State Fair 2012

We have been looking forward to the State Fair (which Miss Carmela June has been calling the "county fair") for weeks!  We all went last year and had a great time, so Mama and Daddy have been watching for it, and as soon as we saw the announcement and mentioned it to Miss Carmela, she was off and running with the idea of it.  And today, finally, we got to make the drive to the fair. Hooray!

Mama didn't take many pictures this year, partly because the cell phone doesn't take very good pictures, but also partly because as Miss Carmela June gets older (and more fun. OK, I said it), Mama finds herself and Daddy actually *doing things* with her, and not just standing around snapping pics.  Just by way of context, this state fair is a lot more 4-H/community club/senior center driven, and much less professionally organized and produced.  So, in the interest of a recap, a few of the highlights:

• The racecars at the speedway.  Unlike last year, Carmela has developed a dislike of things that are loud, so we didn't spend very long. Mama did notice as we were making our way for the exit, however, that Miss Carmela did seem to be cheering for the red racecar.
• The horse races.  These were fun, but not as much fun as last year because (a) last year we caught the barrel races, and this year was just down-and-backs, and (b) the kids riding the horses were a bit inexperienced, so the horses weren't buying it.  Sometimes the horses walked, sometimes they stopped, a few actually turned around.  This made it kind of funny, too.
• The Hawaiian dancers. We didn't see this last year.  Carmela enjoyed it, and tried a little Hawaiian dancing of her own.
• The lumberjack competition.  Basically, lumberjacks chopped wood, but it was fun to watch!
• The animals.  We saw goats, sheep (and felt their wool), alpacas (we felt their amazing wool, too), cows, dogs (which were competing in a dog show!), and bunny rabbits.  Carmela was checking out a big male goat when he suddenly bleated out a big billy goat, "BAAAA."  It made both Mama and Carmela just about jump out of our skin. Mama thought it was pretty funny. Carmela not so much.
• Elephant ear.  Carmela enjoyed this treat so much that she ran around and around and around and around and around after she ate it!
• Miscellaneous stuff.  Mama and Daddy and Miss Carmela got to see a lot more this year because Miss Carmela is a bit bigger, gets around more easily, and has a greater attention span and greater curiosity about and interest in things. 
• Alas, Miss Carmela was too small for all of the rides, so we'll have to hold out for next year.

Carmela enjoys some carne asada tacos after seeing the racecars and horse races.

A good example of the miscellaneous things we were able to see this year: The historic Shanahan cabin.  Carmela was very interested in working the old water pump to make water come out onto her hand.

We spent a long time at the water pump. Simple pleasures.

Carmela poses as a cow.

It's so hard to come home. She snoozed the whole way from the fairground to the house, and only woke up briefly when Daddy walked her from the car to the front door. She remains sacked out in her bed, still wearing her clothes. We think she enjoyed her day at the fair.

First Day of Gymnastics!

With all of the flipping and the climbing, and the somersaulting and the jumping, Mama and Daddy have long suspected that Miss Carmela June is a prime candidate for gymnastics.  Before the Olympics, Carmela watched lots of gymnastics on YouTube on Mama's computer. During the Olympics, Carmela learned about Gabby Douglas, and developed her own "Gabby Douglas" routine, a routine that usually involved racing to her bedroom and yanking her bathing suit out of her underwear drawer and insisting (insisting!) that she be allowed to wear it in order to do her "gymnastics." On the walk to and from preschool every day, Carmela walks on a neighbor's wood retaining wall, using it as her "balance beam."

So, we can all imagine the anticipation with which Miss Carmela looked forward to her first day of gymnastics last week.  She was so excited! Daddy picked her out a pink leotard, which she loved, and which she wore to bed that very night. Completely unswayed by a persistent summer cold, she charged ahead last Thursday, and barely looked back over her shoulder when it was time to meet her coach, Coach Bailey, for the first time. As soon as she got the go-ahead from her coach, she was off for the rings, thank you very much, and she proceeded to dangle, jump, dive, and bounce for the next 45 minutes.  She loved it.  We love her.  It works.

Carmela smiles at Daddy in her new pink leotard.

Practicing her gymnastics finish.

Meeting Coach Bailey at the gym.

Almost ready to go! (Mama didn't bother taking any pictures of her doing anything because the cell phone doesn't take good enough pictures. But in the background of this picture, you can kind of see the  layout of this part of the gym (and this was only about a third of the total area) where Ela and her three classmates started out. Fun!)

