State Fair

We sure missed dadd this year with our annual state fair visit! He got tickets from work, so we decided we HAD to go! But with the craziness of our schedule and daddy leaving for San Francisco today, we just couldn't find a time that worked for all of us to go!! So Wednesday I packed kids and stroller up and drove to the fair. In hindsight I should have left the darn stroller home because between having the three kids fighting over who got to sit and trying to push 70-100 lbs of kids around on some dirt paths, needless to say next year it is staying home. Kenna was still worked up over her injuries...so she insisted that she needed a chariot versus walking, Zachey was hot with his sensitivity to sun and Grayson was happy to walk but would get distracted with every bug, pile of horse poop or shiny object...was quite comical actually :)

After driving around looking for inexpensive parking I finally said screw it and parked across the street for $10...totally worth it with three excited kids and aforementioned monster stroller. We walked in and immediately saw what I call the "death rides." One is a ball two people can climb into then get flung up and down on bungie cords....the next is a similar ride that two people can sit in either end of a long arm and get flung in circles. Kenna was excited to try them out until she got close enough to see what was involved...and her eyes grew twice their size :) The joke of the day was Zachey saying "Kenna...you sure you want to go on those?" and he would giggle. I swooped in as super mommy and told her that I am sure she would be brave enough to go, but that she wasn't tall enough, man was she relieved :)

First stop was the 4H barn where I made the children succumb to utter (hahaha) humiliation by wearing these cow hats. We looked at some thing that kids had made like dresses and woodworking projects and Kenna seemed really impressed. I snapped a picture of this chicken coop that I really like in my quest to have chickens in our backyard - much to the dismay of my wonderful husband.

We ditched the stroller to look at all the animal barns. What a fun time. The kids LOVED the animals, looking at the giant cows (and laughing hysterically when they pooped.) Kenna loved watching the horses in the equestrian barn, we sat in the air conditioning and had a snack while they showed off the horse tricks. We saw the goats and the pigs, but the best part were the sheep! Yes, I know...how exciting can a sheep be you ask....but the kids have never seen sheep sheering before. They were tied up and getting their "haircuts" and one especially ticked off sheep was letting his owner know how he felt. He was doing this sort of baaing while his tongue was sticking out and the kids thought it was the funniest thing ever. We watched for 5 minutes and the kids just laughed and laughed....so funny.

I forgot about the sheer insanity that is food at the state fair...just gluttony in its finest form. The kids were told that they got ONE treat at the fair as I had already snuck in many goodies of the healthy variety...and after much deliberation they all decided on milkshakes. I thought, perfect, cold - yummy...I'll go get them. Well they only came in size hugantic...so they were all extremely full when the day was done.

After overstuffing with milkshakes we continued on our quest to find the stroller....I knew I left it somewhere? Took us about 10 minutes then we found it and headed to the kids area. The petting zoo was so cute! Baby camels and zebras....adorable! Worth the $3 in animal food purchase. Grayson was extremely aware of his limited supply and would only feed the animals like one-piece-at-a-time. Zachary took a different approach and just held his cup out in which a giant cow ate it all in one bite. Sure there is a lesson there somewhere.

Not sure the kids were 100% worn out, but mommy was. So a little after one we called it a day. On the way out McKenna was animate about riding this mousetrap rollercoaster. She didn't even flinch when I told her she had to ride it on her own, as I couldn't take the boys. So she be-bopped right up and rode it. Brave little stinker! Sure it was her fathers insistence at exposing her to the tower of terror when she was only 4....made her fearless on rides!

Overall, successful fun day. I think next year when the kids all walk the whole time and we get to go with daddy we can take our time and really see everything.