Fair Day 2010

Fall wouldn't be fall without a trip to the State Fair of Texas. This is something we look forward to every year, and the girls have been talking about it for weeks. They were so excited when "fair day" arrived. Sutton didn't remember much from last year--he was only 5 months old then. As we were loading everyone up in their strollers, he didn't seem too excited.

All that changed when we made our first stop for cotton candy. Again, he was a little unsure at first, but as soon as that fluffy, sugary goodness touched his tongue, he was hooked. What a treat for us all!

Our next stop was a State Fair classic...

Yummy (0r as Sutton says "mummy")! Corny dogs aren't on our normal menu, so having them at the Fair is a special treat. The girls ate about 1/2 of theirs, and Travis and I were happy to take care of the rest :) Sutton wasn't sure how to eat his. He took bites out of the middle and then wouldn't let go of the stick.

Then, it was time for the petting zoo. Ella LOVED this! She wasn't afraid at all and got right up next to the goat pen. Sutton kept eating the animal feed--ick! Grace may be getting a little old for this (how is that possible?) because she seemed a little impatient.

I'm only including this picture in my story because about 10 seconds after it was taken, the giraffe they were looking at got a little too close to Ella. She freaked out and dropped her cup of animal feed and has since been telling everyone that the giraffe tried to bite her.

The highlight of our trip was definitely riding the Texas Star for the first time. The Texas Star is a giant ferris wheel, and Grace and Ella insisted on riding it. They visit the Nature & Science Museum at Fair Park pretty frequently and had seen the Texas Star during their past couple of visits. Travis and I tried to convince them that it would be better to wait until after dark, when everything would be lit up, but what do we know. They're not really into delayed gratification. So, we deviated from our normal Fair route and headed over to the midway.

I am NOT a fan of heights and/or amusement park rides, but I was a total sport and didn't complain once. As fate would have it, we got to ride in a pink "car," and the girls were just beside themselves during the whole ride. I just tried to breathe deeply and keep my eyes focused on them. It was so worth it to see their sweet faces as they experienced something new. Even Sutton enjoyed it, and he put his hands behind his head just like he does when riding in his car seat.

After a successful ride on the ferris wheel, Grace rode her first roller coaster. She loved it! She's obviously not like her mother. After riding on my first roller coaster at Neff's Amusement Park in San Angelo when I was around her age, I haven't been on one since. So, this was mommy's second roller coaster ride. Go me!

Poor Ella isn't tall enough yet to ride anything except the carousel. She was so upset that she couldn't ride the roller coaster with Grace, but she loved riding the carousel with Travis. This carousel went much faster than the one at the zoo, and it was impossible to get a decent picture. Ella's horse was right next to Grace, but you can't even see her in this picture.

Sutton was the observer again. He'll get his turn next year.

Our last stop was for our favorite Jack's french fries and dipped ice cream bars. I promise I'm not a bad mother. My kids usually eat very healthy, and I normally wouldn't consider a dinner of cotton candy, corny dogs, french fries and ice cream to be an acceptable dinner. Sutton's shirt is evidence of two things: (1) all the yummy food we ate, and (2) he is such a boy. Look at that mess!

These three are triple trouble. Although we had fun, they really weren't behaving very well. We heard lots of whining and had many moments of parental frustration. I think you have to approach the Fair knowing, "It's going to be a lot of work. It's going to wear you out. At least one child is going to have a meltdown. Don't think too hard about all the germs." At the end of the day, we spent time together as a family, and that's my favorite thing in the world. I'm already looking forward to next year.