Good Times

Well, I'm back from my trip to Des Moines and still recovering. This weekend took a lot out of me for a number of reasons - not all of which I will elaborate on here - but overall it was a good trip. Everyone made it our little annual reunion, and it was fun to see how big all of the kids are getting, and to meet the newest addition, Sydney. She's only 7 1/2 weeks old, and such a little cutie! All but one of us made it out to the Iowa State Fair that night, and a good time was had by all, footloose and kiddie-free. Here's a rambling list of the night's events:

Big pig - bigger bull - Butter (doesn't look much like) Shawn Johnson - huge dahlias - baby animals - Varied Industries Building - touch Floyd of Rosedale - pork chop on a stick - Coke with cherry syrup - help lost little girl - Kristy shows up - bite of gyro - learn some friends won't eat lamb - Bud Tent - Beer #1- pose for this photo:

- spill half of beer on Laura's back - back to Varied Industries Building - split cup of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies - Bud Tent - Beer #2 - find table in Wellmark Olympic Pavilion - marathons are long - discussions about the German flag - watch Michael Phelps win #8 - join crowd in collective roar - seek Grilled Pineapple on a Stick - run into old college friend - wait in line - try Grilled Pineapple on a Stick while walking back to pavilion - SO GOOD! - leave Pavilion seeking Hot Pepper Cheese on a Stick for Amy - Kristy goes home - fresh out of Hot Pepper Cheese on a Stick - approach Grandstand and hear Def Leppard in concert - sing Def Leppard songs while walking to Skyride - try to take picture of guy wearing "Boobies Make Me Smile" shirt - get on Skyride - sing Def Leppard songs on Skyride - get off Skyride - watch Grandstand fireworks - wait for Amy to buy treat for her hubby - catch the bus to our cars. Drive to Amy's. Sleep.

For those of you keeping tabs, the mullet count was surprisingly low, in fact downright disappointing. I figured considering the Grandstand act there would probably be some real winners, but I didn't really see anything that could even touch "Achy Breaky" status. Then again, we left basically right at the end of the concert, so we probably didn't seen the full flood of Def Leppard wannabes seeking to squeeze one last beer out of their big evening out.

There's no place like the State Fair.