Pullen Park

We had a picnic at Pullen Park yesterday. For those of you who aren't familiar with Raleigh, this park is one of the best government resources around for spending a nice day with family. We took a picnic and enjoyed it by the small lake. We took a paddle boat ride, though I'm still looking for a paddle boat with an adjustable seat so I can extend my legs all the way. Lily tried to act as our helmsman, but we found that she seemed to prefer being the captain.

I took Lily on the carousel, which was good except that when I was trying to go back to sleep this morning after being paged I could hear the music from the restored Wurlitzer organ. Unfortunately, they did not have the train operating.

All in all, it was a really fun day. We ended our day with some BBQd bratwurst out in the gazebo topped off with some of my homemade pumpkin ice cream. Noah was wonderful all day. Life is good.

A Fair Time

I took Lily to the State Fair this morning. The gates opened at 9, but the rides and games didn't start until 10. I figured it was important to get there early because the crowds would be thinner and it was not supposed to rain as much this morning. Unfortunately, it was drizzling off and on as we got there. I decided to eschew the umbrella because I thought we'd make it. Oops.

Once we got in we quickly found the barn for the FFA (Future Farmers of America). Lily enjoyed looking at the various animals, but seemed particularly fascinated by the crowing roosters. It was nice to go through before it got crowded.

I was then on the hunt for more livestock. We walked through the midway to get to the petting zoo. There were all kinds of interesting animals there. A llama came over to me looking for some food. They had porcupines in a pen in the middle of the barn (not for petting) as well as kangaroos. I don't think I had ever seen a yak before today. Lily wasn't interested in petting, which was just fine with me. We set off for the next livestock exhibit.

As I walked through the midway I heard the carnies talking about the day. I kept thinking of Austin Powers' one fear in life. I can't say that I felt real great around these folks either. Lily was blissfully ignorant.

We got to the main exhibition building and none too soon because the skies opened up. We went in to check out the animals. Lily got to see a cow getting milked by a machine. It really speaks to our suburbanity to say that I used Mommy's breast pump as a frame of reference for Lily. We got to see a cow leave some patties on the floor. I explained to Lily that you never want to walk behind a cow for two reasons:

• Poop
• You might get kicked

I shouldn't have told her that. We couldn't navigate through the exhibit hall because she was terrified of getting kicked even when we were well behind the cows. She was even worried of being kicked by cows that were laying down. It was also tough because Lily kept one hand pinching her nose to block out the smell. It seems that she doesn't like the smell of poopy straw. Even though I grew up in the 'burbs I associate it with visits to my grandparents' house in Hamilton where my dad grew up, so I kind of like it. Lily was not sold on, "it's not that bad". I don't think Lily is going to be a FFA.

It was still raining, so we found the main exhibition hall. We saw a pumpkin that weighs over 1100 pounds and I found out how they do it (genetic engineering and constant drip watering with fertilizer). We saw prize cucumbers and some bizarre looking veggies. I saw a sweet potato as big as my head. We spent some time chatting with the beekeepers and sampled some fresh honey. We learned that there is a woman who gets bees mailed to her weekly so they can sting her as the poison helps with arthritis. Lily wanted to go out into the rain more than being around the stinky animals (there were also animals in another part of the huge building).

I eventually relented, but fortunately the rain did too. We looked at some of the rides, but I could only sell her on the carousel. Maybe next year.

Lily and I had split an ear of corn at around 10:30 and then Lily had her first corn dog. She was tentative at first, but once she got going she wouldn't stop. Later on I had perhaps the best Italian sausage sandwich I've ever had in my life. We got a freshly-made cup of butter pecan ice cream for the way out and we also visited the grist mill reproduction and enjoyed a free hushpuppy (I had one bite and Lily ate the rest). On the way out I decided to pass on the free smokeless tobacco samples, despite the very attractive young lady they had trying to draw people in. As we walked by her I decided to instead look at Lily and ask her if she enjoyed the fair. I didn't get asked if I wanted to come into the tent.

It turns out that Lily did enjoy the fair. I got my hand stamped so I can go back later today, but I don't think that will happen no matter how much I want to try the fried oreos. I think I've had enough fair for a year, and hopefully Lily will be able to enjoy it even more next year. And hopefully she will grow another 2 inches so she can ride more rides if she is so-inclined.

