Our Day at the Fair

Since we didn't make it back home this summer to go the the Del Mar Fair (aka. the San Diego County Fair), I wanted to make sure that we made it to our local fair. The San Juan County Fair only runs for 6 days and is billed as the largest county fair in New Mexico. I love the Del Mar Fair and was hoping for something similar but this is New Mexico and I didn't want to get my hopes up. Surprisingly, I was not disappointed. We went to the fair yesterday, spent most of the day there and were very entertained.

As soon as we got there we headed straight for all the animal barns because we knew Amelia would like seeing the animals. We saw every pig, cow, goat, sheep, bird and rabbit being shown in San Juan County and Amelia loved it. One lady even took her duck out of it's cage and let Amelia pet it. We also saw a dog show (which Amelia slept through) and all of the crafting exhibits. It was a mini version of the Del Mar Fair and we had a lot of fun. Amelia only had a 30 minute nap all day so I'm hoping she'll sleep most of this afternoon. We'll see!

Visiting Williams

Last week Amelia and I went to visit Rod's parents, Richard and Connie (otherwise known as Nana & Papa), at their place in Williams, Arizona. Williams is about 30 minutes west of Flagstaff and 50 miles south of the Grand Canyon. It's great to relax and enjoy the great views from their place. We took Amelia into the community pool and, again, she loved the water. She also loved the big yellow tomcat that they feed when they're there. One night for dinner we had corn on the cob and for the first time we offered Amelia the cob. As you can see she loved it and had no trouble eating it.

Now speaking of trouble, that came on our way home. Since Rod works for Mesa Airlines, we get to fly free on any US Airways flight or their affiliates. Before we left to head into Flagstaff on Friday I called to check the availability on the flights we were taking. At that time there were 6 seats left on the flight from Phoenix to Farmington. I know that doesn't sound like very many but the plane only seats 19 people so 6 seats is almost 1/3 of the plane. Well to make a long story short (or shorter), the flight was full when we got into Phoenix so we had to stay in a hotel for the night and then our flight out the next day was delayed. So finally we left Phoenix at 2:45pm on Saturday. Amelia was so tired on Sunday that she slept in until 9am and then took 2 naps! I know we should almost expect that to happen since we fly stand-by but you always hope it won't.

The Yard

Sorry it has been a while since I posted anything. We had one fairly uneventful week and then Amelia and I were gone for a few days. But as always we have been busy outside! The last week of July I finally got my vegetable garden planted in the backyard. I know it is just a bit late to plant vegetables but maybe, just maybe, I'll get something from them before the end of the season. I got a little ambitious and bought way too much for the small space I have. I planted watermelon, crookneck squash, zucchini, two kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, pumpkins and bell peppers. Hopefully later in the season I can show you a picture of how much they've all grown.


Our other yard item last week was our first grass-cutting. This is probably not exciting to most people but not only is this the first lawnmower we've owned but it is also the first time we have lived anywhere with grass to mow. We spent most of last Monday afternoon lawnmower shopping around Farmington. Amelia was not having a lot of fun and a huge thunderstorm moved in just before we were finished. Then when we got home Sadie was a muddy mess because the storm had freaked her out. Luckily, Tuesday was a pretty day and we finally had the smell of fresh-cut grass in our own backyard. Yeah!

Pool Party

Last night our church had a pool party for families at the new Aquatics Center here in Bloomfield. The aquatics center is really nice and includes a zero-entry kiddie pool with fun water features, two water slides, an indoor and outdoor pool. Amelia loves the water (as you can see) and she wanted to play in the kiddie pool but since the water recycles through the water features it's not very warm. The outdoor pool was much warmer and she enjoyed floating in her blow-up turtle.

They served ice cream bars about halfway through the evening. It was a nice distraction for Amelia and a good snack for Rod & I since we hadn't had dinner yet. Amelia was starting to get tired about 7:30 so we were just about to get out of the pool when everyone had to get out because of lightning. We could see big thunderclouds to the east so we figured it was inevitable. All in all it was a fun night and Amelia was ready for her bed when we got home!

Church Picnic

Rod and I have always liked the idea of living in a small community. Bloomfield has a population of about 7,000 people but it is close enough to Farmington (pop. 40,000) that everything we need is still nearby. Last night our church, First Baptist of Bloomfield, had a church picnic & missions night. The church provided BBQ beef sandwiches and beans and everyone else signed up to bring one of five things: onions, pickles, watermelon, chips or dessert. We got a kick out of how specific they were. Regardless, it was a neat dinner with everyone bringing their chairs and eating on the grass behind the church. People loved watching Amelia run around and she loved the open space.

After dessert, everyone moved inside for a presentation by a missionary couple serving in Slovenia. It was great to hear what God is doing in other parts of the world. They also had a picture presentation and we never knew what a beautiful country Slovenia is. Lucky for us, they also provided childcare because otherwise one of us would not have been able to focus on their presentation.

Checkup in Durango

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Durango. Amelia's pediatrician is up there and it was time for her 18-month well check. The doctor said she is doing great and she came in at 20 lbs. 9 oz. and 31 1/2 inches. She likes to stick right at the bottom of the curve in her weight but then look at me. We have to go to Durango to go to the doctor because our insurance does not have any pediatricians in-network anywhere in Farmington. Because we love going up there, we don't mind so much. After her appointment we went to Santa Rita Park which has a great playground and is right next to the Animas River. So she had a great time stretching her legs and then we put her in the stroller and went for a nice long walk along the river. The temperature was perfect, maybe 80 degrees, which was a nice change from the near 100's we've been having in Bloomfield.

This picture is a from a few weeks ago but I just had to share it!

At the Lake

We went up to Navajo Lake for a dinner barbeque on Tuesday and I got this cute picture of Rod & Amelia. Thought you might like to see them!