County Fair 2007

Last Friday, we went to the fair. In the past, we've headed out to our favorite fair after Abe has gotten home from work. This usually results in a very short evening and very cranky children. This year, we used the good sense God gave us, and Abe left work at noon so we could head out earlier. This minor adjustment made all the difference in the world. We didn't take the kids with us to the fair we went to last Friday, so this was their first this year. It was also the first year the kids were able to ride any rides. Combine that with the amount of time we spent in the animal barns and climbing on tractors, and this outing turned out to be a big success.



Here's a photo of Charis hiding from the magic show. Except at the time, it seemed more like some sort of stakeout or imminent Old West showdown. "You want to pull a foam ball out of my ear? I don't think so, pardner."

Likewise, here's Judah doing his best glare. Poor kid. When this picture was taken, his big sister was riding in a very fun fire engine ride. And he wasn't allowed on, on account of the fact he's so little. In fact, he spent a good portion of the day at the fair watching his sister ride things, like...

...the old-timey cars, which she drove while her friend Emily went for a ride. Two blondes in a car together? It's a good thing the car was on a track and required no actual driving on Charis' part. That could have been a disaster.

...the swings, which looked a lot more fun than they actually were. She liked it for the first 30 seconds, after which, every time she circled around, she'd say, "I'm done!" And it only cost us two dollars to let Charis ride this ride for a minute and a half. That's not a ripoff at all, I think we can all agree.
...and the pedal tractors. Which also looked like more fun than they actually were, since these mini-tractors had the turning radius of a mini-tank. Turning 90 degrees required a six-point turn, so mostly, we pushed the kids around and just lifted the thing when we needed to turn. needless to say, we will not be purchasing one of these any time soon. Here are the things Judah actually did get to ride:


...his stroller. Doesn't he look happy about that?


...big tractors. He really liked these. When we'd pass the tractor section, he'd invariably point toward them, purse his lips, and...


...make a noise that sounded something like "rmbrmbrmbmrbmrmbmrmb", which is, of course, his version of the sound a tractor makes. You know I couldn't resist putting this photo in, even though I know some of you will think his hair has a distinct Farrah Fawcett-like quality to it.

And finally, here's a shot of Judah inspecting a pumpkin. I was trying to get a cute shot of him while he was playing near a hay/mums/pumpkin display, and he's so cute, he actually drew a crowd. No, really. A crowd. I tried to get a photo of Charis, too, but she's 3 years old and is therefore in perpetual motion. All-but-gone are the days of cute closeups of her--she simply can't stand still long enough.

So there. County Fair 2007 is in the books. Did the kids consume too much cotton candy, pop, and grease? Almost certainly. Were they still whiney and out too late? You know it. Did they collect enough dirt and dust on their bodies to require sandblasting? Almost. But isn't that what the Fair is all about?