These are a few of my favorite things! How lucky that I was able to spend my weekend enjoying these things along with some of my other favorite things such as sno-cones, laughing, corn dogs, walking tacos and swimming. And my ability to enjoy all of these most favorite things together over the course of one weekend is all thanks to Jason's love of Kid Rock.
Jason is a tough cookie when it comes to birthdays and any other gift giving occasion. Imagine my delight when it was brought to my attention shortly before the month of June that Kid Rock was playing at the Minnesota State Fair. You know, sometimes the stars just align. Of course I knew tickets to said concert would be the best gift I could ever think of for Mr. Kolb. Tickets were purchased and given. Jason portrayed the exactly perfect level of disbelief and happiness when opening his gift and our plans were set in motion. We figured we may as well make an entire weekend of it and added Valleyfair and Austin's 10th birthday party to the list of must do's.
Thursday after school we hopped into the trusty old Expedition and beelined for St. James and Jake's Pizza. We spent the night at the Carter family homestead (established in 1972). Before dawn's early light on Friday, we arose determined to be at the Valleyfair gates as soon as they were opened. Shockingly we were running a little late but still did well, arriving at Jeremy and Sheila's just before 10AM. Bathroom breaks, leg stretching and grocery unloading out of the way, we jumped back into the car for the short jaunt to "The Fair in the Valley". Oohs and ahhs filled the vehicle as the tall, scary looking steel and wood contraptions came into view. A brief exchange with John, the friendly parking attendant and then it was time to ride. Roller coasters, extreme swinging, power towers, tilt-a-whirls, frog hoppers~you name it, we rode it. I was floored by Grace's enthusiasm, excitement and daredevil attitude. Here, if you squint and get your face very close to the monitor, you might be able to see Jason and Grace coming down off the Power Tower.
The children, patiently waiting for the next ride...
Lily, Emma and Ella loving the "Mild Thing"...
And the "Frog Hopper" (the toddler/junior version of the Power Tower)...
Lily and Ella testing out a possible future career....
Lily intensely studying the song stylings of "The Squiggles"~Valleyfair's answer to the ever popular "Wiggles"... 
JerBear and his charges enjoying the show...
Sweet job~Lead Squiggle! Way to rock this place! High Five! 
The girls...Lily was certain there was an actual dead person inside that coffin. She is still talking about it today.
The final ride of the day~Steel Venom. After riding twice in a row, Grace bestowed upon this ride, the 9-year old's highest honor, declaring it "AWESOME" She also remarked it was fantastic and when I said it was like an extreme Extreme Swing, she reiterated, "It was extremely awesome."
The day is done....
and we are ready for our next adventure.
We made a pit stop at Culver's to fill our bellies (no, the pronto pups, walking tacos, regular tacos, strawberry smoothies, funnel cake fries, cotton candy and sno-cones, just weren't quite enough. You do remember how much we like to eat, right?) and it was "In the pool, if you're cool." 
Everyone got a good night's sleep, tired out from the busy day and anticipating another. We awoke from our slumber, put the hurt on the complimentary continental breakfast, took a quick dip and headed to Jeremy and Sheila's, arriving just in the nick of time for our next meal. The afternoon was spent like most Carter family gatherings; telling stupid stories/jokes, eating and lounging. Next thing you know, it was time to prepare for the concert. Jeremy hit the nail on the head with this little ensemble....
However, he was afraid he would be mistaken for Kid Rock himself and opted for his second choice.Jason wasn't able to outdo Jeremy so he just stuck to his preselected outfit.
It's been many, many years since I last attended the MN State Fair and I was completely overwhelmed by the masses of people. It was unbelievable. We fought our way through the crowds, grabbed some standard fair treats and went to the Grandstand for a slightly smaller crowd and $5.50 Miller Lites. We located our seats up in the nosebleeds and settled in, ready to rock!
Between running down for more beer and in turn, more bathroom breaks, we rocked. He put on an awesome show and when Jason looked at me and told me, "This is the best birthday present ever", I was quite pleased with myself!
