Oh No You Didn't!

Someone just informed me that there's only one more week until school. One. More. Week. I was like "what the hell, man?! Why you gotta bum my ride, homie? Dang!"

Sure, I knew summer was coming to an end. But come on - I know better than to say it out loud, jeez! I'm just going to admit it: I LOVED THIS SUMMER! I'm totally not ready for it to end. Allow me a moment, if you will, to get just a bit verklempt... *tear!*

Okay. I'm better now. Rather than mope, I will now reflect on what I shall henceforth dub The Best Summer Ever:

3...2...1... Swimmer!!

We started with a trip to Mexico. The kids and I had never been there before, and we had to save up all of our dolla bills an entire year to make it happen - but thank goodness we did because we had a mother freaking blast! Evie mastered swimming within about 5 seconds, and pretty much didn't leave the pool or ocean for the remainder of the week.


After that we took some recovery time and did low-impact stuff. Like eating ice cream. There's a place right down the street from us where they have crazy flavors like sweet corn, spicy pineapple, cucumber, avocado and rose petal, to name a few. We feel it is our responsibility as active members of the community to try them all.

Or just stick with vanilla

Because of the whole 'Serious Drought' thing, we didn't have many beach days this year because I thought going to the river might depress me. But boy was I wrong, woo hoooo! We took a day to chill out at Johnson's Beach, where the oldies jazz plays all day from the snack bar, the super old-school owners call out to risky kayakers from their crackly megaphone, young dudes come over and pound your rented umbrella in the perfect spot for maximum shade, and the snack prices are from another era. Burgers for 3 bucks? Yes, please.

Nothing depressing here, folks!

They thought it was okay, too

And hey, they had ice cream, too. For the win!

I'd been wanting to take the kids on the ferry for several years, so of course we did that too. Taking the ferry is super fun! Especially given the fact that since the Exploratorium moved, you can now walk there from the ferry building!! Awwwww yeah - whassup perfect day?!

So Much Wiiiiiiiiind!!!!

This is a picture of my kids squinting in the sun. In SF.

The kids' uncle Ben and his girlfriend Ani rode their bikes over to meet us, which made the kids go all crazy with joy. Evie thinks it's really hilarious when her uncle tries to pick her up for pictures, because she's heavier than she looks and he always gets all "what the hell?!"

I have no idea what's going on here.

And you already know that we went to the fair, because we're no dummies. We know that no summer is complete without a trip to the fair.

Yeeeeee haaaaaw!!!!

In between all of this, we bottled some wine with friends...

Went to Maker Camp (which landed some pictures of the kids in the Press Democrat)...

...and tried to get in a decent amount of relaxation and snuggling, too. Since it's summer and all. 

Snuggles!!!!

Let's face it, you guys. We totally rocked this summer. I wish we had more of it to enjoy - but for now, with one week left, we're going to get back to the important task of having a kick-ass time. Onward!!

It's a Fair Fair Fair Fair World

The Sonoma County Fair is in town, and we all know what that means! Yes, that's right: we go to the fair. Woo hooooo! The kids and I LOVE the fair, and we never miss a year. Occasionally we bring a friend or family member, but the one constant is that it is our thing - me and my greatest homies. We have a lot of traditions to uphold, and this year was no exception.

Over the years, we have perfected our fair day and together we are a well-oiled machine of Fair Maximization Awesomeness!! We always go on a Tuesday because of the Too Good to Be True wristband, which covers admission and unlimited rides.I'v e been doing this for years and I still have to add up how much all of it would be if I'd paid for everything ala carte, just to make sure I'm actually getting a good deal. We usually break even.

We start our day out with a hearty breakfast at home because the temptation for greasy, sticky fair food is great and we must resist, if only so the chance for barfing is minimized. The first thing we do upon arrival is use the bathroom, because that's just some weird thing I used to make them do when they were iffy-bladdered toddlers and hey, it stuck, so why not? After that, the kids waste no time in making a beeline for their favorite part of the fair...

...the hot tubs. Yes, the hot tubs. We have to look at and discuss the beneficial features or lack thereof for every...single...hot tub. If you've never noticed how many hot tubs there are at the fair, now you will. They are literally everywhere, inside and out. WHY?! Anyway, it's cute.

After that, we head to the second-most exciting thing at the fair:

The beds, of course.

Eventually we make our way outside, only to quickly duck into yet another building, the Hall of Flowers. Behold! The Beauty! The Wonder! Unfortunately the kids had already seen it, so they zoomed me through pointing out all of the highlights so fast that I didn't have time to take more than one picture:

This one. 

Next, we stop at the Walk on Water feature on our way to pet all of the adorable animals. This is the only fun thing I'll pay extra for that isn't covered with the wristband because yes, I am that mom.

Then we move on to pet all of the afore-mentioned adorable animals. I mean, if the fair didn't have any rides, we'd go just for this, because animals are incredibly cute and soft and furry and oh man. We love them.

We reallllly want a baby goat

Then comes photo booth time. We've done this every year since Jonah was a wee babe and Evie but a twinkle in my eye. The pictures are usually crappy because we aren't paying attention when the light flashes, but they're crappy in a 'ha ha' way, so we keep up the tradition because we like a good laugh.

Yay photo booth!

After that, lunch. This year I broke the One Important Fair Rule, which of course is to Eat All Of The Fried Foooooood! I had my sights on some fried cheese on a stick, but when the food-carnie girl saw me clearly hesitating, she said "if it helps with your decision, those are made with Velveeta." Yeah, no. I ate a freaking salad on a tortilla instead. I count the fact that it's topped with enchilada sauce as fair-worthy:

I am a disappointment to my elders, I know.

By this point my fat pockets had pretty much been cleared out, except for the money I was saving for the kids to pick one souvenir each at the end of the day. By 'fat pockets' I mean that literally, my pockets were bulging with the change I'd been saving for the last year or so, which thus far had financed our day. Wanna piss off fair vendors and fellow customers behind you in line alike? Pay with change, that you first have to count out. It's a hoot!

Well, I AM happy to see you...
but also there's a buncha coins in there

So, with my jeans sufficiently 5 pounds lighter and no longer a hazardous risk to other ride-goers, we made our way to THE RIDES!!! Weeeeeeee! Every year, we must:

Swing on the swings

Ride the Carousel

Zoom on the Silver Streak!

The Silver Streak plays really loud metal music which I've discovered turns Jonah into a raging Metal Head, despite what this photo might indicate. Note to self: keep him away from the Metal at all costs in the future.

Finally, we always go down the Giant Slide on our way out. The line is generally super long, but it's worth it for the 1 - 2 seconds of last-hurrah fun. While waiting, the kids got all goofy and huggy, which was a joy to watch.

Side note: a stranger complimented me on how well my kids get along so, yeah. Proud mama. Until next year, Sonoma County Fair - thanks for the memories!