to death!)

Stetson - Ian - Justin

 Lucy's favorite entertainment of the entire fair was McKady's dog Percy.  I know, we totally could have just stayed home and played with him there, but it is just so much more meaningful at the fair, right?

Big Smiles!

Just chillin'

 Of course we wouldn't miss out on the Jr. Livestock shows and sale!  For some reason, my kids' favorite was the pigs.  Stetson said that when he is old enough to do an animal at the fair, he wants to do a pig.  Lucy started getting bored at the sale until the pigs started coming out, and we were sitting in just the right spot to view them.

Lucy watching the pigs

 Talon and Tracen Jack both bought steers from us to raise and show at the fair.  They looked great and placed very high, one first in the star class and the other first of the blue ribbon steers.  We were happy to be able to bid on Talon's and buy it for Kenny's parents . . . that is going to be some good beef!

Talon's star class steer

Tracen's blue ribbon steer

 And this little lady won Grand Champion with this goat!  Way to go McKady!!!  One of the guys working in the ring told her that he didn't know how they could judge goats as they all looked the same to him.  He winked at her and said, " I think they just picked the prettiest girl and gave her goat Grand Champion."  I don't disagree, but she did raise a pretty nice goat too!

McKady, on her way to sale her Grand Champion Goat

We wanted to buy a goat, so why not buy the Grand Champion, especially since it was being sold by my sister.  I think we set a little bit of a precedence when we bought this goat for $10.25 per pound as all the goats stayed up pretty high.  Actually, all the prices were pretty high this year . . . great for the sellers, not so great for the buyers.  But since this is mostly a donation to the kids, I think it worked out just perfect.

We also watched the local rodeos and Stetson got to watch a magic show - possibly a highlight of the fair for him.  We had a good time at the County Fair!

Elsie's Blessing

 Elsie Jonnette was blessed by her father J.J.
on Sunday, August 5, 2012.

Isn't she beautiful?

Since we were all dressed up and together as a family, we attempted a family picture, and this is what we got, ha ha!

Take 1

Take 2

 Well, we tried!

Elsie with her parents and grandparents

The Grover clan

Our Journey Home

It was a fun trip, but I won't lie, I was ready to come home . . . sleep in my own bed . . . not have to live out of a suitcase . . . get back to a routine.  Our train was scheduled to leave Rochester at 11 PM, around 5 PM we were notified that the train would be two hours late!  Getting on the train in the middle of the night is hard enough, but when you add two small children and a bunch of luggage, it was a little daunting to say the least. Kenny's parents dropped us off at the train station around 10 PM, so we had a lot of time to kill.  After chasing the kids around the station for awhile, I gave up.  I had Lucy's seat, so I buckled her in, got out the lap top and started a movie - it worked like a charm!  It is hard to believe, but we actually all fell asleep for awhile.  Luckily we woke up in time to board the train between 1:30 and 2 AM.  The attendants on the train were very kind and accommodating; we had to wait a bit, but we did finally get seat together and settled down for the night.

The lifesaver in the train station

 It was nice to be sitting close to my family, something we didn't get to enjoy on the trip out.  Stetson took full advantage of the opportunity to sit between Grandma and McKady and play games on their Kindle.

The other nice thing about the trip home was that the people around us were a little more tolerant of our children, in fact, Lucy made lots of new friends and spent much of her time visiting and showing off.

Kenny just enjoyed the ride

 About an hour before we reached Denver, we received the news that a big storm during the night had washed out a portion of the tracks between Denver and Grand Junction, so the train would have to reroute through Wyoming to Salt  Lake.  Anyone getting off at stops between Denver and Salt Lake would have to take a bus from Denver.  My first thought was, "oh man, now we have to move all our luggage again!"  But, thanks to my amazing family, we managed just fine.

Our crew outside the train in Denver, CO

So we got off the train, walked across a street, and boarded a bus in Denver.  Most of our carry-on luggage,  along with our checked bags once they were unloaded off the train, were stored under the bus, but we were allowed to keep some stuff with us - thank goodness!  It took a little while, but finally we were on the "road" again.

Lucy settled right in to her new seat on the bus
(notice Kenny outside waiting for our checked bags to arrive)

 Our bus driver was a 75 year old cowboy that liked to make jokes and listen to 60's music.  He was fun, and reminded me a lot of my dad when he drives bus.  We stopped at Burger King for lunch and Stetson got  the traditional crown and a prize.  I have to give Burger King a thumbs up for this happy meal toy, a little aquarium you could decorate with bug, butterfly, and gem stickers (all included).  This little box has now become Stetson's treasure box, and has carried everything from cool rocks to live bugs.

King Stetson and his new "treasure"

 We finally made it to Grand Junction.  The good news is that we arrived at almost the exact scheduled time . . . if we had stayed on the train we would have been 2 to 3 hours late, so I was grateful for that!  I was also grateful that we had reserved a hotel room in Grand Junction so we didn't have to get in the car and drive another three hours that night.

