Fair Weather

Well, we're feeling like official Minnesotans because we've lived here a year! This week we went to the Minnesota State Fair for our second year. And, we highly suggest that anyone who hasn't been should make a point of going. There is a ton to do, see, and most importantly eat. Pretty much everything is battered and deep-fried, but it's pretty fun since it only happens once a year. Here's a picture of Rachel and Justin in front of a horticulture exhibit where they'd used different plants to sculpt large animals (bears, butterflies, etc.). Justin described the fair as "career exploration" for Rachel. Between all of the animal and farm exhibits, she was in heaven. Here she is at the fun kids' farm riding a little tractor with a John Deere visor. At the little farm they have the kids do pretend farm chores, take their items (like milk, wool, etc.) to the market, get paid, and then pick something from the store for their work. She chose this stuffed lamb toy that is now a new favorite companion. It's all in a hard day's work.
Rachel's favorite part of this year's fair was probably the horses. She loved petting them and watching them get their tails braided. We saw and she petted lots of other animals and it ended up being a very big and fun day at the fair.
Oh yeah, Ian went too, as evidenced by his feet hanging out of the baby sling in this picture. Our cute baby did what he does best during this outing - slept, woke up to eat, and went back to sleep.

Other than the fair, real life started this week with Justin's return to school. This year he was able to choose his classes (all first year students take the same classes) and so he's hoping that it will be a little more exciting. We also took Ian to the doctor this week to check on his neck because it seemed like he was problematically favoring his right side. Everything should be fine (we just have to make him look to his left more so that his head forms correctly) and we had a weight check while we were there. Our 3-month-old is tipping the scales at 16 lbs 14 oz - a weight Rachel didn't reach until her 8th or 9th month. Justin has dubbed him the "happy sumo" and he continues to be the sweetest baby with his adorable smiles and laugh.