Neat surprises

Today, Mama and Miss Carmela decided it was about time to head to Uncle Jason's blackberry picking spot to get some blackberries for a pie tonight.  We had a fine time picking ripe, juicy berries and plopping them into our bucket, but the stickers and thorns were no fun.  Miss Carmela decided she would rather eat her picnic snack and let Mama do the heavy lifting.

Little did we know that the city parks department was having a great big Day of Play at the park where we were picking. When Mama's bucket was full, we went over to check it out. It was so much fun! Mama only had the wherewithal to snap pictures when we were inside the big gym with all the bouncy toys and riding toys, but we also played tennis and soccer games and tossed a rugby ball around.  We checked out lots of vendors and picked up lots of free treats, like a jump rope, some fizzy juice, and a refrigerator magnet.  We got some special tickets at the end of each sport we tried that we got to turn in for some delicious roasted Thai-style corn on the cob, quinoa salad, and fruit and nut clusters (only in Seattle, right?).  All in all, it was a really fun late morning/early afternoon surprise.  And we still have our blackberry pie to look forward to!

Mama ran the race with Carmela, so no pictures of Ela running around the cones and high-fiving the balloons, but this is her cool t-shirt she got for participating.

Inside one of the bouncy houses.  Mama didn't think to take pictures of tennis, soccer and rugby.

Still working on our tricycle mechanics.  There were so many things to do that we just sort of bounced from one thing to another.

Future pie.

A few good shots

Carmela and some roses on our way to preschool.

Another shot of Carmela and her birthday cake.

Carmela appreciates the sprinkles on her hot chocolate.

Soaking up some sun on the front porch.

Carmela in Chelan

Carmela and Mama got to go to Lake Chelan for a couple of days this past week. It was a lot of fun! Carmela experienced a number of firsts: First candy necklace, first ride in a fast boat, first bonfire, first s'more, and first swing in a hammock. She got to play in the sand, float in the lake, and squirt a super soaker water gun. What a lovely couple of days!

 Carmela chills in the sun with her super-cool Elmo sunnies and her favorite new butterfly suit.

 Carmela's new bff Valerie, who helped her into the lake in her floatie. The water was pretty cold, by the way.

 Carmela gets acquainted with the toy bin.

Carmela floats on the lake in her orange floatie.

 Carmela's other bff, Dan, teaches Carmela to shoot a super soaker.

 Carmela and her crew on the dock.

 Eating a snack of salmon salad on a cracker.

Bedtime buddies

A bit dark and hard to make out, but this would be Carmela and Tiny snuggled up in bed together.




* About five minutes after this photo was taken, Mama heard a terrified shriek, and walked in to both Tiny and Carmela sitting up, looking fairly upset. Tiny let himself out. Mama stayed and rocked poor Carmela in the rocking chair and tried not to laugh.

Strawberry picking 2012

It's a good thing Mama brought water bottles to our visit to the farm this year, because Miss Carmela June wouldn't have been able to wash and eat so many strawberries fresh off the plant otherwise!

Today was just a gorgeous day at the farm. Mama had told Carmela that it might rain a lot, and we might not be able to go, but the weather was just perfect. We loaded into Miss Jeni's car and trundled our way east to one of our favorite farms (it's where we also get blueberries later in the summer). (Not to be confused with the other farm, where we get apples, pears, plums, and blackberries in the late summer, or the other other farm where we get pumpkins in the fall.)

Last year, Carmela and Mama tried to go strawberry picking at a different farm, and it was just miserable. The weather was terrible, it rained on us the whole time, the strawberries were small and unripe, and, the next day, Carmela came down with croup. This year, the weather was awesome, there were lots and lots of big, red strawberries, and, so far, no one has croup. There were so many strawberries, we filled our buckets and a dozen pints in about an hour, on about half of a row. Not bad.

Mama just went ahead and sliced all of today's haul (excepting the ones Miss Carmela snacked on) and stuck them in the freezer (along with a flat she got from a friend two days ago). Instead of deciding whether to make jam or pie or whatever right this minute, we're just going to freeze these guys up and wait and see what we feel like. (For example, Mama realized earlier this evening that our cupboards are bare and we're out of milk, so unless she made cornbread muffins with strawberries in them, Miss Carmela June wouldn't have a thing for breakfast tomorrow. So.)

Really. We had so much fun today that we might go again next week. It looks like maybe some of our friends might be getting some strawberries too this year, eh?