State Fair State Fair State Fair

So yeah, I love the State Fair! It's a highlight of the summer for me - I try to go a couple different times, usually with the girls, with my mom, with my sister and Dylan... and sometimes by myself or with a friend, too. All the times I go are different experiences for me - depending on who I'm with it can be a whirlwind of rides, taking time to really look at the creative activities, watching lambs be born and chicks hatch, eating your weight in fried food, dancing to live music... there are so many things to do, and I love them all.

This year I had the good fortune to go four times! The first day was the first Saturday of the Fair, just me and the girls.

The first thing we had to do - of course - was to find Ella's blue ribbon!

Both girls had entries in the Creative Activities competition this year - Ella for a color photograph, and Maisie for a mixed-media poster she made with Dylan. Ella won first prize! She got a blue ribbon and $6. The photograph is a tiny blue damselfly on a day lily leaf. You can't quite see it in the picture above, but it's framed perfectly, right in the middle in the big splash of sun.

After that, there was some food (roasted corn, pizza, corn dogs, root beer) followed by the kids' favorite part... rides! We started out with the turbo jump, where you are hitched to bungee cords and jump on a trampoline. Ella got up REALLY high.

 And Maisie managed to do a flip! Once she figured it out she was spinning away up there.

Then it was off to the Kidway! (Like the midway, but smaller rides for smaller people.)

Then, snack time!

Shaved ice for Maisie, and s'mores for Ella. Then back home for the time being.

On Monday I went to the fair with a friend, which was a lot of fun. Then on Wednesday after school, the girls and I returned with Grandma Liisa and her friend John! Highlights of this visit included the butterfly house, where Grandma was very popular...

and a stop by the KARE-11 (our local NBC affiliate) barn, which included a photo op place that looked like the set of The Voice!

Maisie loooooooves that show, so she was really excited to get a chance to be a Voice judge.

Our last trip to the fair was Sunday before Labor Day, with Auntie Laura and Dylan! We started with breakfast: a corn dog for Ella,

 and French toast with pop rocks for Maisie!

This was actually not the crazy sugar-bomb you'd think it'd be. The French toast itself was not too sweet, and then it had a tart berry sauce on top. It really balanced out the whipped cream and pop rocks!

We did all kinds of activities with Auntie Laura and Dylan, including checking out the crop art (and making some of our own), the river raft ride, and the haunted house!

We also took the skyride, and some silly selfies along the way - 

we revisited the Voice chair,

and snacked on the kids' very favorite food, cream cheese wontons.

So all in all, we had GREAT fun at the State Fair. Thank you Auntie Laura and Dylan, and Grandma and John, for coming to the fair with us! It's even more fun when you can share it with friends and family.

Can't wait for next year!