A Note from the Teacher

Amanda got this from Ms. Sandy, who is one of Lily's preschool teachers:

Amanda and Jason,

Just a note to let you know that Lily is really a great kid. We were playing color and shape Bingo in our room today. For some reason she had four or five spaces covered before anyone else at her table. Needless to say they were feeling not so good. However, Lily cheered them on. She started cheering every time they had one on their card. We very seldom ever get to witness such compassion from a four year old. She had such a great time and was laughing and playing the game with such enthusiasm.

You should be very proud of her and it speaks highly of you as parents. God Bless both of you, Ms Sandy

I'm not sure what we did to engender this behavior in her, but I'm glad for it!

Evening Games

It turns out that it was good to have my Greek midterm tonight (it went well, BTW). It wasn't a very long test and I got out of class at around 7:00. That got me home at around 7:20, so I could do Lily's bedtime routine. The latest evening game here is hide and seek and we take turns hiding upstairs. She's getting better at it and almost never giggles when I'm getting close now. A year ago she would always come running out of hiding. Her seeking skills are also improving.

She prefers playing this game with her new walkie-talkies. According to her, when we play that the game is called "Walkie-talkie Hospital Ambulance". I'm not sure what that's all about.

On a side note, summer doesn't seem to want to quite let go. We have nice days with highs in the high 70s, but it isn't getting very cool in the evenings. We have the house open, but it's not particularly comfortable in here. If we can hold out to Saturday night we'll be OK.

It Doesn't Get Much Cuter

Amanda and Lily are upstairs napping. I'm working from home. Amanda dropped off Noah as he doesn't always sleep during this time of the day, but I can handle the crying.

I love the way he has his hands together in this one.


There really is very little to report these days. Things are going well. We're very blessed.

Roller Derby

Lily got some very cute roller skates for her birthday from her Aunt Nat and Uncle Eric. She likes to put them on and walk around the rug we have in the living room. Since the weather is so gorgeous today Amanda thought it would be fun if we went out skating together on a local greenway trail. Frankly, I was pretty skeptical about Lily on the skates, but I thought we should get out, so off we went.

We started off with Lily on a basketball court. She was excited to get her skates on, but once she stood up the fun ended. I tried holding her hands and gently leading her, but she wouldn't have it. We also tried it on the nearby double tennis and volleyball court, but she wouldn't have that either. Amanda got in a few minutes on her skates and I tooled around the courts for a few minutes to get my feet under me.

We ended up taking a mile walk on the greenway. Listening to Lily you'd think that we did a forced march through the snow. She kept complaining about how thirsty she was and how tired her legs got. Amanda decided to carry Lily on her shoulders for the last half-mile, which is reminiscent of this (look at about 1:40 in the video).

Now everyone is napping and I should be preparing for my Greek midterm on Wednesday.

More Planned Chaos

We're watching our niece Brenna today. OK, Amanda is actually watching her and I'm just around periodically. Nothing helps me stay downstairs and work like having an extra child in the house. Today they went to the park for a couple of hours. Lily pushed Brenna in the stroller as long as the path was not uphill. However, Amanda had to carry Noah in the Baby Bjorn. They were gone for about 2 hours and it sounds like it was a LOT of work.

We had lunch and then Amanda made tea for them. Not really chaotic so much as messy. There were plenty of sugary milky puddles to mop up when this tea party was done.

Everyone is napping now. I slept in this morning as I desperately needed to catch up. I suspect that the house will get moving again around 3:30 or 4:00, which will give Amanda another hour of chaos before we feed Lily and head over to the NC State Fair for the MercyMe concert.

I'm a little concerned about the overwhelming nature of the Fair. Tonight is the first night and it may be a little crazy. Plus, we need to walk completely across it to get from parking to the arena. It's going to be yet another level of chaos. I'm looking forward to eating some fried delicacies, though.

Tomorrow is a picnic and chapel service for my seminary. It's been nice to have the week off school. I haven't worked quite as furiously this week, which has been nice with mom's visit and the baseball playoffs going on.

In case anyone is wondering, Noah continues to do well. He is smiling and almost laughing now. He has a generally sweet disposition and we're very thankful for that!