Fair Time!

Well, if I thought July went fast, it was nothing compared to how quickly August and September have flown by!  We are settled into a new school year, and loving it.  Paige adores her Pre-First class, and Garrett is having fun in third grade (although not enjoying the homework so much!)  After a pretty steep learning curve, I feel confident in my new role as a math and social studies teacher only.  I'm enjoying the easier lesson planning, and getting to start fresh with a new class at lunchtime is really nice! 


In other news, both Garrett and Paige entered Legos into the State Fair Creative Arts competition.  Garrett has been planning this for a long time, but Paige decided at the last minute to submit something too.  As Murphy's Law would predict, Paige won 2nd place in her category, while Garrett got a participation ribbon.  Thankfully, Garrett seemed totally unconcerned about that and is happy for his little sister's success!  (And, he helped her plan it out, so some of the kudos really do go to him!)  Here are the Lego creators:

 As we wandered the State Fair, we were drawn into the face painting booth.  Paige has always dearly wanted to get her face painted, but she is afraid of the ladies who do it, because they dress like clowns.  This year she finally talked herself into doing it, though we did have to choose the woman with less makeup on!  And in her typical tomboy fashion, Paige chose to have a snake on her cheek:

Up to this point, our children did not know that a Midway even existed at our State Fair.  We have steered clear of the rides and games on purpose.  This year, however, we told them they could pick ONE ride to try.  They still haven't laid eyes on the Midway, however, because we came across this before we got there:

They got into these gigantic plastic bubbles and they could roll around in a big pool of water.  They had an absolute blast!  So we are safe from the lures of the Midway for another year.  How long can we hold out?

September's highlights also include me taking a trip to see my friend Carissa in Arkansas.  We had a great time shopping, going to her county fair, and just hanging out.  Dave also just returned from a week long hunting trip at Mt. Taylor.  Although he wasn't able to kill an elk, he had a wonderful time trying! He enjoyed spending some time with his dad and seeing the beauty of God's creation. I'm both disappointed for him and relieved that I don't have to figure out what to do with a ton of elk meat! :) 

Other than that, our lives have just been their normal, chaotic, joyful selves.  God has given us so much to be thankful for, and we are doing our best to serve Him daily.  Hopefully I can manage to post again before two more months fly by.  If not, I guess I'll just wish you a Happy Thanksgiving now!