Life on the Farm: The Kids Expo

We took advantage of a clear weekend and headed over the pass to spend sometime with family. My Aunt Heidi was visiting from Colorado, plus it had been awhile since Grandma Sandi, Papa Tim, and Granny Milkshake had seen Baby Jack. I didn't give the kids much notice as I wasn't sure if the weather was going to cooperate. In the end, I packed for everyone, including Dan, and informed him we would be going and that the kids and I would be meeting him at his office.

We had a nice visit. It happened to be the weekend of the Kids Expo, an event held at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds every year full of fun activities, prizes, crafts, and give aways. Did I mention all of it is free? While there the kids were treated to a movie and snacks from Aunt Heidi. She was impressed at how much Noah knew about the differences between fiction and non-fiction. She also became fast friends with Jack. Dan and I got to sneak away for the evening and have dinner and dessert alone, an early celebration for our Anniversary. We ate at a little hole in the wall in Downtown Placerville known as the Powell Brothers Steam house. In all my years of living in Placerville I had never been there, so it was neat to see what all the buzz was about. I had a really good seafood stew and Dan ate steamed clams. For dessert we headed to Baskin Robins, I had some yummy ice cream made with Red Hots. It wasn't the fanciest of evenings, but a fun one. We were just too tired to run down the hill into Folsom or Sacramento, plus we weren't sure how long Jack would survive with out me. It was a fun, fast paced weekend.

Here are a few highlights from the Kids Expo:

Chelsea holding a chicken....

Noah and Zoe putting out the flames using equipment from the Forrest Service Fire Squad. The guy was really impressed with Zoe's spunk, determination, and stance. I even picked up a few Smokey the Bear pins. Remember him? I think it is sad that kids these days know so little about who Smokey the Bear is.