Aug 6: State Fair 2013

Last year at this time there was a lot going on in our lives. We had just started the 3 Day Method of potty training with Truman. Cecelia was just starting to take a tiiiiiny bit of a bottle and was starting to sleep in her crib at night. I was just fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans and managed to run six miles to prove to myself I was back in the running game. I was nearing the end of my maternity leave one year ago and all of these events seem so fresh in my mind right now. I did a blog post encompassing ALL of these events at the same time. Just think, had I been doing the daily blogging for a month back then I could have made that about five different posts!

Also, we went to State Fair last year when Cecelia was at her prime of hating the car. Luckily the fair is about a mile away from our house, but I still remember the trip to and from the fairgrounds. Nightmare. I took a decent amount of pictures with my real camera at the fair, and I was glad I tackled that feat of managing the baby and the camera. I love the fair. And I love fair pictures, too.

This year the fair sort of snuck up on us. But when Erin said they were going on Sunday, we figured we'd make that our day, too. Truman and Henry haven't seen each other in awhile and T was SUPER excited to see his buddy. Then Dizzy texted and they ended up going at the same time, also. Score for a big group at the fair....because it's quite the experience and always more fun to share in the chaos.

I could seriously people-watch all day long at the fair. Besides the airport, I think State Fair might be my favorite place to sit back and observe people from all walks of life. I love how 'country' the fair seems even though I consider us to live in the city--obviously people come from all over the state. It's fun to see all types of people roaming around the fair grounds. And the fair is even more fun with little kids, of course. Fun-summery-chaos, full of extreme highs and lows.

I brought my big camera again this year. I never regret that decision as long as I remember to use it. I used it a lot at State Fair.

And was rewarded with images like this one:


But let's start at the beginning of our 3 hour adventure.



The small animal barn:






Erin and I almost tripped over ourselves to get this adorable picture.


The goats and sheep barn. Really creeped out by the 'take a recipe' sign next to the 'cut above' for the lamb. Which was right next to a bunch of real lambs. Mouth watering.


Loud sheep = scary




Even more scary? Giant yellow slide. Truman went down this baby two years ago and was indifferent to it. Last year we skipped it, but this year he said he wanted to do it. Everything was totally fine on the way down....until they stopped and the terror sunk in a little bit more. Oh, the terror. He said he DID NOT LIKE the bumps on the slide. I hear it was pretty fast and can't blame him too much. All I can do is take pictures. ;)















But the tears didn't last long because we were off to our first food stop! Cream puffs!








Table-o-fun


And when we left the cream puff pavilion, we thought CC might like an Ergo back ride. I realize she is way too low on Nate's back but there was no time to adjust her. She was just d.o.n.e. before it had even begun.



But she was fine once mommy shredded her biceps, carrying her around most of the day.

And we were off for more food in the Wisconsin building.




These two scary dudes.


Next came a random hit of the day: a small cranberry bog! Loved this.












We walked down the edge of the fair which is the strip that I love the most. All of the vendors, the ride in the sky, the colors, the people. I just love it.


















Nate and I had never gone to Spin City together, which is the part of the fair with all of the rides. I'm glad we went this time, though, even though it's pricey and was at the end of our trip so kids were melting down left and right. Truman got brave enough to ride the carousel and he ended up LOVING it so much, he didn't want to leave. Ah, T. Cecelia loved this part, too, because I let her walk around and explore a bit. Her favorite part was attempting to swipe cigarette butts from the ground. Disgusting.





















Maybe I love the fair simply because of the colors?


My boys on a merry-go-round.






In.Love.




Finally, we decided to call it a day. But Truman HAD to see the pigs first. Cecelia was trying to keep herself awake in the BOB. We saw a giant pig walking around with his owner, squealing a sound that sounded fake. I almost got a video but was too stunned.




We lasted until 12:30 which is CRAZY to me, since I assumed Cecelia would need a nap by 11 at the latest. Waking up at 5 am and then making it all morning until 12:45? Pretty amazing. Also amazing? Both days this past weekend my kids napped simultaneously for 3+ hours. I'm thinking about dropping Cecelia's nap for good if it means that type of magic in the day!

Because there just aren't enough pictures in this post, I had to do a few comparison shots from 2012 and 2013.

Daddy's shoulders:


Cecelia in the BOB:


The Ergo incidents:


Cream Puff experiences:



Two really funny/awful family pictures:



And, OMG. Cecelia:



Such a fun tradition. Perhaps I will lug my big camera around each year now that I've done it twice.