Welcome to the State Fair of Texas, Y'all!

Tuesday was a very fun day full of surprises for Miss Meredith, especially. She has been begging since this summer, when we drove past the fairgrounds when she could go. We have never been as a family, so I was determined to make it happen this year. So, after talking about it here and there, on Monday night, Neal and I decided if we were going to go, the only real day we could make it happen was Tuesday. Ironically, that night Meredith had also sadly commented that Daddy never gets to pick her up from school. So Neal planned to take a half day off and head home early so he could not only take us to the fair, but also pick Meredith up from school. He made me promise to keep it all a secret, and I did, but it was so hard! I knew she would be so excited! Around 2, we headed up to school and I waited in the car, and I watched a little girl grinning from ear to ear bounce out to hop in the car. I asked her what she was most excited about - Daddy picking her up or the fair. She just smiled and said "I am most excited about BOTH."

We talked all the way there about what she wanted to do: the ferris wheel was a must and she really wanted cotton candy. We also told her about Big Tex, but I guess she did quite grasp him because as we entered the parking lot and she spotted an attendant, she shouted "There he is! I see him!" I think she was more impressed when we finally found him!

Meredith and Daddy waiting their turn for the ferris wheel. For a minute, I thought the size was going to scare her off, but she decided she was going to be brave and do it! I was really proud!
Jillian and I hung back and danced and had snacks while we waited.
So excited!
She was brave, but it was a good thing daddy's thumb was there to cling onto just in case!
The Texas Star down below...it is so tall!

Next up, we headed to the kids areas, first we went to see the Backyard Circus. And Meredith was even part of the show as a Butterfly Ballerina!

In rain boots of course!

We were getting a little hungry, so we stopped by to try something new....Fried PB&J! It was pretty good. And it filled our need for a random fried item.

Fried PB&J

The hit of the day had to be the petting zoo - and this is no normal petting zoo - it has giraffes and zebras! Jillian could not get enough of it!

The girls spent quite a bit of time trying to convince the kangaroos to hop. They didn't go for it.
The goats did appreciate the food that Meredith had, though!
Jillian was determined we needed more food (or thought she would get some candy from the little machines) so she had to stop at all of them to see if she could win a prize!

We headed back to the midway to see what else we might want to do and all Meredith could talk about was an airplane ride she saw earlier. Luckily, we found it for her again and she was ready to fly!

Happy as can be.
Jillian loved waving to her sister, but after the ride, she tried to climb in and go all by herself! I felt so bad! Darn those height restrictions!
A sweet end to the fair - cotton candy! And on the ride home, we heard "When can we go back?" So I guess it was a success!

Hook 'Em Anyway!

We headed to the Spitzenberger's for probably the 8th year in a row to watch the Texas/OU football game to cheer on our Longhorns. Meredith, however, informed me that she would not be watching the game, just playing with HER Anna. And she told everyone everywhere we went about our plans! The game didn't end up in our favor, but we always have fun with friends and great food!

Hook 'Em! Check out this dress...I made it!
Jillian still thought Colt McCoy was on our team, so she showed her love for him with his jersey!

(Sorry Julie, all my pics that I took outside did not cooperate!)

My Daughter the Goalie

After missing her first game for our trip and then the next game being postponed due to rain, Neal and I finally got to see our first Ladybug's Soccer game! And as an added perk...Meredith was in the goal! So she started off warming up in the goal while her teammates took shots....

Look at her - a pro in her special Goalie shirt! (is that what it is called? Probably not. Whatever.)

Serious about stopping the ball!
And practicing throwing it back in

So, after a great warm-up - time for the game to begin. The Ladybug defense was stellar. Seriously. The other team took forever to come even close to getting toward the goal Meredith was tending. So...

I guess she got out her pretend binoculars to be able to see all the action.
And when that didn't keep her interest, she just went ahead and let her boredom be know.

The coach had tipped Neal off that he could stand down by her to help her know what to do. This seemed like a great idea - especially since she was getting a little restless. So, here are a few pictures to show how that all went...

Looks like a little Daddy advice here.
Uh oh, she is starting to look sad.
Daddy sees that the ball is heading there way and is gently trying to push her back to her position but at this point, she has told him "Daddy, there are too many people, I don't want to do this anymore."

So Neal tried a little harder to get her to the goal since it was time for her to show off her goalie skills! He got her in and as the excitement grew, so did her nervousness.

So she headed out of the goal, just as the ball was going in! :(
And she and Daddy made it back to the sidelines. She didn't want to go back in the whole time until seriously the last second. She ran to the sideline as the team was coming off saying "I changed my mind!" And then cried when we told her it was too late!

Luckily the Ladybug cheer distracted her from crying.
Even Daddy participated!
This is a look I know all too well....the tears are about to start again. She is still sad she didn't get to play. Although I think she also thought that because she didn't go back in, that meant she didn't get a Capri Sun. Which, of course, everyone gets a drink, so she cheered up!
She loves the tunnel!

Mainstay Farms

Fall is here! So we kicked it off with our first trip to the pumpkin patch! Our friends invited us to Mainstay Farm, which was so much fun - there was lots to do plus pumpkins, too!

The girls loved this really fun "Jumping Pillow"

To make sure Jillian didn't get bounced right off into sand, I had to go too - but just to be honest, I had a blast too! I had an impossible time getting any pictures from all the bouncing, but I couldn't resist getting a couple since they thought it was so great!
Next up - Marshmallow roasting! Jillian looks ready to dig in while Meredith looks terrified.
And now Angry or Confused. However, they were very tasty!
Meredith was excited to check out the hay barn where all the kids could climb and jump. She loved it...
Jillian did not.
How can a 4 year old resist?
Good thing that both girls were ready to do this one!

Now, what I was most excited to do...take some cute pictures of my cute girls. Sadly, they weren't as excited.

Oh well, at least no one is crying.
Spoke too soon!

The Farm also had a hayride that took you to a really cool play area with a tall treehouse, lots of slides, and a maze. It was very hectic so I opted to leave the camera in the case and just scramble after the girls (which included me climbing that really tall treehouse to bring Meredith down!) When we headed back, we had lunch and then ended the day picking out a pumpkin to take home!

I love my sweet green-loving girl. Look at these rows and rows of orange pumpkins, but she finds one of the very few green ones to love and take home!
Jillian loved carrying her pumpkin around!
Meredith is now just looking forward to getting a big pumpkin to carve!