A birthday, a picnic, the state fair, and a fun run

This week was fun and crazy at our house.  Not only did we start in on our full school schedule but we had a lot of family fun!  To start off the week we celebrated Audrey's 8th Birthday.  I can't believe how old she is getting.  She went to her first activity days activity this week and in her words "It was AWESOME!!!!"

 On Labor Day, Ben was sent home early because the office was just completely DEAD.  So we packed up a picnic lunch and headed up the canyon.  We found the BEST picnic spot!!  It had two trees with a natural branch bridge that the kids had fun climbing on.  Then we found a cool hide-out under a hollow bush along a trail.  After that we came upon a playground where the kids enjoyed playing.  Last but not least, right by the playground was a dammed off area of the river that was a PERFECT wading pool for kids.  Sorry I didn't get any pictures, we forgot the camera. 

Thursday was the opening day of the State Fair.  We always go on opening day because it's cheap to get in.  So here are the kids all ready to head out to the fair. 

 At the fair the first thing the kids wanted to do was ride the giant yellow slide.  They each got to go two times.  The girls were tall enough to ride alone, and Trent was allowed to ride with Audrey.  They love that yellow slide!

 Then we did the "Little Hands on the Farm" activity.  Each child gets an apron and a basket.  Then you go through all the stops and do "farming" activities like picking apples, milking a cow (a fake one), planting and harvesting vegetables, riding tractors (trikes that look like tractors), and collecting eggs.  At each stop the kids collect an item to turn in at the end.  They "sell" their items at the end and receive a "dollar" to buy a treat at the store. 

After that we met up with our friends the Hess family.  We wandered around, let the kids ride one ride, ate fair food, and just had a grand old time.  On the way to the animal sheds we came across this wonderful Balloon Clown.  She was great fun, but the best thing is she was just WAITING for children to come by.  She snagged us as we walked past and made balloon, we'll call them things since all the kids didn't get an animal.   

 Here's the kids with their balloon things.  Audrey got a parrot to sit on her shoulder.  Marissa got a baby turtle that wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet.  Trent got a space gun. 

 I just had to share this picture that Audrey snapped of Bree while we were getting in the car to head home from the fair.  Great pic for an 8 year old!!!  The others she took weren't so good and got deleted...lol. 

Last but not least, we participated in our Stake's annual 5K Fun Run and One Mile Walk.  We all did the one mile walk.  The girls did GREAT.  Trent made Ben carry him on his shoulders the entire mile.  Go Ben!!!!  Then we had a yummy breakfast provided by the stake.  It was a great week!!!  Oh, and we did lots of school work too.