Iowa State Fair x 4

I got my fill of the ISF this year, being that I went 4 different times!  Each time I went was with a different group of people so it made it fun!  I don't think I have ever walked around the fair that much and to be honest I didn't know that the fair covered so much ground.

Trip #1
We had a company outing the first Friday of the fair (August 10th).  We saw the butter cow, walked through the varied industries building, saw the big pig, went to the Iowa Craft Beer Tent, drank margaritas, and of course ate CORN DOGS! 

Ashley looks frightened!

The girls with Margs!

The gang

Trip #2
The first Saturday of the fair is the Draft Horse Pull, which my Uncle Daniel hosts.  This was also Bo's first time going to the State Fair so I was super excited!  My family comes up every year for this so it makes for some quality family time.  Josh judged the pull again this year along with my brother, so it made it even more enjoyable to watch.  Right when we got there my mom and dad both went straight for the food vendors.  My mom had an italian sausage sandwich and cajun chicken on a stick, and my dad had a brisket sandwich along with a corn dog!  The Gray's love their fair food!  After the horse pull we all had chili dogs and some had more corn dogs (including me!).  It was a fun night and Bo was such a good boy the whole time.  He also got to try Lemonade for the first time, courtesy of his Papa! :)

trying on dad's glasses

the fair already wore him out! 

fun with Bethann!

Bo and Mama

Josh, Paul, Nick

Bo and Junior (while Papa is feeding him Lemonade)

Trip #3
The following day (Sunday) was a big night for me!  My best friend, Jackie, and I scored 2nd row tickets to go see Miranda Lambert.  This was a very fitting concert for the two of us to go considering we listened to her CD in high school until it was ruined!  We related to Miranda's songs and this concert gave a chance to go back in a time a bit and spend some good 'grown up' time together.  It was probably one of the funnest nights I had in a long time.  There are just some people that you meet in your life that you will always connect with without work.  She is one of them.  I cannot even tell you how much fun we had!  Minus the down pour right before Miranda came out, it was a great time!  We had awesome seats...the best I have ever had at a concert!  Until next time... (which there will a next time!!)

<3 her so much!

The group before the concert!

after the first down pour

aren't we cute?? Ha!

Miranda and I:)

Pistol Annies

Trip #4
The last and final trip of the ISF was with Justin, Sydney and Owen.  They had planned a trip to Des Moines to stay with us for a couple days and spend some time at the fair.  I always enjoy seeing the boys together.  Both boys are crawling so to say the least they were into everything!  Owen does an army crawl and he's pretty quick! :)  Bo is up all fours, so it was enjoyable watching them both together.  At the fair, we saw all the sights, ate some good food, bought a few things which made it a very successful day at the fair! 

the boys

The Rhamy's with their sons!

Family pic

Time with an old friend

My best friend from high school is back in the area for a bit while her husband is overseas.  I was so glad that after much advanced planning it finally worked out for us to get together on a weekend...  I crashed her family trip to Adventureland and Josh graciously offered to watch Bo while I spent the day with her and her family.  We had such a great time.  Caleb (her 5 year old son) and I became besties and rode nearly every roller coaster together.  He's quite the daredevil and has such a great personality. He makes me smile so much:).  Benjamin (her 2 year old son) was there as well.  He looks more like Jackie and I think he may have a little bit of her personality too.  He went with her Aunt, Uncle and Gma for some of the day while we rode the "big kid" rides, so we didn't get to spend as much time with him at the park. 

After we left Adventureland we picked up some pizza and spent some time at my house.  She had never been there before so I was anxious to have them over.  That's when things started to get real fun.  Boston wanted to lick everyone and Ben was a little unsure of him at first, but Josh eventually got him warmed up to him.  I know Josh enjoyed playing with Ben and Caleb (he was able to be a little bit of a kid himself:)).  Jackie got her baby fix and fed Bo his supper, so I would say the day and night was successful.  I also talked Jackie into coming to the Miranda Lambert (our favorite singer in high school...too many memories to even talk about with her songs...) concert at the Iowa State Fair.  Josh is going to watch all the boys (such a good guy) while we go have a night to ourselves.  I am looking forward to that night...post to come.

Jackie and I definitely do not get to talk as much as we would like or see each other as often, but that doesn't change anything about our friendship.  She is someone that will forever 'get me' and the feeling is reciprocal.  I cherish our friendship so much, because a friend like her doesn't come around very often, if ever.  My favorite memories from high school belong with her and I am so grateful to have her in my life.  Even though our friendship may have taken some time in the beginning, it was meant to be.  She is a wonderful person inside and out, I went through some of the toughest times with her by my side and I cannot thank her enough!  I love her boys like they are my own, respect her husband, and admire her strength. 

Some pictures from the day/evening...

Caleb and I on the Tea Cups

Ben on the Tea Cups

Falling Star - Caleb was not happy at first, but he loved it!

Caleb and Bo playing patty cake

Bo loves Jackie!!

What are they doing over there?

Boys being boys...

trying to get a good pic of all the boys

Take 4...

