Fun At The County Fair

I got a call last Friday from my friend Margaret. She told me that the county fair was going on up by her and that Saturday was the last day. She asked if maybe we’d like to go. My wife had to work that night, so she was unable to go, but the kids and I drove up to join her. I felt bad that my wife couldn’t be there for their first fair experience, but I made sure to take a lot of pictures to send her.

The kids were so excited to go and Margaret road with me so I knew where I was going. Her husband Walt and his daughter Maddie followed us there. Right from the get go, there were plenty of animals to see. The kids were fascinated by the ducks and chickens. One set of ducks kept quacking at Andrew! They also loved seeing all of the bunnies. There were some big ones!

Inside, there were bigger animals and I loved seeing the excitement on the kids faces. Andrew kept saying hello to them all. “Hello, goat!” “Hello, cow!” “Hello, pig!” Ella was loving it too!

There were some big smiles as we walked through and looked at the animals. Just like the ducks who were quacking, there was one goat who wouldn’t stop talking. They stood by the goat and kept talking back to it. Every time it made a noise, they’d crack up!

At the fair, there were plenty of cows! The smaller ones were just hanging around and people could go up and pet them. Andrew was standing in the hay and said, “Can I take my shoes off, Daddy?” Uh…. no! The cow Ella is with actually started eating her dress and Ella had to play tug of war to get it back!

Naturally, they had to get up on just about every tractor and vehicle that was available to them. There were so many things to do and we hadn’t even gone out on the midway yet!

They saw the carousel from the parking lot when we arrived and that is where they wanted to go first. Aunt Margaret spoiled them by getting them wristbands so they could ride whatever they wanted. I chuckled at this because I do not ride carnival rides. What is funnier is that neither does she! Maddie, however, said she’d ride whatever rides they wanted to.

First stop, and my ONLY ride of the day, was the carousel. I have to be careful, because if I don’t focus, my benign positional vertigo can kick in. LOL.

Andrew wanted to ride on the bench, which surprised me. Maddie joined him. I was so glad to catch this beautiful shot of Ella patiently waiting for the ride to start.

This ride was tame compared to some of the ones they were on. They rode that pirate ship thing that goes back and forth. They did that bear/dragon that you sit in and it spins around and then you can make it spin by turning the wheel inside it. They rode that caterpillar rollercoaster. They also rode on that one that goes up high and low while it spins…. I love how excited Ella looks in this picture.

It was pretty warm that day and it showed. So we made sure to stop and get them something to drink. Andrew is all about pop right now. I figured they’d both get one, but Ella saw someone with a snow cone and she had to try one! She loved it. Eventually, when the flavor was gone, she let Andrew try it!

Shortly after this, we found the bounce house and that was where they spent a good chunk of the day. They kept going in and out and being silly. Andrew was sweating like crazy and came out and asked if we could go home. Both were pretty tuckered out. We missed Uncle Walk going up in that crazy cage thing that goes around and around and people in the cages can make it go upside down and such (no thank you!). I would have loved to watch that!

On the way out that thanked Aunt Margaret and had to get a picture. You can really see how tired they were by this time.

On the way out I promised them one more thing. There were ponies that you could ride as we walked in, so I kept my promise and they each got to do a pony ride. They each got a cowboy hat and wore them home.

It was almost bedtime when we got home, but they had to call and fill mommy in on all the fun they had. I can’t wait until our county fair comes to town next month. I’m sure they will be ready for more rides. I just gotta figure out who is going to ride with them!!

Fabulous Fourth

America celebrated her 247th birthday this week. It was a busy and wonderful weekend for us, as we had an out of town visit from my brother. He and Stacey drove up from Ohio on Sunday. They spent all day with us on Monday. We ordered Pizza for lunch, Barbequed chicken for dinner, and went for ice cream before they headed back to their hotel.

On the fourth, they met us at this little zoo nearby and we spent the first part of the day there. It’s been years since I have been there and forgot that they actually have some pretty cool animals. They have brown and black bears, a white Siberian Tiger, Kangaroos, Lions, and a plenty of birds (more on that in a minute).

The zoo has many places where you can buy feed to give to the animals. They kids loved feeding the goats.

The look on this goat’s face in the picture cracks me up!

The animals are so close to you and there are many you can pet.

Sam does not like birds. I’m not saying I do, but the kids wanted to go into this parakeet experience. When you walk in, they give you a stick with bird seed on it. The birds will fly over to your stick and eat the seeds. I made a friend quickly, and didn’t even need birdseed.

This bird flew to the top of my head and STAYED there pecking at it until we were done. I swear we were in there for at least 10 minutes. This bird would not leave my head. Finally, when the kids were ready to go, we walked to the door of the exhibit and the door guy had to shoo the bird off my head so I could walk out. It was freaking me out!

We went back to our house to wait for our local fire works show. Sam’s folks and a friend from college (who just moved to our neighborhood) joined us in our backyard to watch the show.

Every year, since Ella could walk, we’ve taken pictures of them walking down down the sidewalk with a flag. It was fun to put them all together in a collage and see how much they have grown.

For such a small town, they really do a fine job with their fireworks show. I wish cell phone photos could do it justice.

Ella said it was too loud and Nana and her went inside. The rest of us stayed outside and enjoyed a nice show. I wish that the tree in my neighbor’s yard wasn’t there.

As I scrolled through the photos I took on the fourth, there was one that struck me for the weirdest reason – the shadow.

I thought this was just such an amazing picture. I love the way the shadow is.

Happy Birthday, America! God Bless the USA!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!