Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love at the Auburn Festival

So I highly recommend the Auburn Festival. Here's why:

#1: Elvis. With chest hair. Enough to blow in the wind. And I honestly can't say what was better: the fact that there was an Elvis impersonator at the festival, or the fact that he had fans. Real fans...the kind that stand as close as they can to the stage and sing along. The kind that turn their cheeks up to meet The King when he bends down to kiss them. The kind that want his scarf to get close enough to brush their fingertips. It was great. Especially when he sang the wrong words to "Love Me Tender." It was almost as good as the girl who sang the wrong words to the National Anthem and didn't even know it.

#2: The Kiddie Train. At an extremely reasonable price.

#3: A horse-drawn carriage. Again, reasonably priced. And Harry and I got to ride with a true Auburn resident; a lady who lives just past the tracks and was able to walk to the festival. She can also walk to the new Auburn library (they've upgraded their old 600 sq. foot building) and is allergic to bee stings. But not to worry...her son is, too, and since an epipen costs $300, she just plans to use his allergy medicine if she ever gets stung. It's amazing what you can learn about someone while riding a horse-drawn carriage.

#4: Auburn City BBQ. Which is way better than Cluckin' Pig. And kids under 3 eat for free...always.

#5: A great view of the Auburn water tower, which has just been "renovated" with a fresh coat of paint.

#6: Completely free admission. Cheap food. Good entertainment. I can't wait until next year. Neither can Harry.

the Elisha Winn Fair

So, we've got a little bit of history right in our own backyard. Well, pretty close to our own backyard. Last weekend, we went to the Eisha Winn Fair in Dacula with some friends. As I am typing this and thinking about what I might say that is of historical interest, I realize that I have no idea who Elisha Winn is or what he may have done. I am fairly certain that he is one of the "founding fathers" of the Methodist campground in Lawrenceville, but that's about all I know. That and the fact that his family lived in a big white house that sits on Dacula Road next to the Apalachee Farms neighborhoods.
Here are Harry and Quinnie at the fair...

The fair was fun, I guess. We toured the big white house, saw some men dressed up like Confederate soliders, toured a one-room schoolhouse, had our pictures taken with a "jailbird," and set the kids in front of a large teepee. I don't know much about history, but I'm not sure there would have been a teepee in Mr. Winn's backyard. Just a hunch. Oh yeah--we also got to hear the "Little Miss Dacula" contestants sing their favorite country songs. Nice. If this baby turns out to be a girl, please slap me if I ever enter her in the "Little Miss Dacula" pageant. What am I going to do with a girl?!?!? I can't brush my own hair, let alone someone else's!


E, balloon, Harris, baby, Quinn, and the teepee

Anyway, the fair was pretty much our most recent form of excitement. I think there's something happening in downtown Auburn in the next couple of weeks, so we'll try to hit that up, too. Until then, know that posts may be few and far between. James is serving on a federal jury in Atlanta, so Harry and I are on our own for most of the evening. We're having a lot of fun, but I'm wiped out by the time he's in the bed. I love that little guy.
(I think this why Woody is obese.)

My friend Katie

is having a baby! Like, today. Check out her story (as told by her hubby) on their blog...

www.greenfamily.blogsome.com

and join in the fun of welcoming baby Bella Reese!

If you read my Mom's blog...

...do so with caution. It's strange, but she is trying hard. I love you, Mom.

Careful of the Carnies...

...they'll steal your soul. At least, that's what James says. But the Gwinnett County Fair is totally worth the risk. We visited the petting zoo (they had a three-hour-old baby donkey which had been born in front of a live studio audience...talk about getting your dollar's worth), ate some roast corn, rode the merry-go-round (well, James and Harris rode the merry-go-round), saw the first place squash, and watched the goat show. All in all, a pretty quality afternoon. And it only cost us half of our monthly earnings.

Here's Harry petting the calf...as we all know, the cow says "BOOOO..."

And here are my boys at the beginning of the $3.00 per person ride...

And more toward the end...

He was smiling when they got off. I promise.

And, of course, the random pic of the week. Cassidy (the LIFE group baby sitter) in Harry's new tent.

Shout Out #2

Here's a new shout out to Big T...he's got 22 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 6 QB hurries so far this year! This week's game is televised on CSTV...the Lobos take on BYU for Homecoming at 8:30 Eastern time. They've actually started the season at 3-1, probably for the first time ever, so we're super pumped. Check him out if you get a chance!

And don't worry, I'll post my fair pics soon...I've got a great one of Harry crying on the merry go round.

Peace out.

These Boots Were Made for Walking...

And that's just what they'll do...finally! My baby can walk!!! Now, in all honesty, he's only taking about six steps before falling, but they are an awesome six steps! He's even learned how to get into the standing position all by himself (without pulling up on anything around him). I wish I could say I taught him how to walk, but if I'm going to tell the truth, then the following is pretty much what happened during those first precious steps:

Harris is in his playroom (think dining room with no furniture), I'm in the kitchen chowing down on some Bagel Bites after a long day at work, James is upstairs in the shower...Harry comes over to the gate and starts whining because he wants a Bagel Bite. I pretend not to hear him because I don't want to share. He stops whining, I look over, and he's walking across the floor. And that, folks, is how it happened. I get in the playroom with him and get him to walk to me a few more times, and then I take off upstairs to get James out of the shower. I'm so excited, and I'm trying to move quickly because I don't want James to miss any of it...I make it very close to the top of the stairs before tripping over something (I think my own foot) and landing pretty hard on my hands and knees. The entire upstairs shakes. I jump up, run into the bathroom, say James' name, and hear "What just happened?" I respond, "Harris can walk!" He responds, "But what just happened up here?" I respond, "Um, that was me. I fell. But Harris can walk. Hurry up." And I head back to downstairs to laugh and smile and love on my walking baby.

These pics are all from Tuesday evening...obviously one day of walking is not enough practice.

And yeah, my grass is pretty much dead. We're just pretending it's winter. Or that we're doing our part for the environment by not wasting our most precious natural resource.

And here's the fun extra pic for the week...he loves the park. Nothing beats cheap (or free) fun.