Celebrating Daddy

The beginning of October means the Dixie Classic Fair and Boomer's birthday! Also, as I learned this year, October is also National Principals Month. It is only fitting to recognize my favorite principal. His dedication (and wardrobe!) shows how much pride he has in his school. I admire his hard work and long hours, his multi-tasking and attention to detail. He has such a heart for public education, and I am a proud principal's wife. Here's to many more years of prom dates and graduation speeches!

Continuing with the celebrations of Boomer, we celebrated his birthday with our annual trip to the Dixie Classic Fair. We once again went on Wednesday night, "canned food night." Tip: This is the most economical night to go to the fair, since the canned foods are cheaper than the usual price of admission. Also, you can bring in drinks and other snacks so that you aren't buying those things in addition to other food - which tends to be our biggest fair cost! We definitely like to splurge on our favorites: chicken pita, footlong corn dogs, and the Amish donuts. We coordinated with the Houstons and Williamses to eat dinner, and we managed to snag a table together for about 30 minutes, before our kiddos took us in separate directions. After eating dinner, Emmy was ready to explore. She walked on her own for quite a bit, but then as we were heading towards the livestock pavilions, she bolted back to her stroller. I think the cows and sheep were a little intimidating! She also wanted Daddy to hold her while we walked by the large 30-foot tall Smokey the Bear. She's continued to 'talk' about the bear the rest of the week. Emmy wasn't quite big enough for the rides, but she was entranced by all the movement and light. I have a feeling next year the fair will be a bit more expensive as we buy ride tickets in addition to our food! 

 Here's a look back at our other years at the Dixie Classic Fair!

On Boomer's actual birthday, Thursday the 4th, we had a family dinner at East Coast Wings. Yes, we had just eaten there on Sunday...but it is one of the birthday boy's favorite restaurants, so we were back there again just a few days later! Boomer arrived a couple of minutes before everyone else and was apparently enjoying a drink at the bar when his solitude was interrupted by his boisterous nephews! 

My mom brought along cupcakes to celebrate, and we all sang 'Happy Birthday!' Emmy loved sitting on Daddy's lap and getting several bites of cake and icing. 

The week concluded with a staff tailgate before the Forbush vs. Atkins football game. Emmy and I had fun eating and socializing with the Forbush staff. Emmy got to monkey around with her friends Levi and Lyla (under the close supervision of parents, of course). She also got to see Mrs. G's cocker spaniel Mr. Darcy and explore the football field. It was hard to drag her away! We scooted home just before the football game started, but it was nice to fit in some time with Boomer. As I am writing this, I just wrapped up the bath and bedtime routine - whew, the week is done :)

We are all heading in separate directions this weekend. On Sunday, I will be going to Raleigh for the North Carolina Community College System conference. Because my primary roles are advising and registering students for dual-enrollment courses, I am attending the conference in order to learn about changes and updates to this process. An added bonus of the conference: I get to catch up with Melanie and Julie, the two other college liaisons in Surry County. I like them both a lot, and I wish we could spend more time together. Since we are all based at the different high schools, we don't see each other very much, so it will be fun to learn together and have some girl time, too. We will be staying overnight Sunday night and Monday night, returning on Tuesday. I made sure Boomer had these dates on his calendar earlier in the school year so that Emmy was taken care of...but then baseball threw a wrench in things. Now Boomer will also be leaving on Sunday! He will be heading to Atlanta for the Braves vs. Dodgers Playoff Game 3. When the Braves were winning a lot during the summer, Boomer prepared me that he would go to a game if the Braves played in October...and well, here we are! Sadly I am not able to tag along, which is a bummer because it would mean we could check off the new Braves ballpark, SunTrust Park. We have been to the old one, Turner Field, several times. In fact, the last time we were at Turner Field, it was for the Braves vs. Dodgers playoff game in 2013, and that was the last playoff game played at the stadium. I am glad that Boomer will get some bonding time with his dad and his brother Kyle, but I am jealous that I can't be there, too. Hopefully the Braves will win again like they did for our game in 2013!