Absolutely great weekend

Friday
We picked up G's friend and went to Transformers. It started at 7 and ended after 9! Long movie. I enjoyed it. The language was pushing it, but the transforming animation was really spectacular. Couldn't get G and his friend to whisper--at one point, they argued in regular voices about whether one specific Transformer was Starscream or not... sigh. Finally, they stopped. But it was good.

Saturday
We left almost on time and got to the State Fair about 10:30 (I'd wanted to get there when it opened at 10, so, not bad). It was hot but not horrible. I had brought my Camelbak-like backpack, full of ice cubes and water, and my personal mister. These helped keep us cool and hydrated. We went into the petting zoo, which had the usual goats and sheep, but also deer and wallabies. I am not kidding you. They were so cute! And pot-bellied pigs and one large, black, hairy pig (which the signs told us NOT TO FEED). Oh, and two llamas. Did you know llamas chew in a figure-8 (really, infinity) pattern? So wild. From there, we went to the "you can milk a cow or goat" demo, but the line to milk was totally long, so we just visited the cows waiting to be milked. They looked very sweet.

We went into the barn, where there were tons of llamas. G picked up a bit of llama fluff and I pointed out that you can spin it and make it into wool. I think he thinks a quarter-sized bit of fluff would make a significant amount of yarn, but well, he'll get that lesson at some point. There were also cows with huge, I mean huge, horns on their heads--straight, thick, and long. Too cool.

We also toured the commercial exhibits, but G got pretty bored fast. Then he spotted a booth where a guy was launching a helicopter over and over again, with the 'copter coming right back to him. They were $12 and he had enough, but as he was struggling to get his money out, the guy said, "I'll take $10..." I urged him to at least walk around the entire building before buying it, but he was anxious to buy it. And as we walked off, he was absolutely struck with buyer's remorse. Too bad. The guy had a big sign that said "Exchanges only." I was glad he'd bought it, as it seemed to be a cool helicopter, no batteries required and maybe easy to learn to launch. And as we walked away, we came to a booth selling Squirmels, and G instantly wanted one. Ugh. A small piece of fuzzy nylon and invisible string for $6? I was glad he didn't have the money. Then later, he found one on the ground. I looked around for a kid to return it to, but there actually weren't any by us. So I let him keep it, and we'll look for light fishing line to tie to it.

There are also a lot of carnival games there, but at each one, I'd point out how hard they are to win and what you'd actually win (the tiny toy, not the huge toy). G finally declared that he'd like to play a game where the chances are great for him to win. I said, "Then don't play any of the games here." Even the basketball game had a sign that the hoop is neither the traditional size nor shape (they tend to make them a little oval, so it's harder to sink the ball). Hmph.

We did go through a funhouse, which was actually a scream--lots of floors tilting this way and that, slippery sections, twisty sections, and finally, a huge rotating tube at the end. G gleefully fell down, and the guy at the controls turned it off and wouldn't turn it back on for him to walk through. Whatever.

G did want to do the climbing wall, which he paid for in part himself, and actually climbed all the way to the top! He didn't realize the button at the top was a bell, so didn't ring it, but the guy running it gave him a prize anyway, which was a nice way to acknowledge his good climbing. (He was a bit white when he let go and rappelled down, but very proud of himself.) (And the sign talked about "repelling" down, ha!)

We went over to the competitive exhibits so I could see the sweaters and lace that had been entered. The first-prize lace piece was pretty damned impressive, but the sweaters were all meh, even the first-place one (a perfectly nice pullover with a striped yoke and crystals on the body, shrug). The 2nd and later placed sweaters were all novelty yarns and kind of yucky. The quilts were pretty spectactular, although the one I thought deserved 1st prize hadn't won it.

We left about when I'd planned, having finished all the water we'd brought (I think it holds 40 oz!), and I completely forgot to overeat, dammit. Didn't even see a booth with deep-fried twinkies. Next time!

That night, we went to a potluck with folks from our church, which was nice. After dinner, the hosting family's daughter wanted to go for a walk, so I offered to take G and go with her. The dad offered to go along, too. While walking, he told me he was in awe of my parenting (always nice to hear!)--that I did a great job balancing boundaries and fun and love. Nice!

Sunday
We got up and made it to church, which held a Hymn Sing that day! That was fun. I found that we had a hymn in our hymnal based on the music of Finlandia, which is one of my favorite classical music pieces. The words brought tears to my eyes. I have a new favorite! I love hymn sings.

After church, we hurried home and got packed up for the pool. I had pool duty from 12:30-3 and a friend said she'd come and either swim with the kids or take G away to play while I was guarding. My gate guard and small-pool guard arrived pretty much on time (phew) and it went well. My friend ended up going back home for her kid's swim stuff (who decided upon arriving that she did, indeed, want to swim), and stayed and chatted with me the whole time. Since I'm not supposed to read or listen to my iPod, this is really the only way to get through the whole shift.

Afterward, I was too tired to even swim (although I should have, just to cool off), and G and I went home to play a bit of Wii. Uncharacteristically, I beat him in tennis and baseball, and he didn't take it too well. He played some Pajama Sam on his iMac and periodically asked me to help... which is not helpful. I never know where to find things, so he really is just venting his frustration. (This gets old fast.) I did get a lot done on my sweater--halfway up the sleeves--so that is nice.

He decided he wanted me to knit him a Hedwig owl, and as he fell asleep, I got out some wheat-colored yarn and did what I thought was a pretty good one. Well, we were both disappointed: He that it wasn't white or small, me that he wasn't happy with my work. Oh, well. I found some soft angora yarn left over from another project and tried again, with him telling me what he wanted and didn't want. It actually worked out great and just needs the little knitted beak sewn on and eyes of some sort. Cute. I love being able to do things like this for my guy.

Monday
So great to wake up after a Sunday and not have to go to work! My work only has 5 or 6 official holidays per year, but G's Y-Kids was closed, so I took the day off. We lazed around, G naked most of the day and playing more video games. I declared a break from Pajama Sam after lunchtime and collected some Freecycle things: a video bookshelf and a scorched pasta pot, which I plan to dedicate to dyeing (since many things in dyes are poisonous/dangerous). It even came with a clear lid and strainer, so I can steam dyeables, too!

We had planned to see the Simpsons, but abandoned that idea in favor of a Papa Murphy's pizza and some videos. I watched the clock and got him in the bath and to bed on time, which meant 1.5 hrs of free time for me before bed on time at 10PM. Which meant I was up on time at 6 and got him to school on time this morning, having walked there! I'm ecstatic.