New Adventures

On Friday I did something brave and decided to donate blood for the first time. I'd made an attempt years before but was turned away for low iron. Friday was the day. I woke up determined to give. 

Iron was 12.7 (12.5 required) and my donation went better than expected! I got pretty sleepy in the afternoon but after a little nap I was fine. I'm good as long as I don't stand up too quickly.  

I will definitely donate blood again. 

Arkansas is a glorious place. We woke up Saturday morning with some hard core decisions about what to do with our day. We had Hay Days and weenie dog races in Bella Vista, and the World Squirrel Cook off on the Bentonville square. Now how were we supposed to choose between two such great events?!

We decided to go for it all. 

First stop, the weenie races. 

These people mean business. They were serious about their weenies. 

Question: where did they all come from? There were hundreds of doggies at Hay Days and 2/3 of them were weenies. I got a thrill out of all the opportunities to say That's What She Said. There were weenies everywhere. I'm no dog person, so I felt a little out of place at an event so clearly designed for dog lovers. It was still fun though. Dogs in costumes, dogs in strollers, dogs walking humans, doggie stations at every tent/booth, and as many dog food booths as there were people food booths. 

We watched a few races, walked around, dog people watched (even better than regular people watching), got some Popsicles and headed out. 

Next up: Corbin's soccer game. 

Could he be any cuter?!

Then we drove by the square but were disappointed to discover we'd just missed the squirrel cook off. Bummer. 

Onto the NWA Emergency Preparedness Fair. 

The kids milked a goat, ate lunch witg friends, learned about bees, climbed around in some storm shelters, milled some grains with a hand crank, and watched a helicopter take off.

The fair was unbearably hot. We spent the afternoon napping and holding our weekend visitor: Stripe, the third grade class pet, who came home with Reese for the weekend.  

There's a guinea pig in my basement. I know. I don't even know who I am anymore. The other day I let the kids bring the neighbor's kitten inside for a few minutes. Whaaat?

This guy is starting to get more adventurous every day. We've found him looting the pantry, eating dirt from the flower pot, fishing in the toilet (gross.), up the stairs faster than humanly possible, and stuck in a lot of corners and crannies.

Saturday ended with s'mores with the Carpenters on the island. The kids ran around, threw things in the fire, and rode scooters in the street. Kristi and I talked, and the men watched the BYU game on Jim's phone.  It was a great end to a great day.