Claire's adventures continue

First of all I would like to thank Hill for taking over blogging duties last week. She got tired of her other duties - priestly duties, lunch duties, dead-guy duties, etc (fans of Nacho Libre will appreciate this reference), and she wanted some new duties. Apart from Al's visit a couple weeks ago, things have been pretty routine around here. But we scrape up a few things to talk about.

1 - Claire goes bowling.
2 - Claire goes to the fair.
3 - Nate is doubled over in pain and ends up with a root canal and is now awaiting a crown (as CFO, Hill was not very happy about this. Definitely NOT in the budget).
4 - Claire reads.


BOWLING

Our apartment complex gave out some bowling passes early this summer and we finally decided to take them up on the offer. It has been quite a while since we have been bowling and I was most shocked by how expensive it is. Unless we get some more passes, we definitely aren't heading back soon.

Needless to say, Claire had a great time

Mom and Claire were master bowlers. Watch out Ladies Pro Bowlers Association. There alot of things to start your kids out with when they are young - piano, soccer, dance.... None of that for Claire, she is going to spend her life at the alley. Maybe by the time she is old enough, it will be an Olympic Sport.

Just so you all know, that was a STRIKE!!! Hill was no match for my bowling brilliance.

If only Hill's game was as good as her look (s).

Claire was a very close understudy of her mama. She loves to follow mom around wherever she goes. She had alot of fun at the alley.

In the end, the scores didn't matter (although I more than doubled Hill), but time together as a family did. I love hanging out with my girls.

The Albermarle County Fair

Anyone looking to visit us should really try to correlate their visit with the county fair. It is really something that shouldn't be missed (fine, we may miss it the next year, but we would be happy to give you in directions).

Brilliantly we somehow forgot Claire's had and she ended up with a head full of sun screen. That didn't mix well with the 92 degree temperatures.

Our first stop was the petting zoo. Claire wasn't really up for the whole petting. In fact, she learned from one of the little girls there that if you put your finger up to your nose, it keeps the animals away (kind of like the smoke at the campfire)


Here is Claire trying to run with the lambs.

"Mom, why does that little girl have her head in the hay?"

"I'm really not quite sure. Possibly she is trying to be an ostrich? Maybe she is hungry."

We had to keep Claire from eating the prize winning tomatoes. She sure had a good time though.

Claire is a good reader

Claire loves her books. It is amazing how much time she can spend pulling books off the shelves. Moo, Moo, Who are you? is one of her favorites. We love to read it too.

When Al Comes to town

Usually Nate is the blogger in our fam, but I'm taking over for this one. My sister Aly came to C'ville last week for a short visit, (too short in my opinion) and we had a blast! Now don't be too upset as the following pictures my provoke some strong emotion...




That's right...you're looking at a 2008 Sebring Convertible. Al swears that it was either this or a Dodge sedan. I'm still a little suspicious. The best part is that since we had a long drive ahead of us (Raleigh, NC to be exact) I had to use a dish towel in place of a glamorous head scarf since I don't own the real deal.





Claire looks glamorous no matter what...binky or no binky, she's so stinkin' cute! She didn't last too long with the top down though, we had to pull over on the freeway and put the top back on before we had even hit Richmond! She's never been one to do well on road trips...ask anyone in the Dahle family.


We had a great time on our drive singing along to Newsies (I had goosebumps from a couple of our performances:) and Wicked. The trip was short and we were on our way back home before we knew it. As luck would have it, we passed a Smithfields on the way back. Sigh. I wish the follow-up visit would have been as magical as our first time there, but I'm sorry to say that that was not the case. I give you exhibit A:

I'm not sure you can see the fine detail of that hot dog (if it is, indeed, a hot dog), but it was disgusting. When the waitress delivered the food to our table, Al's exact words were, "I can't eat that." Seriously, the hot dog looked like it was a pickled slim jim on a bun! Terrible. I hope Al will still consider a revisit after this heinous incidence.

Luckily we had the ward Sock Hop to attend the next night which put Al in a much better mood:) She also let Nate and I slip out for a few hours alone together. You're the best Al.

The only real downer to our trip was the elimination of Will from So You Think You Can Dance. I think America has learned its lesson...

Anyway, we love you Aly and thanks again for coming to see us so often. We hate to put this in writing, but you're definitely high on Claire's favorites list -this doesn't mean that there isn't any hope for the rest of you, but you've got stiff competition. Until next time...