Stuck like glue - I mean caramel

I told you these girls were inseparable this week, but maybe that's because they were stuck together with all that caramel.
And this totally counts as a healthy snack since there is a piece of fruit under all that candy right :)

Hope was the pro at finding the spots with the most caramel, Riley went more for the apple since it was easier to bite off.

Pet Parade

My big girl, the one who isn't fond of animals, was in the pet parade tonight. You can bet I was just as surprised as anyone when she actually walked across carrying the bunny, I was sure she would chicken out. Then I just about fell over when she asked to hold the bunny later, then nearly fainted when she stood in line with all the twenty-some other contestants and their dogs/cats/pigs/bunnies and never once even seemed frightened. Good job Riley Jean!
Here are the country girls getting ready for their big performance - don't you just love the rubber boots with the dress :)
Here they are getting ready to go - puppy Bo, Hope, bunny Splash and Riley. Linda was a thinker and had picked little bouquets for the girls to carry too.

Sweetness - they are just so stinkin' sweet I don't know what to do with them

I love that Bo is wearing a pair of overalls that Hope wore as a baby.

Riley was so intent on not dropping the bunny that she couldn't smile for a pic.

Until she was done walking and were just waiting to hear the results.

I was so proud that Riley was in the parade - imagine how excited we were when they won 5th place - awesome - and thanks Linda & Hope for sharing your pets so Riley could participate, I'm pretty sure our kitty Neo would not have done so well!

Woohoo for Arm Band Night

Two adorable cousins - check

$15 for an armband - check

Hours of fun cousin laughter and running - priceless!

As adults I think we worry about things at carnivals - like losing a kid, like the safety of the rides, like now much cigarette smoke our kids are inhaling because ridiculous adults and super cool teenagers feel the need to smoke around little people, but for kids - well it's just fun and that's awesome.

I've never seen a carnival run quite this way - but they would let the kids ride as long as they wanted (which was good and bad). Seriously they would let it run for awhile, then they'd ask if they wanted to stay on or get off. If they wanted to stay, they got to and didn't have to get off and wait in line again - isn't that weird, but kinda cool for the kiddos.

Yes, they are totally adorable and I'm pretty sure they know it - and they love each other SOOOO much!

I just loved the name of this one "Berry Go Round" - ha isn't that ingeious. We worried they'd get on with someone who spun to fast - not the case, they had a blast!

Again Riley's favorite ride was the "big slide" I think we rode down about 6-7 times in a row. The kiddos went with daddies to start with and then it was the mommies turn. And don't ask how I know that when it starts sprinkling, you shouldn't ride the slide until the stop it because of the weather. All I can say is Linda and I got a cold surprise that ended with wet booties for the rest of the night.

Guess What I Didn't Expect To See

This was my reaction too when I realized our local carnival had a petting zoo - huh, just never quite thought about a petting zoo at a carnival before - but at $1 per person it wasn't too bad. They also had Purell for when you were finished which was great - but the slobber was a little to thick for just Purell so I was glad we had baby wipes to really cut it.

And we didn't just have the normal cast of characters for a petting zoo - you know goats, sheep, etc. We had those plus camels, a white tiger, a jaguar, a lion, a kangaroo, a zebra, monkeys, and even a llama.

The tiger and jaguar were so cute because they were still babies!

This guy - now he would try and eat your hair, don't ask how I know, and he slobbered a whole lot too - he was pretty gross if you ask me.

Riley was trying to be brave while feeding them, they were just so hungry they would run right up to the fence which kind of freaked her out - and then one of the goats stole Hope's little paper cup of food and ate the cup and Riley was done - she didn't even try and feed them after she saw that.

Taylor is Lovin' It!

Taylor says, "It's my first Walnut Festival and I love it. I can't wait until I'm big enough to ride these fun rides with my big sis though but for now the bright lights sure are entertaining me. Guess what - I'm also getting held a lot and snuggled, that's pretty fantastic if you ask me. Next year everyone better watch out though because I'm going to be all over the place and maybe get to ride my first carnival ride."

Yep - I still have blue eyes and dark hair - do you think I'll keep both? My sis didn't now she's a blondie with brown eyes.

Guess What My Girl Rode On

So I know I've mentioned it before - but my girl doesn't love animals - she has always been very hesitant of them, especially dogs. We have to carry her nearly anytime we are outside at Joey's parents house unless they put the dog in her pen. She's even leary of cats - and we have one, I don't get it - she's never been bit, or hurt, but I guess they just aren't her thing - but we're hoping she grows out of that!

Imagine my surprise when she says "I wanna ride the pony" - and I hate to admit this, but my first thought was "yeah it's five bucks, we'll pay that and then you won't ride" - terrible wasn't I. I was totally wrong, she hoped up there and rode like a pro, I was so proud of her.

She was so proud that she was petting him while she was riding!
She knew we were proud, so very proud, you can tell by that little smirk!

Too bad that little arm band didn't cover the pony rides or I'm pretty sure that's where we would have been all night!

Thanks Cousin Ryan for leading my pony that way Cousin Hope and I could ride together!

Work that camera

Hope had to ride the pony too - funny thing is this girl probably has 20 horses at home that she rides all the time - even funnier she rode one in the parade all by herself that same day.

I was so very proud of Riley for riding two times and we can't wait until we can get the girls together to ride at Hope's house soon!! (and maybe Ryan and Linda won't make us pay $5) Hope sure is a good influence on Riley where animals are concerned - first the pet parade and then a pony ride, she'll be a country girl yet ;)

So Close - Yet Still No Number 1

Wow - this year we didn't have an escapee turtle, simply amazing, the last two years our turtles have escaped from a cardboard box sitting on our porch and run so quickly we couldn't even find them in our yard and we had to find replacements ASAP - this year we got to put our two original turtles in the race - awesome!!!

