Labor Day Weekend / Nelson Notes

Labor Day Weekend

9.06.2016

I always look forward to Labor Day weekend: summer's last hoorah! And somehow, it always gets swallowed up with extended family. But I don't mind. That's half the fun. So let me briefly recap what we did all three of our free summer days.

Friday:

We visited the Twin Falls County Fair! It just isn't Labor Day weekend if we don't visit the fair. I love the crazy atmosphere, the dust, the barns, the exhibits, and watching my little boys enjoy all the 4H animals like they're at the world's largest petting zoo. (I mean, it kind of is, isn't it?) The boys' favorite part, however, is the model train exhibit. The joy and excitement! We sat down and let Jed stare in awestruck bliss with his jaw on the ground for a solid twenty minutes.

However, hands-down, the most exciting part for me was seeing how well my prints did in the photo competition. I nervously entered four photos into the county fair in the professional class and two won ribbons in their categories! My black and white photo came in second. And the group of boys on the tire swing won first. But not only that, I was pleasantly surprised to see a giant purple and gold ribbon hanging on it as well for "best fair theme"!!! I came away feeling pretty happy about that.

^^Both the cow and Levi had the same nervous stance while meeting each other for the first time.^^

^^My winning photo!!!^^

Saturday:

The Wagon Days Parade in Ketchum, Idaho has been on our to-do list for several years. This year, we finally got the chance to go! It's the largest non-motorized parade in the Northwest. It features over one hundred museum quality buggies, carriages, and wagons all pulled by live animals. We all loved it. But the grand finale, six enormous Lewis Ore Wagons pulled by 20 authentic mule, is something you have to see for yourself! The train just went on and on and on. It was incredible! And just plain fun.

It was also the first time in months that it was cool enough to need a jacket!

^^Goofy brothers.^^

^^Handsome kid.^^

^^An albino buffalo!^^

^^The Grand Finale! Check out my Instagram for a video of the entire train.^^

Sunday and Monday:

The rest of the weekend was spent with extended family. On Sunday we drove up to Aberdeen, Idaho for my nephew's baby blessing and then hung out eating and talking all afternoon; what Nelsons do best. ;)

Then Monday, all the Nelson boys (minus Call who is on a mission) helped tin a new barn on the dairy farm. An inspection had been moved up and it needed to be done asap! So the boys came to the rescue. They secretly love it though. You can take the boy away from the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy. They work hard, play harder, and love unconditionally.

We wives stayed up at the house tending the kids (well, we made sure everyone stayed alive), cleaning windows, making food, and chatting away! Momma Nelson had the brilliant idea to cook dinner in a milk can. It sounded strange to me, but it turned out absolutely delicious. I totally recommend it for a crowd! It turned out to be a fun and productive day for everyone. I love family.

^^Tinning the new free stall barn.^^

^^One of these girls is not like the others. In other words, can you guess who is NOT pregnant? Obviously, Amber and I are expecting, but Nichole is pregnant too! It is so fun to be having babies alongside my sister-in-laws! P.S. I'm pretty sure those dairy cows behind us are pregnant as well.^^