July 19-August 12

Yikes. I thought I was doing better with getting posts up! Oh well...

After 4 or 5 days of riding her bike without pedals, Bella said she was ready for them to be put back on. She took off!

The kids are doing a free month trial of karate. They both love it, and look at how cute they are in their uniforms!

 Last-minute summer activities! I felt the pressure of the impending school year, so we made sure to soak up as much fun as possible.

An afternoon at the spray park.

We checked out the new children's area at Conner Prairie.

There was an area for building a fort.

Ryan playing with cloud dough-a mixture of baby oil and flour. We made this before and it's pretty weird. Feels squishy like sand, but you can compact it to make sand castles and buildings.

Newly minted lamb!

Water gun fights at Grammy and Grandpa's.

And of course watermelon!

 We are officially moved in. I added the kids' heights to the back of the laundry room door. If you can look at the picture up close, you'll see that Ryan is the same height as Bella, but a year ahead. For instance, Ryan is (almost) as tall at 5 as Bella was at 6!

 The annual trip to Missouri! Bella spent the week with Maga and Papa by herself, then Ryan and I went to pick her up.

Swimming in the lake.

 We went go-karting, which was a first for both kids.

Riding the kiddie train together.

Just, you know, hanging out with Kris Kringle.

I think Bella was giving him the full list so he can get started on it.

They're so casual. I love that they both chose their Adams Family Reunion t-shirts to wear that day.

 Mini-golf is a MO tradition. Costs an arm and a leg, but the kids love it so much. This year we tried the Hollywood-themed golf place next to the wax museum.

Golfing on the red carpet!

Finding some much-needed shade! It was HOT that day!

 Silver Dollar City with Maga! We spend the whole time in the kids' area. This year Bella rode the galleon all by herself-in the very highest seat! It freaked her out a bit, but not enough to miss going again with Maga!

Ryan parked himself here until the train went by.

 We've always seen the sign for the "World's Largest Rocking Chair" and always knew that Route 66 goes pretty close to the highway. We found the chair, AND it was on Route 66! AND it had a bathroom-a trip trifecta! 

They don't lie about this being a giant rocking chair!

I took this picture for my dad and father-in-law, both of whom will want to know this information. :o)

 The store had some fun signs.

 This boy. This is the mess he makes just having a bowl of cereal. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

 Our state fair is a great state fair! Don't miss it! Don't even be late! Hasseld family tradition!

An 80% chance of showers didn't deter us! First stop: Little Hands on the Farm! of course.

 

This was a new event: duck racing! Bella got chosen from the crowd, and she and Joshua launched her duck. It won! She advanced to the finals, but her duck wasn't up to the challenge.

Any chance to pet an animal...

GIANT farm equipment. And this wasn't even the biggest one!

The kids wanted one of these houses so bad! Loft, front porch swing-I don't blame them.

Ryan enjoying a "cheat day" with a deep-fried Oreo. It's like gluten-coated gluten. He was in heaven.

This was the prize Bella won for winning the duck race: a duck caller. She blew the heck out of that thing.

Again with the animals. She was trying to get them to make noise like Wimpy Goat.

Clydesdales! I knew that Belgians were big, but these were just as large.

Messiest eater ever. Chocolate ice cream cone vs. boy. Boy wins.

We visit this section every year. Ryan was petting the Holstein calf and said, "Look! A baby Chick-Fil-A!"

One of my indulgences: big ol' plate of taters!

 We chose this day to go because it was "Wristband Day" and the kids could ride unlimited rides. They made it worth our money, that's for sure!

Ryan on the race cars. Bella rode this too, but she's getting pretty big for it.

Both kids ended up on this ride with the biggest smiles you've ever seen.

We all got on this one called the Mousetrap.

Bella hopped on this hang glider ride and loved it. She actually rode it twice (right before the rain rolled in).

Even Joshua got a ride!

See this ride? My crazy brave daughter is on it. I stood there shaking my head at both her craziness and her bravery.

We got in a few rounds of skee-ball.

No visit is complete without corn!