A Sneak Peek...

I was getting Ivy ready for bed... She had taken a bath, got her pajamas on, etc. Somehow, she saw her bumblebee costume hanging in her closet and she said, "On...On". So I put it on over her pajamas and let her see herself in the mirror. She just laughed and laughed. She can't say trick-or-treat, she just says, "treat!!!".

We are taking Ivy trick-or-treating with her friend Corbin. We figure we'll hit a few houses just so we can get some pictures. I hope I can get some good ones.

Honestly, I've never been a huge Halloween person - I don't really enjoy the gory part of the holiday, but I must say, Ivy looks adorable in her costume - I like this part of Halloween!!!

The Fair...

We spent our entire weekend at the NC State Fair. Richard's 4x4 Club does the towing for the demolition derby. So we were there Friday night, Saturday afternoon and night, and then again on Sunday afternoon!! It was a fun weekend, but we are all still tired!!

Daddy & Ivy waiting for the derby to begin!!

Ivy walking around before the derby started...

Ivy checking out the red mud...

Ivy eating her snack while she waited for the derby to begin (we got there pretty early!).

Derby time!!! Those big cars are LOUD!!!

Ivy wearing her Daddy's work gloves...

Saturday morning, Ivy was invited to a birthday party. It was a farm theme, so she wore some overalls and pig tails. She also had a bandana in her back pocket...

A little lunch at the party...

A tractor was in the front yard!!!

Ivy after the party - she had such a good time!! And luckily she was worn out - she got a little nap in before spending the rest of the day at the fair.

Ivy during the National Anthem. She stayed so still and quiet with her little hand over her heart. She's so patriotic...

More derby time!!! More loud cars!!!

We had just enough time for a pony ride!! At first Ivy wasn't so sure...

Then she got into it. She kept saying, "WOW!!". She put her little hand on the saddle horn - she liked it by the second time around...

Ivy's first look at fire works.

It was 9:45 at night - an hour and 45 minutes past her bedtime. She had only had a 45 minute nap (she usually takes a 2 hour nap). She burst into tears right after I snapped this picture. I picked her up, she laid her head on my shoulder, I covered her ears and she was asleep in about 2 minutes. Even with the really loud booms. She was just too tired to enjoy anything at that point.

Sunday night at the fair - after the derby, we went and did just a few kiddie rides. We were with our friends, Ken and Jessica, and their little boy (and Ivy's best friend), Corbin.

She CHOSE Daddy to take her down the slide - that's okay, I got to see the look on her face!!

She LOVED that slide!!

Again, she picked Daddy to take her on the next ride - the merry-go-round.

And once more, it was Daddy's turn to take Ivy on a ride...

Finally!! Mommy's turn!! We went down the slide again. It really was fun...

Carving a pumpkin...

I took Ivy back to the pumpkin patch yesterday. It was a beautiful day and we needed something to do to fill the time before Daddy got home and dinner. I decided that it would be fun to get a couple of pumpkins and let Ivy help clean them out and just have a good time discovering all that she can about pumpkins!

Ivy sticking her hand in the pumpkin for the first time...

She thought it was slimy but must have liked it because she stuck her arm back in...

Mommy carving the face - Ivy picked which face she wanted on her pumpkin.

Ivy and the finished product.

And Ivy with her pumpkin out on the front porch...

We will be spending the entire weekend at the NC State Fair so I should have some good pictures to post next week!!

Brrrrr...

We went camping this weekend with our 4x4 Club. It was their annual Fall Bash. We had a great time, but it was SO cold!!!!

Here are just a few pictures from our weekend...

Our very nice sleeping area - we had a pop-up camper to sleep in. We had a king sized bed, a memory foam mattress, and 800-thread count sheets!! We don't sleep that well at home!

During the day Saturday, I set up the dvd player so Ivy could warm up and enjoy a snack.

Ivy's first camp fire. She kept telling everyone that it was "hot". I'm glad she understood - I didn't have to worry about her getting to close. In this picture, she is trying to point behind her and she is telling me the fire is "hot".

Ivy playing around - you can see that her left eye is a little swollen. She fell while climbing in the camper and bumped her eye. It left a nice bruise just below her eye brow and a little cut right beside her eye.

Best Friends! Ivy and Corbin playing on a trailer...

Ivy and Corbin playing under the rti ramp.

Ivy found a mirror!! That girl will find ANYTHING that she can see her reflection in. She loves looking at herself!!

Ivy learning to work the cb.

Richard doing one of the games - they were timed on how fast they could take a tire of and put it back on... Richard went first and I think he did it in 2:08. It got easier as more people did it...

Eating dinner with Club friends.

Ready to head home!!

Fun filled week...

We had a really fun week this week...We saw some new things and played with friends...

Tuesday, we met Uncle Craig for lunch and then went to the Farmer's Market. Across the street is a cement statue store so we went over and let Ivy walk around. She liked all the different animals.

Thursday and Friday, I watched a friend's little girl. Her name is Addie and she is 6 months older than Ivy (she just turned 2). They had a great time!! I couldn't believe how well Addie could talk. It's hard to believe that Ivy will be talking like that in 6 months...

The girls loved the play house. I think I could have let them play in that all day!

They played inside a little bit while I fixed lunch.

Ivy kept trying to fit inside this drum. She kept saying, "Help" and I tried to convince her that it didn't matter if I helped, she wasn't going to fit. I'm not sure she believed me.

Today, we met up with some friends and took the kids to a farm.

They had a bounce house...

They had a little hay maze...

They had a big corn maze...

Daddy and Ivy walking through the corn maze...

There was lots of hand holding (we might have encouraged it a bit)...

There was a fake cow to milk...

Daddy and Ivy...

More hand holding...

Looking at pumpkins...