Because we had taken the bus from near Jeremy's house to the concert, we had to book out of there as soon as the show was over in order to make sure we didn't miss our return trip. Running and dodging people, we made it in plenty of time to use the some seriously ripe porta-potties before boarding the bus for a memorable ride back to Chanhassen.
It's been many, many years since I last attended the MN State Fair and I was completely overwhelmed by the masses of people. It was unbelievable. We fought our way through the crowds, grabbed some standard fair treats and went to the Grandstand for a slightly smaller crowd and $5.50 Miller Lites. We located our seats up in the nosebleeds and settled in, ready to rock!
Between running down for more beer and in turn, more bathroom breaks, we rocked. He put on an awesome show and when Jason looked at me and told me, "This is the best birthday present ever", I was quite pleased with myself!
Because we had taken the bus from near Jeremy's house to the concert, we had to book out of there as soon as the show was over in order to make sure we didn't miss our return trip. Running and dodging people, we made it in plenty of time to use the some seriously ripe porta-potties before boarding the bus for a memorable ride back to Chanhassen.This is Jason and I loving mass transit....
and Jeremy and Sheila loving mass transit as well.
This is "Fella" and his friend who mistook for a girl loving mass transit.
There was a man who I dubbed Skipper and his wife who sat across from Jeremy and Sheila that also enjoyed mass transit. I thought I had a picture of them but unfortunately it didn't turn out. I informed them they would be on my blog with or without their permission. They didn't seem to mind. The two girls sitting directly in front of me did not share my enthusiasm for mass transit and I am guessing the moment they were able to disembark from what was most likely the longest bus ride of their life was the best part of their day. I made some really great friends on the 45 minute ride back to our bus stop and am seriously considering purchasing a bus pass for the Sioux Falls bus just because it is such a friendly way to travel. Plus, I have likely been banned from ever riding a bus in the Twin Cities metro area ever again and so if I ever want to ride public transportation again, it's probably the only chance I'll have.
All sugared up, we hopped back into the car ready for the long ride home. Grace was the first to nod off near Worthington with Lily not far behind. Ella finally crashed about a half hour from home. A busy weekend filled with family, friends and fun~definitely our favorite things!
and Jeremy and Sheila loving mass transit as well.
This is "Fella" and his friend who mistook for a girl loving mass transit.
There was a man who I dubbed Skipper and his wife who sat across from Jeremy and Sheila that also enjoyed mass transit. I thought I had a picture of them but unfortunately it didn't turn out. I informed them they would be on my blog with or without their permission. They didn't seem to mind. The two girls sitting directly in front of me did not share my enthusiasm for mass transit and I am guessing the moment they were able to disembark from what was most likely the longest bus ride of their life was the best part of their day. I made some really great friends on the 45 minute ride back to our bus stop and am seriously considering purchasing a bus pass for the Sioux Falls bus just because it is such a friendly way to travel. Plus, I have likely been banned from ever riding a bus in the Twin Cities metro area ever again and so if I ever want to ride public transportation again, it's probably the only chance I'll have.Sunday morning rolled around and it was time to depart for home. Leftovers for lunch and then we were on the road again with a detour to the apple orchard on the route. We have often thought about stopping to check out this particular orchard on past trips but have never taken the time. Mom, Dad and Kim were planning on stopping so we thought we would tag a long. The girls loved it. In additon to the expected apples and apple related treats, they had every kind of candy you could think of from back in the good old days (candy cigarettes, Big League Chew, Boston Baked Beans, candy buttons~you name it, they had it). The building was filled with the delicious aroma of fresh baked pies which made it impossible to not bring one home with us. Grace selected a bottle of root beer to sample from the 53 options they provided while Ella and Lily preferred bottles (of the glass variety) of Strawberry Crush to accompany their candy cigs.
All sugared up, we hopped back into the car ready for the long ride home. Grace was the first to nod off near Worthington with Lily not far behind. Ella finally crashed about a half hour from home. A busy weekend filled with family, friends and fun~definitely our favorite things!
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