Weekend Updates with Haley McDonald!

Some might wonder what exactly I've ben up to lately; and the truth is not too much besides work and regular everyday life!  There have been a few fun weekend activities I've participated in over the past month that I figure I'd share with you!

First off; a few weeks ago Isaac came over and we made Beignets (French Donuts.)  Isaac had a box mix from his trip to New Orleans last year; Cafe Du Monde is the bomb!  I promised Isaac that I wouldn't put up any pictures of him in his apron without his pre-approval, so sorry no pictures tonight (use your imagination; my old cold stone aprons!).  The Beignets turned out really well though we have a few ideas to improve our Beignet making skills for next time!  We both have a fondness for powdered sugar so we didn't hold anything back in that department (ok, the powered sugar was my job; Isaac was the fry cook!)

A mini Beignet; our tester!

Our final product; don't worry we didn't eat them all!

Two weekends ago I made a trip to Healdsburg to visit with my mom who was out for her Tri Girl Tri (see her post here) and my aunts and uncles.  It was a quick trip but it was a blast; not only did I get to see my mom and aunt T in their race but I had some serious bonding time with my uncle T who is a total crack up; I guess that's what happens when your in a car with someone for an hour + at 6 a.m.!!  Congratulations to my mom and aunt T for their awesome accomplishments!

And last weekend I was presented with the opportunity to help out at a Special Olympics bowling practice for a few hours.  I was in charge on two lanes; basically my job was to make sure that everything in my lanes was running smoothly (resetting when things messed up and such) reminding the players when it was their turn and keeping track of their scores.  It was a crack up!  I had 3 people in one lane and 2 in the other; they were all older then me, I think 4 of them were probably in their 40's!  One lady was too much for me; she was very protective of her bowling ball (had her name engraved on it) and kept telling the other two guys in her lane not to touch her ball (over and over and over again!) and telling me to tell them not to touch her ball.  At one point she threatened to kick Tod's (one of the guys) a** if he touched her ball; poor guy never even went close to her ball (he had his own personal ball) and had no clue what she was talking about half the time.  I had to bite my lip a few times so I wouldn't bust out laughing.  They were all super sweet and it was a very humbling experience to help out.  The guys in the lane next to us (also part of the Special Olympics) were amazing bowlers; getting strike after strike; they could out bowl me any day!  

So in a nutshell that's what I've been up to over the past several weekends!

3rd Annual Chicken Festival

The moment we've all been waiting for; what exactly happens at a Chicken Festival in Fair Oaks!!  Last Saturday I made my way over to the Chicken Festival in town; it's only like 5 minutes walk at the most from my apartment!  It was quite large; shockingly so considering the size of this little town.  It was much like any typical festival celebrating a random thing!

There were 3 bands playing on different stages; one at the back park, one right smack dab in the middle of Old Fair Oaks on the street and one at the end of the street in the beer garden.  All along the street were vendors selling their goods; some chicken related, some not.  The park in front had all different kids of food vendors and the bounce things/activities for the kids, and the park in the back had a band and the chicken cook-off events.

Now for those of you who don't know; Fair Oaks has a whole bunch of wild chickens and roosters that randomly live around town; I'm not really sure of their history, perhaps something for another day!  They are such a huge part of the culture that the "Welcome to Fair Oaks" sign has a rooster on it!  So this was the 3rd Annual Chicken Festival in celebration of our beloved chickens.  I will say I did feel kind of bad for the chickens because any of them that dared show their face during their celebrations was pretty much continually chased around by children and even some adults.

Funniest thing I heard all day was a conversation between two ladies trying to photograph a rooster; it went something like this . . . Lady 1: "I can't get a good picture."  Lady 2: "I know; we'll he isn't being very corporative."  The were both dead serious and I wanted to scream at them; "Seriously, it's a rooster for goodness sake!"

Without further ado . . . 

Chickens Decor 

Chicken Ladies 

Chicken Fans

Chicken Man

Chicken Dog

Chickens

*Any chickens consumed at the event were store bought, and in no way an attempt to "thin the herd"

Race Around the Track

Saturday morning was pretty relaxing.  There were a few schedule mix-ups so about about 12:30 we headed out of the house to a birthday party that had started an hour and half before!  Oh well, we didn't miss the pinata, cupcakes or presents; so we didn't miss much!

