Texas State Fair

Howdy y'all and welcome to the Texas State Fair!! I had never been to
a state fair before today. Thank you Texas for not disappointing me!
It was a beautiful day. Sunny and 85 degrees. A cool breeze kept Wyatt
happy and Diet Dr Pepper kept mommy happy.

A few highlights from our day included; rollercoster, tractors,
childrens barn, vendors and big Tex. We arrived and began walking down
the main strip just taking everything in. Wyatt was happy to people
watch until Gran pointed out the rollercoster. Wyatts eyes lit up and
his little head followed the coster from start to finish. He thought
the whole thing was pretty fun!

After the rollercoster watching, we headed over to the tractor
displays. Wyatt had to check the tire pressure and lug nuts on each
tire. I think John Deer may have a future employee.

If John Deer isn't hiring then, Wyatt will be a great farmer. He loves
the animals. He loves them so much that he screams in delight at each
one he sees. He also put his finger in a cows nose and tried to pick
a camels nose too. I am not sure how fond the animals are of him.

We closed the day with pictures of Big Tex. Big Tex stands at the
entrance of the State Fair and waves while telling you the lastest
fair news. We were getting our picture taken when I heard " Leigh
Ann". It was the Goodmans!! Friends of D and I from youth group in
Ohio. (Granted they now live just east of Dallas). Very small world!!
It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Well, seeing them and
getting a Free coke zero!!!

Texas State Fair

Silly little Wyatt goat

Texas State Fair

Farmer Gran and goat Wyatt

Texas State Fair

FFA

Texas State Fair

Loved the childrens barn.

Texas State Fair

In the middle of a costume change.

Texas State Fair

Howdy from Tex

Texas state fair

Loves tractors and funnel cake

Texas state fair

Just happened to run into this lovely family at the fair.

Wyatt wednesday

Wyatt is developing a very silly personality. Here he is in the bath
sucking water out of the wash clothe and laughing each time I tell him
"yuckie". He also threw puzzle pieces in the trash today after being
told several times "no". When I asked if he threw puzzle pieces in the
trash he promptly told me "no". Trying not to laugh, I told him again
not to throw puzzle pieces away. I then moved the trash can into the
closet. Hopefully, that will help.

Grans

Grans

Grans Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 2 dozen
1 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cups pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Greese baking sheet. In a large bowl, cream together butter and two sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry mixture to creamed mixture, then fold in chocolate chips and pecans. Drop on cokie sheets by rounded spoonfuls. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes, transfere to wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon pepper salmon

4 T. melted butter
1 t. Lemon pepper seasoning
1 t. galic salt
(mix above and pour over salmon)
Then sprinkle 1 t. paprika over salmon

Bake @ 350 for 10-12 mins

Oven baked spaghetti

Grandpa Eldon's Recipe

1 lb browned hamburger meat
1 onion chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 bell peppers chopped
2 cloves chopped
1/2 lb Colby or American cheese cut into 1'' squares
1-2 t. basil
1-2 t. oregano
2 cups Spaghetti sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Handful Spaghetti noodles cooked (with salt and 2 T. EVOO added to water)

Combine all ingredients in large casserole dish. Cut through ingredients so that everything is bite size. Then place baking dish in a heated 350 degree oven and bake covered for 30 mins.

Vroom, Vrroom

Wyatt had an amazing birthday present arrive from his Gran-T. He loves
to bang on it and fix it. He also loves to sit in it while Mommy
pushes him around the living room. It's a great work out.

Vrroom, vrroom

Wyatt loves his airplane. Thanks Gran-T

Welcome Home

I love fall!! I love it so much that I put up my fall decorations in
August. Hey, don't judge me! Here is just a little sneak peek at my
house.

Duck, duck, boat...

Tonight we went over to Aunt Amys house to feed ducks. Wyatt and Amy
threw pounds of bread and cereal to about 2 dozen ducks. Wyatt loved
barking at the ducks and was completely absorbed in the activity
untill.... Broom broom broom. A boat pulled up to the dock. Wyatt lost
all intrest in the ducks and walked as fast as he could to the end of
the dock. He watched wide eyed as the boat was being loaded onto a
trailor. The truck pulling the trailor was of course loud! Wyatt loved
it! Amy finished feeding the ducks and caught up with us. As we walked
home we saw two T-1 like airplanes. Wyatt waved and said da-da. Made
me smile. What a fun day. Thanks Aunt Amy.

Duck, duck, boat

Wyatt loved putting the cereal back into the box as well as feeding
the ducks.

