This is my first post from our new computer…wow, speedy. The old computer has been slowly dying…making it painful to update the blog and do anything else on it. This new one has been up for an hour or so now and it is amazing how much faster it is – wheeeeee! So here’s a quick post. The state fair has come and gone. We went twice and got our fill of cheese curds, deep fried pickles, onion rings, turkey sandwiches, milk, shakes, apple cider pops, french fries, ice cream, etc etc etc. This was my year to try new ice cream…I had honey & sunflower ice cream, honey nut fudge ice cream, chocolate port ice cream, and raspberry wine ice cream. I don’t think I’ve ever had ice cream at the state fair…but it tasted so good this year. We even got a yummy, gooey brownie and I made sure to crumble that in ice cream too. We also tried a few new activities this year…go carts and the haunted house! Although Christopher likely won’t admit it, only once did he drop completely to the ground in absolute terror as a goblin of some sort tried to grab him 🙂 Kristin, Tom and Big A came up again for the state fair which was a fun time as always. It would be awesome if next year everyone can come out and we do a trip up to Grand Marais and also hit the state fair that same week…mark your calendars now!!!
While we were walking around at the state fair this robot thing came zooming up on a scooter. It got off the scooter and started walking around the crowd and interacting with people. This thing was crazy amazing and I have no idea how it worked. It looked to be 8′ tall and based on where its crotch was, how broad its shoulders were, how long its arms were, and how you could see through some parts I don’t see how a person would have been able to (comfortably) stay in it (plus it had great balance). It would talk to people and interact, and its fingers and facial features would move around too. It took a lot of coaxing but I got Colleen to go up to it. It kept asking her if I was her daddy (she smiled back but wouldn’t respond, so he kept asking her), and after he asked her a few times he warned her not to go away with me if she didn’t know who I was. I want one of these for Christmas!
Wally sent some pictures & video of Ellicott City, Md where they live – amazing how much damage the rain is causing. Hope New Hampshire & Mass are being spared this go around. Here are some of the links Wally sent showing their water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtsT-BIotz4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKCgqvvv_cU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucrheBoUOzc
As of this Tuesday the kids are all back in school. They all had great first weeks of school – their new teachers all seem to be really good and they all are excited to be back.
Our weekends in September are absolutely insane. Soccer, football, dance, pictures, 5k’s, Beth working, Colleen’s birthday party, September 9-11 fire department stuff, Friday Night Destruction at the race track, scout camping trip, plus a few other things…we’re hoping we survive to October. Although the first few weekends of October aren’t much better as I travel to Purdue to see the notre dame game and then I have some wish granter training. Despite our busy schedules we’re keeping everyone on the east coast in our thoughts and prayers. Stay strong Dad!!! That’s awesome about the Cougar – sweet!!!!
The state fair sounds good for next year. Hopefully by then ice cream will taste good to me again. I’m in a phase where nothing really tastes good, but things don’t really taste that bad either. I try to “put on a good show” at each meal and clean my plate.
That “thing person” is neat. I wonder if I could get one this year to rake our leaves. Colleen got closer to it than I think I would have. You are right it looks like it would be difficult for a person to be inside of it, unless the person is actually 8′ tall.
I really like the picture of your young students on their first day of school. Glad everything went well. Give school your best. I couldn’t read the sign on Orca. What does it say?
Sounds like September is going to be a busy month for all of you. I’ll be thinking of all you while I’m up north. I’m glad I’ll have internet access so I’ll be able to enjoy your blog updates.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I’m not looking forward to next week and the following weeks, but I have to go through it if I want to get better.
Yes, the Cougar prize did make my day. I never thought I would be able to fulfill that dream so soon. I called Brent the next day and thanked him. He’s got a number of cars around Indiana that have also won awards. Everyone who sees the paint job comments about how nice it is.
Will close for now. Thanks for the update. It was nice talking with you on the phone tonight.
I hope all of your young Thompsons have a great school year!
Love,
Dad and Grandpa T.
Here’s a link to a brief video of the robot we saw: http://blogs.citypages.com/dressingroom/2011/09/dancing_robot_minnesota_state_fair.php
I also think I forgot to mention that same day, Garrison Keilor walked right past us about 1′ away from me. And shortly after that our kids were miraculously behaving and a family that was leaving the fair asked if we could use an entire sheet of ride tickets – well duh…of course we can 🙂