Frosting Lipstick

Gone before I could even snap a picture

After that we headed up to the El Dorado County Relay for Life.  It was weird but very nice not to be caught up in the mix of things, and be able to just relax and enjoy the day and the company without the stress.  The kids had a blast running around and playing and helping me make our luminaria bags; they did an awesome job.

Helped with decorating and filling

I'm not sure there is a more touching sight then seeing these two little ones partaking in such an important event; even if they don't understand it all.  We made 13 bags in total and I'm sure we could have easily made another 5+.

We were up there for most of the afternoon, and ran home at about 7:30 for a quick warmer wardrobe change, some food and the stroller and headed back for the luminaria ceremony.  Aden was in heaven because he had his light-up shoes on and was able to run laps around the track all by himself because I could see his light-up shoes the whole time.  He was like the energizer bunny, he kept going and going and going.  And of course once again both kids passed out a few minutes into the car ride home!

There really isn't much to report from Sunday, we made our way to church and then spent the rest of the day at home relaxing and recovering for our fun filled party weekend!

State Fair

Today was the last day of the California State Fair.  I've missed out on going to the fair the past few years but made it this year just in the nick of time!  Isaac and I had planned to get there at the very minute it opened, but late nights for both of us last night lent us to making the decision to hold off an extra half hour!  And what we both kind of assumed would be about a 2 to 2.5 hour trip turned into a 5.5 hour trip.  We'd both forgotten the funness of the fair!  (Pretty sure funness isn't a really word; whatever).

We wandered a bit trying to get our bearings straight and then checked out the livestock section.  We saw some amazing bulls, got to pet some super soft sheep and of course oohed and awed (maybe I just oohed and awed) over all the baby piglets, goats and calf.  Can't forget the chickens, lamas, alpacas and the horses either! There was also a farm area with all sorts of veggies and herbs growing so that was fun to see. 

For lunch you can't go wrong with a jumbo fair corn dog; there really is no point in eating any other type of corn dog.  Sadly I didn't get a picture of our tasty lunch.  When going to the fair one always needs to indulge in deep fried goodness so later in the afternoon Isaac partook in deep fried avocado and as our parting treat we had a funnel cake.   

Besides the livestock I think the largest amount of time was spent looking at the different exhibits.  The children's art exhibit was hands down the best one there.  We also saw the Hollywood exhibit, the Rats, Cats and Bats exhibit (no live bats and lots of chickens; hmm???), some sort of technology exhibit and then the regular art exhibit.

We couldn't have asked for better weather (especially since a few days ago it was 104 in these parts)  A nice 85 and windy, and not to crowded either (though we attributed that to our promptness of getting there and leaving still early in the day)!!!  All in all a very good day, and well worth the adventure!

Not the bull with the biggest horn but there was something special about this guy

This would be King Kong

When done right even lettuce is beautiful (all different types)

There was an awesome sunflower patch

Shh, hiding in the corn rows

Pile of Piglets (2 days old!)

Jacob Sheep (not sure how old this little guy is)

The Actual Back to the Future Car (Just for you Mike!)

Mr Fancy Pants

On the subject of roosters, this is one of the fanciest roosters I've seen around town. Perhaps even ever. He was hiding in the bushes when we were looking at the "rooster gang" from the last post and suddenly he just leapt out; perhaps afraid that he would miss his photo op! Aside from the illusive "permed" rooster who I can only find when my camera is not around, he's the fanciest!

What's My Age Again?

I've hit the big 23!!  Ok, I know compared to some I'm not that old, but it's the oldest I've ever been!!  I'm very excited for what this year has in store for me because it's not just the beginning of a new year but it's the beginning of a new chapter.  Now that I've finished up college I'm entering a new part of my life, and I know that God can now open the doors in any direction; which is slightly exhilarating and slightly terrifying at the same time.   

I was talking with Aden the other day about his birthday and how excited he was to finally be 5; but sadly he told me he was a little scared because now that he's 5 he's closer to passing away (a little bit of a fixation of his since his great grandma passed away a few months ago.  He told me once when we were talking about birthdays that 23 was kind of old and I was going to pass away soon; much funnier then the present conversation).  It was really sad to me to think that at 5 he's worried about passing away; he also told me that every year someone gets another year older they get a little sad because they are closer to passing away.  I'd like to think that with every "year older" someone gets they have the opportunity to reflect on the past, but that they spend more time looking forward to the great things to come; the great things to be experienced and accomplished.  I know I'm excited for the things to come, and passing away isn't on me list of current thoughts!