Stetson and Lucy outside our bus in Grand Junction, CO

 The first thing on my agenda when we got to the hotel was a shower, but we decided to take the kids swimming for awhile first.  After our crazy travels the last few days, it was nice to just relax and let the kids play.  Plus, we had the whole pool to ourselves - yay!

Stetson was able to show daddy some of the tricks he had learned in swimming lessons

Lucy was happy to be able to splash as much as she wanted!

 That night we got pizza from Little Caesars, brought it to the room, and just relaxed and watched TV - it was wonderful!  We let the kids swim again the next morning before we checked out of the hotel at about noon. 

Piggy-back rides with dad are the best!

Stetson the horse in his corral
(he had a wild imagination this day!)

We did some shopping and then headed home.  It was nice to get back in Utah and see the dry desert I love so much.  Lucy decided to throw the granddaddy of all fits during this drive, and literally screamed for about 30 minutes straight.  I'm still not sure what started it, but I am grateful that she waited until it was just us in the  truck to throw a fit like that!  If she had done that on the train or bus, I don't know what I would have done. We got home about 8 PM, on Thursday, two weeks after we left.  We saw a lot of great things and had a lot of great experiences on this trip, but I think the best part for me was just being together.  It is not very often that we get to spend two full weeks exclusively together as a family, and I loved every minute of it!  Stetson said his favorite part of the trip was seeing Grandma and Grandpa.  I would say it was a successful trip!

The New York Zoo

We decided to dedicate one day at the end of our trip to something the kids would really enjoy, so we went to the zoo.  My kids love the movie "Madagascar", so when we told them we were going to the zoo in New York, they were sure they would see Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria.  This was actually the Seneca Park Zoo, and they did have a male lion, but no zebras, giraffes or hippos - sorry guys!  I think the kids had a great time anyway, and we did get to see lots of really neat animals.

The Black Family at the Zoo

Stetson was the navigator once we got in the zoo.  We let him go and do and see whatever he wanted, there were some animals that he looked at quickly, and others that he wanted to stay and watch for awhile, either way, it was all good - he set the pace and we all had a great time!

Watching the Turtle

Being the Turtle

Rhinos are lazy - they wouldn't get up no matter how much noise we made

Check out this big tree!

 We let each of the kids smash a penny to the animal of their choice, Stetson chose a penguin and Lucy chose a lion.  Kenny made one too, and he chose the sea lion.

Stetson was serious about this smashing pennies business

Lucy enjoyed it for a minute, but lost interest before the penny was actually smashed

Stetson the butterfly

Look, it is Stetson and Timone . . . the meercats

 These were the coolest benches, made out of a real tree!  We took the opportunity to sit down and enjoy the shade for a few minutes.

Lucy was impressed that there was a seat just her size

McKady and Stetson

 It was hot, but luckily there was water on hand to play in.  I let the kids splash all they wanted.

A little kid's dream!

 I didn't get a picture of the real polar bears because the kids liked these big stuffed ones so much better.  I didn't think we were ever going to get Lucy away from them!  Luckily, we spotted some fish that looked just like Marlin and Nemo - that got her attention!

Lucy and Stetson with the Polar Bears

A beautiful tiger - so grateful there was a tall fence between us!

McKady, dancing with Alex the lion, ha ha

Actually, Alex was sleeping.  I don't know if this is how all male lions sleep, but it was interesting.

Stetson and Alex

 So, while the male lion was just sleeping away, his female roommates were ready to play.  Stetson and Lucy were standing next to the glass, watching the lionesses, and this one got all ready to pounce.  I took a picture, but thought, there is no way she will actually try to pounce these kids.  I was trying to get a better picture with Lucy in it, and she pounced, no kidding, right into the glass at Lucy.  I screamed and dropped my camera, Stetson started crying and ran to me, and Lucy just got mad.  Her current form of defense is hitting and spitting, and she did both at that lioness.  Kenny didn't want her to forever be afraid of them, so he picked her up and put her up by the glass.  Lucy was still cussing out the lioness when she pounced at her again!  I don't know if the lioness liked Lucy or really didn't like her, either way it was pretty entertaining, and very memorable!  (no, we didn't get it on video:(

The Lioness, ready to pounce

After pouncing, she laid down and relaxed a little

They had this super cool tour bus you could get in, it had two levels, and you could look out the windows and see the animals on either side.

Stetson on the top level

Lucy and Stetson on the bottom level

The monkeys enjoying an afternoon treat, it looked like a giant popsicle

 I think Lucy's favorite was the elephants, she would have stayed there all day if we would have let her.  The problem was that they wouldn't come outside - maybe it was just too hot.  Anyway, this was the best picture I got, but I had to post it for Lucy.

Lucy's favorite - the elephant

 We didn't get to see the penguins, and Stetson was super bummed.  Next time we go to the zoo, that will be our first stop.  I think we all had fun anyway!