It's been a fun couple of weeks.  Last weekend, we went to the Missouri State Fair.  It is held in Sedalia so it only takes us about 25 minutes to get there.  We let the kids do the pony rides this year.  Tyler was excited until he realized the horses were real.  I talked in him to getting on, and once they started moving, he was good.

The petting zoo is right next to the pony rides.  We go there every year.  This time they had to go twice.

We arrived 1/2 an hour early for the pig races, which is the only way to get a seat.  We snacked on nachos from a nearby food truck while we waited.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love nachos?  I really love nachos.

The kids were trying to help the pigs find their Oreo cookies.

It was already lunch time at this point.  This is Tyler's foot-long corn dog.  Yes, he ate the whole thing.

Zack and Sydney were not sure about these massive pizza slices.  But Syd finished hers.  I tasted Zack's, and I think the crust was made of pretzel dough.

This was probably the last bite Tansy took.  Tyler finished her corn dog as well.

It has become a tradition to play on this rock by the museum.  It's right by the picnic area so they run back and forth while we eat.

Sydney loved creating the energy to turn on the light bulbs.  They other kids were sad they were too small to try.

Tyler was finally big enough for rides this year!  He had so much fun.  Ben took the girls to the rides for bigger kids, and I had the camera so we only had pictures of the boys.

Sydney earned her orange belt in karate on the 13th.  She has been taking karate for a year now, and I am so proud of her hard work.

On the 14th, Sydney had her first lesson with her new piano teacher.  I have been teaching her, but we don't have a great amount of patience with each other, and I didn't feel she was making the progress she could.  Her teacher is a sweet woman from church who helped me learn to play the organ.  I am so excited to just be the helper and not the teacher anymore.

The 16th was the first day of school.  Here are my girls waiting for the bus.

Tansy was so excited to get on the bus, this was the best picture I could manage.

Sydney's always ready to pose.

Tansy has told me that she loves everything about school.  She loves making new friends and learning, so this is perfect for her.  Sydney is a little less enthusiastic, but she is happy with her teacher so far.  Now to try to settle into a schedule again.  Sigh.