Today we loaded the boys up into the van and scooted on down to the happiest place on Earth (Salem, according to Gabe) and took in the wonders of the Oregon State Fair. Ok, so first we stopped in Sherwood to get a new accessory for Max at Target - a Monkey backpack leash. Don't we already have both a monkey and a dog backpack you ask? Well, true, true, but we searched the garage about as much as we could without actually unpacking anything else, and they were nowhere to be found. Perhaps the thieves who stole John's old computer tower and our tent also took the backpacks...hey man, you never know when a leash shaped like a monkey might come in handy!
In any case, we got to the fair (eventually), and took the bold step of going somewhere BIG with all three boys and NO stroller for the very first time. Great place to train up Max on how to walk with the MonkeyPack... sink or swim, baby! Max actually did pretty well on the MonkeyPack, so long as we could keep Ben from grabbing the "tail" and shaking/pulling,twirling him about. The key with Max is to make him think he has more independence than he actually does - so he wears the pack but holds your hands, giving him the illusion that he's actually free to run off at any moment, so he stays with you our of the goodness of his little chubby baby heart...mostly. Whenever he would try to run off he'd discover that he was firmly attached to Mommy via the tail, and MAN was he every unhappy about that! But a few minutes of tickles to distract and forget, then it's back to our previously scheduled program of hand holding and walking while forgetting about the tail. And he LOVES his MonkeyPack, cuddles him in the carseat and coos to it...
After a good round of climbing on the tractor toys, we went off in search of the Powerland train display. We met a nice man who reminded us that the SteamUp is coming on September 24th so mark your calendars for free tractor/train/engine fun! The engineer dude in stripey overalls blew the steam whistle on an old timey tractor for us, which promptly ended out time at the Powerland display as both Gabe and Ben were (shockingly) in agreement that the whistle was too loud. When we turned to go, though, Gabe slid and fell, scraping his knee very badly (read, it was a little red and maybe a LIIIIIITLE bit of blood) so much drama ensued (insert crying, tears, screeching, threats-that-we'd-have-to-leave-because-we'd-have-to-go-to-Target-to-get-Bandaids). Finally, Gabe reluctantly agreed to move on, but insisted on holding up his shorts leg on that side so much you could practically see his underpants with every step. Pick your battles, right?
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Gabe's name is on his right.
Ben wrote BEM over in the bottom left corner. |
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| See the horrifying knee injury? |
We graffiti'd a wall (allowed), then Gabe tried to graffiti Ben for pushing in on Gab'es wall photo (not so much allowed), then we all were a little overwhelmed so refreshment was sought. It came int eh form of gelato, which is a big deal around here as "Olivia goes to Venice" is just about the #2 book the boys love this summer, right after "Olivia and the Missing Toy". The plot involves a visit by piggy Olivia and her family to Venice, where they consume gelato every five minutes because Olivia is overcome by the beauty of Venice. Tourists! Always too much gelato!". So to say that Gabe and Ben were excited to find out that the ice cream stand in the artisian's village was actually gelato...understatement. Gabe wanted vanilla, and Ben wanted green, because there was a picture of green gelato on the front of the cart. They did not have green gelato. Ben decided that vanilla gelato was better than no gelato. But as the gal handed him his cup of gelato he said in an accusing voice, "Your picture has green gelato though!". Point well taken, buddy, and at least the gal laughed about it. Ben didn't seem to mind once he was scarfing down his vanilla gelato however.
We decided to go to the Lego display they usually have in the 4-H building but they didn't have it this year. Someone said there was once two buildings over...but there wasn't. There was a display of already built legos int he arts hall, but this was also not satisfying to the boys. They refreshed themselves with free watermelon smoothies (watermelon and ice blended - how easy is that?), then we saw a sign for the Lego Ninjago tour! Awesome - count us in! After a bit of lunch and a pow-wow with Smokey the Bear where Ben held hands with Smokey like the bear was one of his friendly mannequins, off we went to check out Ninjago!
After a ten minute wait in the hot, hot sun to get in, it turns out the Ninjago tour is a 4 minute commercial for Ninjago toys in a very hot and poorly ventilated tent. The boys loved it. They stared at the screen openmouthed and practically drooling. I turned to John and said, "We are in so much trouble." Gabe even helped scream NINJAGO! with the MC dude at the end. Gabe does NOT do class participation.
Then you are let loose into the "backyard" where you build a Ninjago fighter, which is basically a top with a Lego miniman on top. Then you "fight" by spinning your ninja top on a circular tabletop "on stage", meaning with a Lego employeed screaming, "1! 2! 3! NIN-JA-GO!" on a microphone 2 inches from your ear so you can't hear anything but her voice. Then after they do this three times you get to drag your screaming, irritated preschoolers over to the clear bin and force his clenched fist open to relinquish the awesome Ninjago Lego man and get a poster of Ninjago toys he can whine about owning all day long. Your 20 month old baby can now scream NINJAGO! Both older boys can't stop talking about which Ninjago dude they are going to be. And the kicker is that we checked at Freddy's on the way home and the Ninjago guys are $10 a piece...yes, a $10 Lego miniman with a detachable top runs 10 bucks each. Oh my gosh - trouble indeed.
We let the boys finish off the day with a trip to the petting zoo for Gabe and Ben, and to the BiMart toddler area of Max. Gabe was ticked off about that - he could not believe that he was too big to go into the toddler play area. He went off to feed goats with a very grumpy face, and Max was thrilled to have the toddler play area all to himself with no brothers. He played cars, slid on the tiny slide and read an ELMO book while sitting in an adult sized lawn chair - sweet! Gabe was still mad when he came back. But the promise of redeeming his free ice cream coupon at the big red barn on the way out brought back his smile, even if I will pay through the nose tomorrow for his bad food consumption today...with much whining about NINJAGO I'm sure. Guess we know what'll be on the boys' Christmas lists this year...and heaven help me as they play Ninjago spinning tops with their bodies...
Of course, it was totally worth the trip. On the way out, we passed the baby piggies again, and the boys were cooing over how cute and sweet they were, reminding us how cute and sweet the boys are. The older boys fell asleep on the way home from Salem, and Max sang happy babbling baby songs all the way to Wilsonville. For favorite things tonight it was only 80% about how cool Ninjago is and how Gabe is the Cole Ninjago and Ben in the blue Ice one who's name we don't know. They also enjoyed the gelato, the ice cream, making wood necklaces in Smokey the Bear land, and the baby chicks hatching from eggs. NINJAGO to all!