Duck, duck, boat...

And the ducks ate well!

Nine months

Wyatt didn't mind his photo shoot from the comfort of his highchair
and a snack in his hand.

Nine months

Wyatt turned nine months the week we moved into our newest base. I
thought he would sit nicely in a moving box. As you can see he did not
like my idea. Sorry bubbadoo.

Toddler chair

I love a good bargin! Normally this quart of paint would be five
dollars at home depot. I found this in the marked down area for....
Yes! One dollar!!!!! Yippeee. Happy dance!!!! Now what to do with this
can? It just so happened to be almost the exact color of my dining
room table. Hum...I remembered the toddler chair Id been working on
since before Wyatt was born.

Toddler Chair

I found this chair at an antique store in Ohio. It had clean lines
that I felt where soothing and it's simply design would fit into my
decor. I wanted Wyatt to have a toddler chair so he'd feel like a big
kid sitting at the table. The only problem was possible lead based
blue paint. I sanded and sanded this chair! I know some of you will
gasp at what I did next. Yes, I repainted it!

Toddler chair

The completed work! After two coats of paint the chair looks almost
good as new. I now think it would look better if I took a sander to it
and gave it a more rustic appearence. :)

Blogging

Did you know that you can blog from your phone! It is changing my life!!! Really this is a life changing discovery!!! Just change your settings under email on blogger so you can send emails directly to your blog as a post. I can only Send one picture at a time to my blog, but maybe you can do better :) Good Luck and happy blogging.

Sent from my iPhone

Fall play

Fall is fast approaching. Wyatt and I enjoyed taking our first fall
walk with GranT and a dear friend to a park near GranTs house.
Although, Wyatt does loves to swing and experience new things. He
couldn't wait to get down and into the piles of fallen leaves.

Taking a walk to the park

Dear Friends

Wyatt has a dear friend. He has been a family friend for over 10 years
and here he is handing Wyatt a leaf. Wyatt inspected the leaf and was
fasinated by the sound of the crunching leaves under foot. Wyatt also
played in the leaves as if he was in a ball pit.

Pretake off inspector

Wyatt loves tires!

The prettiest tree that you ever did see

I added green leaves in a cluster pattern to create a fairly
symmetrical look. Then I gathered branches from our back yard and
nailed them to the wall. For my first attempt, I was please with the
outcome.

And on this tree there was a branch...

I wanted to add intrest to my sons room. Should I add color? Yes.
Should I paint? Maybe. After debating these questions I decided to add
intrest with a focal point. The focal point would be a painted tree
with leaves and real branches for a 3D effect.

Helper boy

Wyatt is a helper. If he hears or sees tools out he will wiggle his
way into help out. In this picture he's "helping" build a lead line
for the dogs.

Tractor

Wyatt has been enjoying every minute we spend at the farm. He has
started trying to say several words such as: duck, quack, chicken, and
cat. His favorite word is "Tra-toe". Which is usually followed with a
hearty "broom broom".

Visiting friends

BA and I were able to take a quick trip to DC to see a dear friend a
couple weeks ago. Her son and Wyatt are two years apart. The boys had
so much fun together.

Rockin chair

Grandpa Mac used this little wooden rocking chair with a raw hide seat
as a little boy. GranT saved it and got it out of the attic a few days
ago. Wyatt throughly enjoyed rocking back and forth in this perfect
sized little chair.

Hot Springs

Pap and Wyatt checking out the hot springs. I was surprised to see the
stream rolling off the fountain waters. But, they don't call it Hot
Springs for nothin'

Wyatt turned 8 months old while on our Texas/Ohio trip. I never got around to actually making a sign for him but these are a few pictures taken throughout the week.

Mothers Day in Ohio.
Top row: Mary, Me, Mom, Erin
Bottom row: Wyatt, Beth, Luke

Grandma and Grandpa Yates came out to the farm one night to see Wyatt. He sure thought they were alot of fun!

Hot Springs

Yummy 143 degree water.

Buckstaff bath house

One of nine bath houses on what is know as Bath House Row. Beautiful
examples of the regal 1920s and 30s buildings.

Hot Springs

Hot Springs

We took a small detour on our way to Texas. Hot Springs, Arkansas was
a beautiful town filled with history. It also happens to be the
boyhood home of Bill Clinton.

At the farm

At the farm we put up dog kennel for the puppies. Wyatt loves it too. He wants to go see the puppies every morning and make sure they are alright!

Head Beating

Found this on You tube. I thought you might enjoy seeing how our men get their hair cut while away.