I Love My Dirty Boys

Last Saturday my fabulous, Jack-of-all-trades, husband ran a 10k race called the Dirty Dash.  Did I mention that among being a the best husband and father ever, an insanely hard worker, and a dedicated student that he's a runner too?  No?  That's cause he's not.  Not really.  He's more of a mountain biker, but that just shows you how versatile he is.

What a great opportunity this was, too.  He ran the race on a team with two of his sisters, one of his brothers, and his brotheri-in-law/friend since high school.  They were 'Team Mossy Gums' (combining the last names of Moss and Mangum).  My brother-in-law designed their team shirts which had a picture of a smiling pig with mossy gums.  They were awesome!

A fellow runner actually thought they were a team of dentists.

At the end of the run there was a mud pit leading to the finish line that Lachlan got to cross with his dad, even though this wasn't going to be his sole opportunity to get muddy.

After the Dirty Dash, Lachlan got to participate in the Piglet Plunge.  His ticket to the event was a tattoo of a pig that he had us stick to the inside of his forearm.

The Piglet Plunge consisted of running up the "big pig climb" (a VERY muddy hill), going down the slop n' slide, and back into the mud pit.

There were a few moments there when Lachlan was less than thrilled that he was covered in mud or that the mud pit was FREEZING, but overall it was a success.  After we were back at the car Lach said he wanted to do the Piglet plunge again next year.  I think when Zane's big enough he'll want to do it too.

Cows and Pigs and Sheep, Oh My!

This is the first time going to the State Fair that Lachlan will actually remember, I think.  He loved it!  He was especially fascinated my the dairy cows being milked.  He asked those poor farmers question after question and we stayed in the dairy barn for probably half an hour.  That's probably my fault.  I have to confess that I've been on a quest to milk a cow for ages.  It's on my list of things-to-do-before-I-die.  Sadly, milking a cow has proven to be harder than you'd think.  The farmers at the fair don't want to let me milk their cows and there just aren't many dairy cows just wandering around my neighborhood, waiting to be milked.  A friend suggested to me that I could start by milking a goat, but I refuse to lower my standards.  I set my sights on a cow and a cow it will be.

We went on an obligatory pony ride, which I thought was hilarious.  The pony people (do they have a more professional sounding name?) are incredibly efficient.  The kids are herded from one waiting area to another then the pony people take a kid off a pony and immediately plop another one in the saddle without missing a single beat.

I feel like the State Fair is an appropriate backdrop for telling a story about my husband that absolutely cracks me up every.single.time.  During the first year that we were married, Anthony and I went on a trip to New York City with his classmates from his undergraduate architecture program.  Our story takes place on the subway.  Some of the boys were seeing how long they could balance without holding onto the handrails, including my husband, when he said (ON THE NEW YORK CITY SUBWAY) "this is kind of like riding the tractor back home"  Hahahaha!  No matter how many times I tell it, that story just never gets old.

Anthony grew up on 100 acres of absolutely incredible orchards.  He spent his summers picking cherries, apples, and peaches and, of course, riding the big tractor to spray pesticides on the trees.  They owned peacocks, chickens, skunks, dogs, cats, and turtles.  He was even a member of the FFA throughout high school.  That is why I couldn't resist getting Lachlan to pose for this picture:

That's right.  Those are FFA uniforms you're looking at and, unfortunately, my husband never owned one :(  Maybe for Halloween...

That cute girl wearing the female version of the FFA uniform?  That's my friend's daughter Ryah.  Lachlan loves every opportunity he gets to play with her and they have so much fun together.  It was a blast watching them at the fair.  They pet the animals, rode the rides (Note to self: My stomach is NOT a fan of the Tilt-A-Whirl) and the ponies, and went down the big yellow slide together.

I love, love, love this picture.  Don't they look sweet?  

Childhood Memories

At a church activity a few weeks ago, Lachlan was given a glow-in-the-dark rubber bracelet.  He is absolutely obsessed with it and has to charge it up in the light, every night before bed, so that it will glow it's brightest in his dark bedroom as he's falling asleep.  This reminded of some GlowWorms I had when I was little.

Luckily, my mom saves everything, so these were in a box in her basement.

It wasn't until I was lining them up on Lachlan's headboard that I remembered how dear they were to me.  The way I had set them up looked all wrong until I realized that the snail was supposed to be in the middle.  Since he's the most differently shaped of the bunch this made everything look nice and symmetrical.  I guess I was a little neurotic even as a kid.  

Just like Lachlan and his bracelet I would put them under the light from my lamp until they were charged up.  Then they would glow by my bedside, my little night lights, until I was fast asleep.  I know they're just toys, but it warms my heart to watch my little guy enjoy these bugs as much as I did.