Rockford Fair

We heard from some friends of ours that the Rockford Fair was being held this weekend and that it was really cute. Not so crazy like the Spokane one. Seeing as we love the town of Rockford, we thought we'd make the quick drive and check it out. I'm glad we did, it was actually a little bigger than I was expecting and we had a really good time. There were animals to check out, some booths, food vendors, crafts on display and even quite a few rides. Unfortunately we missed the parade, but now we know to get there in time next year!

Is Travis making kissy faces to this poor unsuspecting goat??
I swear this sheep is smiling for the camera!

Get this poor kid a phone book!

Tiffany's 6th Birthday

Saturday was Tiffany's 6th Birthday and we were invited to Tonya & Todd's to celebrate. I don't think there's a cuter 6 year old girl out there!! She seemed to enjoy all her gifts and the chocolate cake! It was a fun evening - now that the kids are older, they are able to go play and entertain themselves! It was nice to be able to visit with the adults after the gifts and cake were done! Happy Birthday Tiff- we love ya!!

Pig Out in the Park

Margo was nice enough to let me "borrow" the following pictures since I didn't bring my camera when we went downtown for Pig Out in the Park last week (what was I thinking??). It was a fun time, we of course "pigged out" and then walked around for awhile. I forget sometimes how nice it is there (most places!)!

Spokane County Fair

It's that time of year again! I have to admit it, I love the Spokane Fair. I know it's the same every year, but I still enjoy it! We (Austin that is!) rode rides, looked at the booths, ate some good junk food, visited some animals and this year we stayed for the rodeo as well. Austin didn't remember the other ones he'd been to, so it was a new experience for him. It was great! Especially the barrel racing (my fav!) and the special act "The One Armed Bandit." He was so entertaining. He actually herded two large buffalo bulls onto the top of his trailer via the truck bed. I've never seen trained buffalo before. Very cool! Was an awesome time! (Thanks for joining us Keeneys!)

Sneak Peek of This Year's Pix

Austin's 1st Day of 4th

Well, believe it or not, today was Austin's first day of fourth grade. I cannot believe how fast time goes by. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing home this cute little baby from the hospital!! Now, he's a big 'ol fourth grader in Miss Gordon's class at Broadway Elementary! He loves his new teacher and from what I know of her, I think she's great (Trav was nice enough to point out that A has had gorgeous teachers all the way from Kindergarten!). A was a little nervous this morning, but mostly just excited to see all his friends and teachers again. Since I'm on the PTO board and we provide the teachers lunch on the first day of school, I was at his school all day as well. We both had great first days and look forward to a wonderful (busy!) school year!

Austin's first day of Preschool (birth to three) at age 2 1/2 in 2002. He's changed a little!

Allowance Time

Seeing as Austin is almost 10, Trav and I thought it was time that he start doing more chores around the house and earning an allowance. Ever since he could walk, we've taught him to clean up his toys when he's done playing with them and he's a pretty clean kid so we figured he would do okay with this added expectation. We think it's a great way to teach responsibility, work ethic and the value of money. So I sat him down and explained what Trav and I had came up with and asked if he wanted to start doing it. I thought he would be more positive about it if it was something he chose to do as opposed to us just telling him to (if he chose no, he'd still have to do his normal chores, just not as many as the ones for allowance). He was so excited! He definitely wanted to start! So what we came up with is he would have everyday chores (making his bed, etc), "as needed" chores (putting his laundry away, etc), weekly chores (cleaning his bathroom, etc) and he'd get to choose 2 larger chores (mowing front lawn, etc) to do a week. If he did all these things well, w/o complaining, he'd receive $5 a week. So far, he has been doing awesome. We've been doing it for about 2 months and he's received his allowance every week. He gets really proud of himself when he's done his "list" and actually loves mowing the front lawn. Great job Austin! (Let's hope this continues through the teenage years.....)