Tractor Pulling Princess

We went to the Spokane Interstate Fair on Friday. Chad took the afternoon off so we were able to get there before the crowds. The kids partook in the kids tractor pulls, which were a blast to watch. Kids are called up in pairs or by themselves to pedal a small tractor attached to a trailer which carries blocks of weight. The weight is determined by age. So, being six, Nick and Gabby each started with 75 pounds. Gabby was the tiniest six year old there and actually did a 'full pull' which qualified her for the next round. A 'full pull' is approximately 25 feet and brings the weight from the back end of the trailer up to the front (as you pedal the weight redistributes from front to back, making it harder to pull) We expected Nick to kick butt but I think he was a little confused and focused too much on the kid pulling next to him (it isn't a race, but sometimes there are two kids pulling at once to save time)

Of course, we enjoyed lots of yummy fair food (elephant ears!), the kids played a few games and rode some rides and we visited lots of animals. Gabby was so excited to ride the Ferris Wheel. She tugged us through the crowds to the most gynormous Ferris Wheel and then burst out crying when we realized she was an inch too short for it. We found a smaller one and she and Nick and Chad rode together (I do not do rides...I got dizzy just watching them!) They rode in seat number 13...eek. As they got off the ride, I asked, "was it fun??!" They both exclaimed, "NO!" They did enjoy the kiddie rides, though!

Here are some pictures of our day...

The next two photos are Gabby on her second pull...

Spin Art...a Fair favorite...When Nick's was finished the guy behind the counter said "cool! you made orange! That 's hard to do." uh. two of the main colors they give you are yellow and red...those fumes must really get to those guys after a while.

Nick was stung by a wasp just before this photo...hence the big ice bag on his hand and the not so happy boy.

The kids and Chad are in this blur somewhere...

This was the big one..the one Gabby was too short to ride (thank goodness!)

Chad spent last weekend enclosing our back porch. We're enclosing it so we can turn half of it into a pantry and the other half into a mini mud room (and by mini I mean miniscule, tiny, petite, itty bitty) Our neighbor's garage was starting to lean and tilt and his insurance company wouldn't cover it so he decided to tear it down. Chad tore it down in exchange for the wood. So, we ended up with a lot of siding to use to patch up our own house and enough siding to cover the enclosed porch, plus, wood and siding to finish our little garden shed. Cool! I don't have photos yet...but you didn't want to see sweaty, dirty Chad anyway did you? The kids enjoyed spending the weekend outside while Daddy worked. Nick used some of his time to unscrew all the boards Chad screwed to the bottom of the fence last weekend to keep the beagles in. He found a screwdriver and a little box and proceeded to unscrew all the screws, depositing them in the little box so they wouldn't get lost. Why either of us were surprised is beyond me.