Got one!

Love this little guy

3 years together

It's hard to believe it's been 3 years that Josh and I have been married and over 6 1/2 together.  It has been the best life I could've ever imagined.  Josh continues to make me smile each and every day.  I still rush home every day to see him and get the feeling of butterflies before he walks in the door. He has made me happier than what I thought possible.  He is the best friend, supporter, listener that I could ask for. I have more respect for him than I think he will ever know.  We truly are a perfect match for one another.  I'm so thankful and blessed to have him on my team.  As we always say, "It's us against the world!".  Love you more and more each and everyday, Joshua!

Josh and I are into traditional gifts and for year three you are supposed to give leather.  This was a tough one for me at first, but as I was at the Art Festival in downtown Des Moines I ran into a vendor that had all kinds of unique hand-crafted leather.  With my interest in photography growing, I bought a leather bound photo album.  I put a saying in the front page - one that Josh sent to me not too long before we got married

"From this day forward you will not walk alone, my heart will be your shelter and my arms will be your home."

And I put pictures from the time we got married and on, leaving half of the album blank to fill in over the years.  He loved it!  He went a little overboard and got me a leather Coach duffle!  I have never been one to buy expensive purses, but it was so sweet of him to get it for me.  He is so thoughtful.  He also got me some Coach perfume 'from Bo'.  After gifts we headed off to eat dinner as a family.  Bo loved people watching, he couldn't stop turning his head from side to side.  He didn't want to miss anything. 

8 months

Yet another month has come and gone for the Rhamy family.  Bo is constantly doing something.  He is all over the place!  He loves to stand and can pull himself up!  He can crawl backwards and in a circle, but has Josh says, "His transmission is stuck in reverse".  But we have to keep an eye on him constantly because he is extremely close to knocking over a potted plant the other day.  He has been in size 3 diapers for awhile now and also has been in 12 month clothes for about a month (or more).  He really shot up from 6 to 7 months.  He basically skipped 9 month clothes and went straight to 12 monthers.  Still no teeth, but that doesn't stop his appetite.  He eats his "puffers" very well and also drinks out of his sippy cup.  He is growing so fast!  He has also pulled himself up in crib too, I was waiting for the day when that would happen:).  Changing his diaper has gone from "not as easy" to almost impossible.  You have to clear out everything in sight because he is constantly grabbing everything and rolling everywhere!  He still talks all the time, he has quite the personality!

One bad thing...Bo has been quite the scooter for the past couple months where he bounces and scoots on his butt at the same time...well, we USED to sit him on the ottoman in the sunroom, that is until now.  One morning I put him on the ottoman (in the middle, toward the back where it meets the couch), grabbed a bottle and turned on the water and I heard a thump...I instantly look and he was laying on his back in the front of the ottoman:(.  I grabbed him right before he started crying...I had never felt so bad in my life!!  He had managed to scoot all the way off in a matter of seconds, so needless to say he is put on the floor from now on:).

A few photos....

being goofy

i'm going to get you!

bath time

his first owie after falling off the couch - bad mom!

good morning!

playing with daddy

look what i can do!

And of course a few videos too....

 

Blake Shelton + Horse Pull

Josh and I were lucky enough to get asked to go see Blake Shelton on July 20th in Monticello, IA with some friends, Kirk and Andrea Bagby.  Andrea's dad is president of the fairboard for the GREAT JONES COUNTY FAIR so she gets tickets every year to the concerts, and she was gracious enough to ask Josh and I to go with them.  I can't even tell you how excited I was to see him!  This was also the first night that both Josh and I were away from Bo.  It was super hard to leave him, but we knew he was in good hands with Grandma.  It was nice to have some alone time with Josh as well:).

Going to concerts is one of my favorite things and seeing Blake Shelton was too bad either;).  I have been a fan for awhile and after watching The Voice Josh has become a fan too!  We had a great time with Andrea and Kirk, as we always do, and drinking a few cocktails as well!  Thanks again to Kirk and Andrea for allowing us to spend the evening with you!

gotta love fair food!

Andrea and I

Mr. Shelton

Love him!

making our way thru the crowd!

The next evening my Uncle Dan hosted a Draft Horse Pull in Osceola, so we were home for about an hour before heading down to yet another county fair.  I always enjoy watching these because it is what my family did every weekend during summertime growing up because my dad, brother, Grandpa Jack, Uncle Dan, and Uncle Doug always participated in them.  Now, my brother will help hook, my Uncle Dan and Doug still participate along with my Uncle Doug's wife, Pam, and my cousin, Cody.  My dad was excited to see Bo and I always enjoy seeing family.  My Uncle Doug almost gave me a heart attack after the pull because as my little cousin, Alysia, was holding Bo he told her to see Zip (one of the draft horses) and with Alysia not even being as tall as his leg my heart was pounding to say the least the whole time Bo and Alysia were petting Zip.  I enjoyed watching Alysia and Ashlan (my cousin Dessa's daughters) interact with Bo.

Alysia and Bo

Checking out the cows