Riley was so excited this year, since they didn't escape we thought for sure that meant they were the big winners - we could taste the victory already. We were so close last year, but the silly turtle stopped just short of the line and started following it instead of crossing it

And they are off - see that one with the Strawberry Shortcake sticker on the right, that's one of ours (yes both Riley and Taylor entered the Terrapin Race - although I really don't think Taylor cared much).

Riley and Cousin Coltin watching and waiting and hoping their turtles will be the quickest.

Can you tell whether we won or lost by this face? Poor girl, she was very disappointed, but at least that meant we had more time for rides since we didn't have to stay around for the final round.

Cousin Coltin - well he didn't win either but it didn't hurt his feelings too bad I'm thinking, he's such a ham.

The Tractor Pull

So after a lot of deliberation, Riley did decide to do the tractor pull - I think it was seeing the shiny trophies with a golden tractor on top that really did the trick - we waited ever so patiently, or as patiently as a not quite four year old and a six week old can wait - and it was Riley's turn. Daddy had just made it and she walked over like a champion, ready to win it all - and she pedaled for.............2'5" - not quite trophy material, but she did it and we were proud. Thankfully I could quickly change the subject when she asked "Mama am I going to win a trophy" because I think it would have really broken her heart if they hadn't called her name, whew, if all of our near meltdowns can be avoided this easily over the years, we'll be good to go!

Chillin' with Cousin Cayman as she waits - loving that he totally avoided looking at the camera!
Yeah for best buds Hope, Riley & Cayman
Riley and Hope were pretty much inseparable this week!

Pile in some more cousins - isn't it nice to live near family!

And here is her big show - maybe next year we'll be more competitive - my guess is maybe not though because we were tip top of this weight category (weighing in at 40.5 lbs) so unless she really beefs up and daddy buys her one to practice on we'll probably be in it just for the fun next year too.

Taylor was pretty much not interested - yep, she slept thru most of it

It Starts Today :)

The Black Walnut Festival, the food, the rides, the fun, the silly traditions that we grow up with and would be so sad if we missed out on - it all starts today and we sure are excited at our house.

What - you don't think Taylor looks excited?

Schedule of events - and yes we realize we'll be totally worn out by the end of the week!!

Wednesday -

Tractor Pull

Riley did tell me she didn't think she would do this because "she'd probably wait until she was 4"

Edit - she did it and pulled 2'5"

Big Blow-up Slide

let's hope they have a try it for free so your kids get hooked hour or two like they did last year!

Edit - yeah not free and for $8 we could find some other entertainment - bummer

Thursday -

Terrapin Race

Yes we have two turtles and so far neither have escaped, unlike previous years, let's hope they are fast!

Edit - so we didn't win, but both girls got tickets, which is nice since rides are $3 each

Rides

Yeah for arm band night

Edit - Riley & Hope had a blast, Riley even rode a pony and went thru the petting zoo, she's not normally a hands on animal person by any means, they really freak her out and Mama has to hold her

Little Cedar Band performs

Wow - I work with a guy who has a new band and they'll be performing, how cool is that

Edit - they did great, Riley had fun dancing the night away

Friday -

Pet Parade

who doesn't love a kid dragging a cute little animal across the stage, especially when they are all dressed up in costume. We like to watch just to see what people will bring (seriously - iguanas & hedgehogs)

Edit - so my nomally fearful of animals girl not only walked with Hope and her puppy, but carried Hope's bunny named Splash - and the girls won 5th place - awesome (and another free ride ticket)!

Talent Show

Go Gabby, we hope you win!

Saturday -

Dance Performance

My baby performs with her dance class on the big stage

Edit - boy did she make us proud, she looked nervous, but she performed like a pro and loved the fact that so many people came to watch (thanks everyone!)

Parade

What better way to get a years worth of free candy then going to a parade

Dance/Tumbling Performance

Again - go Gabby go

Queen Contest

So we probably won't watch, but maybe we'll sneak a peek over there and say Go Stockton

The Turtle (Terrapin) Race

One of the highlights of the Walnut Festival is the Turtle Race (probably really a Terrapin race, since they are the land living kind and not the water variety - but whatever). It's kind of funny really - you go out and find a turtle, you keep him for a day or two, trying to convince him that the apples or grapes or whatever you put in there for him to eat are actually tasty and then you try even harder to keep him in that box. The last two years we've actually had escapees and they would have probably won the whole race because once they made it out of the box - we couldn't find them, anywhere. Then, to the Festival you go. It's probably the highlight of the turtle's year, where else does he get to see that many distant cousins?

So they stick a number on his back, then you have to wait your turn and they put him under a big bucket with lots of other friends and a heat lamp. And when they open it up - wow do those guys get moving........ok most of them get moving, some never even poke their little heads out.

Our little guy had a hole in his shell (you can see it in the pic below) - it looked like he make have been shot by a bb gun but that didn't slow him down. He was set to finish second in his heat and go to the finals, but decided to walk along the line instead of crossing it so he wasn't a winner - but at least he did have lots of people cheering for him and he was able to attend his family reunion.

Riley got two ride tickets and an hour or so playing with cousins (like sweet Hope below) while we were waiting for the race to start. It was fun, can't wait until next year when all the excitement starts again.

Do you guys have local festivals with fun (maybe odd to others) traditions?