Renaissance Fair

I'm not even sure when this happened, but while it was still hot out we went to a Renaissance Fair! I had been to one in middle school and thought it was awesome and so I've always wanted to go another one. I'm not 100% sure why I've always been fascinated by them, but I have been and so I was really looking forward to going. I was a bit disappointed because I wasn't expecting it to be so expensive. I knew you had to pay to get in, but I thought that once you were in you had a free pass to all the activities, which is not true. They have archery and sword fighting (with foam arrows and swords) but you have to pay to play. And well, we didn't do any of the extra activities. We did get to watch some jousting, a "Viking" duel, and a little scene by the jailhouse. All in all, it was a fun experience but I'm not sure we'll ever do it again.

It was pretty fun to see everyone dressed up. Even the dogs had chain mail.

There were lots of little concerts going on at multiple stages.

This is the "Viking" duel, and the main difference is that once you drop a weapon you can't use it anymore. While watching the fight there was this little boy who kept yelling, "stop fighting, peace is better!"

As soon as the door was closed on Andy in the cell, Charlie started to cry and scream. He was not happy about what was happening.

Andy also played this game called "rat fling" or something to that effect. It was pretty weird.

Smorgasbord

Here are some random photos from the last few weeks of summer. The kids love playing in the yard and I can't wait for next summer when Pip will be walking around and joining in on the fun. I mean, she crawls around but gets left out most of the time.

Pip loves those big windows.

Maggie's B-Day

Last month Maggie turned three and we had a little family party to celebrate. She got to pick out the dinner menu so we had Mac & Cheese, hotdogs, and broccoli. It was quite delicious. Small family birthdays are so fun because there is no stress. You just come, eat, and hang out. Don't get me wrong, I love a good party, but it is just so much simpler with only family, ya know?

The number 1 candle was all that we had. But she didn't seem to mind.

Tree Trimming

We just finished shooting another photo shoot for The Hatching Hen yesterday and I'm so excited to share,  but in the meantime, here are some photos of a morning we spent trimming this massive tree in my brother's front yard. They decided that it needed a good trim, which did mean losing the fort that was under the tree, but since trimming it they have gotten so many visitors (and even cards) saying how great it looks now. It is kind of funny, but super great at the same time. By cutting the lower branches off it really opens up the front yard and does look great. 

Charlie helped us haul the logs off

They are going to be really confused when they try to get married

Tree House

A few weeks ago I spotted a pile of old wood that was for free on the side of the road, and then I did the logical thing and called Andy so he could go pick it up. Thankfully he was the first one to claim it, but then realized it was pretty run down and wasn't good for much. And then he hatched the beautiful plan of building a tree fort. And if you know Andy, once he has a project, he has to complete it as soon as possible. So he started and finished in two days. He used all of the wood that was free and only added a few pieces to really make it sturdy. It is awesome and Charlie loves it. We have since added a bucket and pulley system and it works like a charm. I always wanted a tree house growing up and I'm so glad that we now have one!