Abe and Kenya Bridals

They aren't quite married yet, but it's only three days away! Tonight we will be at Kenya's bridal shower, tomorrow the older girls will be at her bachelorette party, and Saturday we will see them wed!

And if that isn't enough to cram into a week (Kenya only just got back from her internship in D.C., so things had to be a bit condensed), I also took some rushed (it was nearly dark) bridals for them on Sunday evening.

And here they are. (Wasn't this me and Mike--all giddy and full of excitement over starting our life as a married couple--only moments ago? What a wild thing life is!)

(Daisy made Kenya's bouquet and will be making all the bride's bouquets, boutonnières, and corsages for us!)

The Fair. Round Two.

We made it through our second fair week!

It is just ... such a thing! 

(A few days after fair week a friend from our ward texted me and said, "The fair moms are going to dinner tonight. You should come!" I wasn't able to make it, but I was startled to realize that I am now a "fair mom". Who would have ever thought?)

But I will say that, while the goat shaving that Mike has to do with each kid and their goat will likely never be anything but torturous, the rest of the whole business felt so much ... just ... well ... I don't know ... better? this year. 

Last year we just didn't really know anything yet. Every bit of it was new and we weren't really prepared for it. (Why, the first day last year we didn't even show up with camp chairs and food!)

This year we kind of knew how everything worked. We set up bright and early in a lovely shady spot by the stream that runs through the fairgrounds (and just across from the goat barn) and kept our chairs and blanket there all week. We brought water and food in a cooler. And just sort of set up camp so it was there each time we came. The goat kids would run off and change into their fair clothes when one of their shows were drawing close, and then Mike would take them to ready their goat while the other kids would follow me to get a spot where we could watch on the bleachers. Between shows, the kids would play in the stream, dig through the cooler, find friends (who were also showing animals) to chum about with, and run back and forth to the various fair booths (Hans spun countless wheels to win free stuff and kept returning to us with "swag" as he called it).

And in the end, the kids all did well and auctioned their goats for a good chunk of money!

Last year I had my doubts about whether we'd be back again or not, but now I'm pretty sure that for years to come our summers will include fair week. And we will have fair kids. And I guess I will be a fair mom. (Though Mike does most of the hard work so perhaps his being a fair dad is the bigger deal.)

And of course there is even more time at the fair since our kids help do pony rides for the ward youth fundraiser. (I'll be a little sad when we are in a different ward next year and won't be a part of that.)