Labor Day Weekend

On September 4, we headed up to Idaho to 1) see family and 2) pick up our pig. We arrived at my parents' house in time for a short visit before the kids needed to go to bed. The next morning/afternoon, we headed to Blackfoot for the Eastern Idaho State Fair. My dad really wanted to go, and even though Brian, Taryn, and I have the words "lame" and "boring" pop into our heads when someone mentions "state fair", we decided we could make it fun. Dad convinced all the kids to ride with him and my mom

 and we enjoyed a quiet ride to Blackfoot without kids. It was pretty nice. Our mantra for the day: This is going to be the best day ever at a fair!

 Once we got to the fair, we decided that we all MUST eat some lunch. We may have lost our heads for a minute as our starving stomachs and all the options were at war with each other. My regret: I made a hasty decision and had an okay meal. I wished I had decided on a blue ribbon winner. Oh well. David was the only one with a cool head and scoured them all before deciding on his choice of Dutch oven.

 After food, we headed to go see the animals:

 After that, we wanted a snack, so we sampled some of the fair musts, tiger ears and cotton candy for the kids.

 Then, while my parents checked out some booths, we took the kids over, bought some way overpriced ride tickets, and let the kids go on a couple of rides. They loved them.

 After rides, we met back up with my parents and headed home. It was the best state fair I remember attending. I actually wanted to stay longer this time.

Sometime in the middle of Saturday night and Sunday morning, Michael threw up. My parents handled it. We didn't even know about it until the next morning. I felt a little bad that my mom cleaned Michael up, but I was also really grateful that she did. Brian went to an early sacrament meeting so he could stay home with Michael while the rest of us attended my parents' ward. After church, we were getting ready to head over to my grandma's house for dinner. As we were heading out the door, I noticed that Michael had fallen asleep in Brian's arms. This. Never. Happens. So, we left them.

 Don't worry, Michael woke up in time for Brian to come eat dinner with us. (There were still preparations to be done at Grandma's house.) After dinner, I forced my grandparents to take a picture with me:

 And Rachel wanted in, so my mom had to come in. 4 generations:

I love my grandparents so much--they would do anything for those they love, and almost anything for those they don't know. I hate to think that anything would happen to them, and the hardest part about me getting older is realizing that they are too. And none of us are promised tomorrow. So, each time, I try to get as many pictures as I can and get as many hugs as I can, and hope that they will still be around for another 20 years at least. I made Grandpa take a selfie with me. I hate how I look in this picture, but I love that I got him to smile. 

 

The next morning, Grandma & Grandpa stopped in for a visit, bringing along Brutus. Rachel loves Brutus. 

Brian loaded our car, Brian and my parents' helped load our pig, and then we were headed home again (home again, jigged y jig).