Welcome to the Iowa State Fair!

 Norah and her reindeer

 Too much fun!

 Love those mini donuts!

 It's always best when the cotton candy is as big as you

Post fair crash

Dennis and I used to go the State Fair every year...until we had kids.  This year, we decided they were old enough to take it all in, and so we ventured out as a way to close the summer. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea, because when we arrived at 11:00, the parking lot was full, and by noon, they were turning away visitors because the fair was already at maximum capacity. The kids joined us in our favorite fair activity - eating!! Sully loved the mini donuts, Finn loved the fried cheese curds, Norah loved the salted nut roll.  The kids liked the barn with all the pregnant animals, although that did spur a talk about how babies are born and where they come from.  I guess you take some of that knowledge for granted when you grow up on a farm! We all got a kick out of the livestock - especially when a pig got out of his pen and ran loose. We also took in Bill Reilly's talent show so Norah could watch the girls in pretty dresses perform.  By then, our kids were maxed out, so we cut out earlier then we had planned, but it was okay, because we avoided the "too tired meltdown".  I think the State Fair will be come one of our annual trips.  Hopefully, we will be able to see a bit more of the fair each year.  Dennis is already itching to put the kids on mullet patrol...

Progress!!!!

 The master bathroom - my vanity

 Den's vanity

 My tub!!! 

 The master bedroom

Master bedroom with view of bathroom

 Kitchen!!!

 The view of the dining room from the kitchen

 Sully's room

 The boys' bathroom

 Finn's room (set up exactly like Sully's)

 The mudroom 

 Yes, it is green!

 A shot of the floor too

 The basement bar area

 My craft room

 Princess Norah's room

 Swedish Dreams!!!

 Norah's bathroom

 Norah's bathroom

 The guest room

 Guest room again

Sully playing hide and seek with the other two.  He always has to seek!

Here are some pictures of what has been done to the house as of August 13.  Now is the fun part for me - all of the stuff that I have picked out and tried to picture in my head is getting finished, and I love it! It is so exciting to see it all coming together. We are moving Sept 15 - most of the work will be done, and I can't wait another day to finally make it our home.  Here are the issues with our current home to date: our air conditioning is broken, we have no light about our dining room table, our septic seems to be on it's way out, and we've just outgrown it. And the house of my dreams is literally 50 feet away.  So I dare anyone to try to keep me out of it! 

A Mayer Extravaganza: Chris and Angie's Wedding

 Such a sweet flowergirl! Baby Aubrey

 Angie with the Conley guys

 The Mayer cousins

 Shenanigans!

 Rose and Meg

Silly Lizzie...being, well, silly

This past weekend, Dennis and I traveled to Alexandria, MN for Chris and Angie Conley's wedding.  Peggy and Lauren were kind enough to watch our kids, so we could celebrate like rockstars, which is exactly what we did.  The wedding was beautiful, and we all had so much fun.  This was the first time all of the Mayers were together since Grandma's funeral, and, I have to say, we had a rockin' good time! These are just a few candids that Dennis took while we were outside being silly, and I'm sure there are better pics out there of everyone, but this is pretty much how the Mayers roll - with goofiness, laughter, and good times.  I love my family!!!

A shower for Rose

 Sully bonding with Pickle

Mary, Maddie, and Rose 

 The Blacks and Rose

 The McGuire ladies

 Molly, Rose, and Ashley

 Seesters! (Lizzie is supposed to be on Rose's other side)

Rose, Hannah, and Charlotte

We had a shower for Rose and Pickle when we were back home in Algona.  We are so excited to meet Pickle, and can't wait to find out if the baby is a girl or a boy! Pickle is due to arrive on Norah's birthday, Sept 1, but we are hoping we don't have to wait that long! Rose looks amazing! (If anyone remembers how I looked at this time in my pregnancy with Norah, they can imagine my surprise that you apparently don't have to have 4 chins or cankles in the summertime!) Many thanks to Kim, Sarah, Kate, and Lizzie, who did so much to make Rose's shower special.  It was a wonderful turnout, and as a bossy big sister, it made me so happy to see how loved Rose is, and how special this baby will be to so many people. Warm fuzzies all around!!! And, if anyone is taking bets, I am thinking - a girl, born August 27, 7 pounds, one ounce. 

Who says you can't go home??

 Loving the train park

 Saying hi to the swans at the grotto

 Picnic with Grandma Deanie

 Walking to the fair

I like to wrap up summer by taking the kids to Algona for the week to give them a chance to get spoiled rotten by Grandma Deanie and Pepeka and to also do the things that I used to love doing when I was growing up.  We went to the library and the kids got library cards, played at the Seton Train Park, went to the pool, roasted marshmallows, visited the Grotto, attempted to go to the fair a day early (oops).  But my favorite memory?  All the Mayers and the Keiths came over one night and we froze 102 quarts of sweet corn.  Norah was an awesome helper, and even Finn was in the mix at one point, helping to cool the corn in tubs of water. There was just something about my kids among all my cousins, uncles, aunts and grandpa, doing the work that my family has done for years.  It made me feel like I was giving them something bigger - a piece of my family history, and a part of what made me who I am.  I doubt they saw it like that at all, and will probably miss that point entirely when talking about their trip to Algona.  But for me, that's what it is all about.