Memorial Day... A Little Late

The past couple years we've had a carnival come to town on Memorial Day weekend. Last year was Natalie's first year at the carnival and while she had a good time, she also was a little young. In fact, one of my favorite pictures of her last year was in the moon bounce (for the first time ever).

I know it seems strange to love a picture of your kid where they are crying, but it was a funny situation and she was not hurt but was a little freaked out by the whole thing. Okay... you can think I'm a sadist and a bad mom. But you had to be there. You'd be laughing too.

Anyway, this year was a compeltely different story. She had a BLAST. And I was kicking myself for not getting discount tickets to Dutch Wonderland for this summer as I hadn't realized she'd be so gung-ho about the whole ride situation.

Oh well.

So she rode ALL the rides she could feasibly ride this year, being only 36" and not 42. Fortunately for her, tall is in her genes so she should be able to ride the "big rides" next year. We went this year with our friends Dave and Jill and their daughter, Sequoia. Natalie and "Squeeze" are only 7 mos apart so they really enjoy each others company. I have to constantly remind Natalie that Sequoia doesn't want to be pulled on, pushed on or constantly hugged, but otherwise, the friendship is shaping up nicely. I haven't figured out if touch is Natalie's love language or if it's just the age. If she's still like this when boys start to be of interest we may have to move to the middle-of-nowhere Wyoming.

Liam thought it was a riot. So much so that he passed out in the backpack carrier. I'm imagining it will be a different story next year!



The rest of the weekend was stellar. Super weather, lots of good cookouts - just the way Memorial Day SHOULD be every year. I made ribs for the first time with this recipe. They turned out amazing and really didn't require much effort on my part. I was pretty impressed with the recipe and will definitely be making again. All-in-all a super fun weekend and a GREAT start to the summer.

Top Left: Natalie's favorite church dress!
Top Right: My in-laws and Kevin at our rib/chicken feast on the patio.
Bottom Left: Liam chillin in the walker... no steps without holding on to anything yet!
Bottom Right: Natalie trying out the pool for the first time this year.
I LOVE summer time!!