So on to my actual birthday . . . 

My mom flew down for a few days to celebrate my birthday with me which was a super special treat!!  She flew in Monday afternoon and after we stopped at Jacks Urban Eats for some tasty salads we headed up to Ben and Katie's to hang out with Katie, Aden, and Lauren.  We spent the afternoon just coloring and playing games; sometimes the simple things can be so much more exciting then the hustle and bustle of getting ready and going out to do something "fun."  Later in the evening we met up with Ben at BJ's for dinner and a birthday pazookie (not really sure how to spell that).  It was a nice relaxing day (which proved to be the pace of the trip which is a nice change from what they usually are; always fun but always jam packed with action!).

Right, so now we're actually going to get to my birthday. . . 

Tuesday morning was nice and relaxing, we got to sleep in a bit which is always a treat!!  I headed out to Trader Joe's for a few essentials like eggs and cooking spray so my mom could make my "homemade" birthday cake!!  I grabbed some breakfast sandwiches at Starbucks and came back so we could enjoy a leisurely morning.  I opened my present which was a shirt from a local feed shop on "my mom's island" which had roosters on it to accompany the roosters in my hood!  I also got a super cute camera case for my new camera which I got for graduation!!  After mom made the cake we headed out for a girls day at the spa.  I was treated to a manicure, pedicure, and hot stone massage, my mom got the same treatments; after all she is the one who gave birth to me!!  It was such a fun experience and a very fancy place, the kind where you wear robes and slippers the whole time your lounging around, and there's fruit in your water; oh and don't forget the green tea chocolate in your locker!!!

After our relaxing morning at the spa we headed for salads at El Torito (ok it know it seems like were always eating, but I'm trying to catch every tasty detail!).  We came back to my apartment and because I've lived here for almost 2 years and have never once walked to town we decided that Tuesday was the day; despite the heat we headed to town and checked out some of the cute shops and some of the roosters!!  It was a fun little walk!!  We came back and still had time to squeeze in a few rounds of skip-bo before it was time to hit the showers and get ready for the drive-in!  

Fair Oaks is Known for it's wild roosters!

Baby chicken or baby rooster, we just don't know yet; either way super cute!

Some of the local studs strutting their stuff!

This was a full on rooster gang there were so many of them!

That's right, we met up with some friends of mine and headed to the drive-in.  We say Indiana Jones for the first movie and for the second one we saw Narnia.  I'm not a Indiana Jones fan; haven't actually seen any of the originals, so I wasn't super impressed but I really enjoyed Narnia.  Before we left for the movies I set my mom up with a bed in the back of my car; memory foam and all, which she used later on in the evening for a nap during the second movie (accompanied by some make shift napkin earplugs)!!  Before the first movie started (at about 9:20) there was singing and tasty "homemade" cake!  Just before the end of the first movie we saw an awesome meteor falling through the sky; it was like slow motion!!  Another friend of mine; Brandon met up with us before Narnia, which didn't end till after 2am!  It was a perfect night, I didn't even put a sweatshirt on until after the first movie; a nice warm drive-in evening!

Who knows what those boys were up to!

The "homemade" box cake that I love!

My Mom and I sitting on the "bed" in my car for the candle blowing out ceremony!

The drive-in group; Isaac, Canda, Dustin and I.  Mom's taking the picture and Brandon came later

Wednesday morning my mom and I had planned to go kayaking but by the time Wednesday morning actually rolled around I was way too worn out for a cold I have been fighting and way too tired from the late night, so we opted to sleep in and hang out.  We had salads at Red Robin for lunch and came back to play canasta and phase 10 with a side of cake before it was time to head to the airport.

Overall it was an awesome birthday, and I'm so blessed to have such loving family and friends who took time to make my birthday extra special!  Thanks everyone for the calls, cards, comments and company!

Oh, and how could I forget, I was saving my locals from this post to break in on my birthday and I wore two pair throughout the day; yeah!  23 is going to be a good year . . .