Dallas

Last weekend the boys and I journeyed up to Dallas for our annual State Fair visit and sleepover at the Brown home. This year was extra fun because Team Rener stayed at the Brown's house as well. 5 kids made for one loud house. I will say that they had a blast being together. Ava did a phenomenal job keeping up with the boys and only occasionally opted out of their strange games they'd made up.

The little boys did their best to participate in the big kid fun, but mostly they jockeyed for possession of one coveted toy after another.

Saturday we watched a very sad Longhorn defeat, but the company and the food were fantastic. Sunday afternoon we attended the wedding of Casey & Amanda. It was a lovely ceremony. Matt sat nicely still with his cousins while I sat in the back with Will. He got the wiggles about the time vows were being exchanged so we had to make an exit. He ran around the lobby with Henry.

The reception was fun; the kids were highly entertaining. Matt was doing these weird statuesque poses that were cracking us up. He'd strike a pose and hold it and then switch to a different pose. I have no idea what that was about, but it was awesome.

Monday was Columbus Day, and the kids were off school so we figured it was the perfect day to go to the fair. So did everybody else! That place was crazy packed. We still had great fun.

Look at these adorable children!

Will & Henry were troopers being patient in their strollers for most of the day. Snacks help a lot.

The big kids were very excited to ride the race car ride again, and that was their first choice of the day. This time though they decided to all ride in their own cars.

Good buddies.

Will is tall enough now that he was able to ride the airplanes. I had to sit with him though. He LOVED it. He smiled and giggled through the whole thing. I would have let him ride more, but I had to fork out tickets for both him & I to ride and that would have wiped out my ticket supply after 2 rides. Maybe next year he'll be tall enough to ride solo. Maybe. :)

Matt, Josh & Ava went on the huge slide all by themselves. They carried their little rugs all the way up the stairs and slid down without our assistance. So big! They were very proud of themselves. That's Matt on the far right with the look of sheer delight on his face.

There is nothing that compares to a corny dog at the fair. SO delicious! Later, Matt enjoyed a caramel apple. That was tasty too.

We spotted these cool license plate pinwheels on display, and Matt ran and looked at each one. He made sure he saw one from each state before we moved on.

Cuteness!

We went and saw the animals like we always do, and while there were some cool things to see I was completely stressed at keeping up with my children in that insanely crowded sea of people. Will would not even consider being held by me or even hold my hand. He insisted on being free range so he could feed the animals too. I could have used a leash. Seriously.

It was another super fun day at the fair, and I know the kids had a blast. I think this picture of them with their swords they won at a game just about sums it up. From the fair, Joy & I and the kids drove back to Austin. Alison and Chris were so brave to host all of us for the weekend. They really are incredible friends and amazing hosts. We always love staying at their house. I'm pretty sure Matt would still be there if he had his way. :)