Thank Goodness for Aunt Charlotte!

My sister Charlotte is hard working gal who is working as an RN full-time and going to school at the same time. She had a little break in school and work, so she decided to come and visit for a few days and we had a great time! We swam nearly everyday, which was so nice because it has been so hot and very humid. We went to a Nashville Sounds game. They played the Salt Lake Bees. Heath was hoping that when the Sounds won he'd be able to make fun of Charlotte that our team beat her team...but The Sound lost. We also went to the Zoo and had a great time there as always!

Charlotte was our little life guard while we swam and really, really helped Ellie. Miss Ellie is not the bravest in water and doesn't like to even wash her hair in the tub. She doesn't like water in her ears, eyes or on her face. But with the help of patient Aunt Charlotte, Ellie was swimming all around the pool All-By-Herself!!! She would swim from one end to the other, back and forth - I was so proud of her and she was pretty proud of herself too. We had a great time and can't wait until Charlotte and John come to visit again!

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head

Believe it or not, the most dangerous game/toy that my children have is Mr. Potato Head. They enjoy playing with Mr. Potato Head, creating silly faces in the designated fashion. But they absolutely love to put the individual pieces into their own faces. They are constantly shoving the near inch and a half protruding end into their eyes, ears and noses. I have found Ellie trying to create a silly face on Thomas by shoving plastic orange ears into his ear canal, and Thomas laughing all the while. Of course, they think their being hilarious and I'm freaking out at the thought of having two deaf, blind children who constantly are getting nose bleeds.

Needless to say, Mr. Potato Head spends a lot of time hidden in the closet and is played with only under strict parent supervision.

Williamson Co. Fair

The Williamson County Fair was this weekend and since Tractor Supply Co. sponsors the fair, TSC employees got tickets and wristbands for Saturday. Ellie had been looking forward to attending the fair for the entire week and every day she would ask, "Is today the Ferris?" (She was confused by the Fair and the Farris wheel)

They had a little farm exhibit where the kids got little baskets and aprons and got to pretend they were little farmers. Each station had a little farm related activity for the kids, they began by bagging some corn to feed the animals. Then they fed the chickens and gathered eggs. Even though the chickens were fake Ellie was quite cautious, due to previous chicken encounters.

There were apples to pick, gardens to plant and harvest, sheep to sheer and cows to milk. When they had their baskets full of harvested goods they sold them at the Country Store. Then they were able to spend their "farm money" for a treat. It was a really fun little activity and the kids were loving it.

The rides were great fun. At first Ellie and Thomas were so excited to go on them, but they wanted Heath or I to ride with them. Well, since neither of us could fit into the miniature motor boats or flying bumble bees Heath convinced Ellie to ride the "Sizzler." This was a double spinner looking thing that went pretty fast. I just knew they would start it up and Ellie (the very child who got car sick just driving to the fair) would throw up on Heath or she would be screaming and crying so frantically that they would have to stop so she could get off. Surprisingly, she LOVED it and wanted to go again.

The kids quickly warmed up to the idea of the rides and wanted to try all of them - even to the point where Thomas threw a giant fit because he couldn't ride the exciting rides with Dad.

The animals were great too, Thomas and Ellie wanted to pet everything. We loved every minute, despite the heat, and can't wait until next year.