State Fair

Right after school on Friday Ben, the boys, my mom and I took off for the State Fair.  The boys count on going to the State Fair every year and it turns out that the older they get the easier it is.  The boys were on very good behavior the whole time this year and that made such a big difference.  

As always, we started with the animals. 

 The baby lambs in the birthing center were adorable.  We barely missed watching a calf being born.  We did watch as the newborn calf tried its very best to stand on its wobbly legs.  We also watched the mama calf get milked by hand.  I heard several women tell the cow she'd done a good job. Like Ben said, "Mom's know."

 Levi pretended to milk and found out it's harder than he thought.

 The variety of chickens and rabbits amazes me every single year.  And I think I chose a different favorite every year.

 The turkeys continue to simply astonish me.  How all of that red skin grows like that is just beyond me.

 This photo is from 2012:

This photo is from 2009: 

 After the animals, we made a beeline for the John Deere tractors.

 The train is also a highlight, and this year the boys opted to sit at the front right behind the conductor.

 We let the boys pick one ride on the midway that they wanted to ride.  It took some time to check out the options and then they both decided on this obstacle course/playground type ride.

 I love the lights on the midway.  There's something magical about it.
We also have to all ride on the Ferris wheel.

 I took blurry photos during the ride.  Noah was thrilled to be going up and then to stop at the very top, "Just like last year!!"

 My mom and I - who are both hopelessly wimpy when it comes to rides that take us up in the air (at all) or going faster than we can run (which isn't very fast).  My mom and I both had moments of feeling a little stressed while on the Ferris wheel and this photo proves it.

 However, we both quickly recovered and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

 We had a great time, ate Pronto Pups, fried cheese curds, cotton candy and ice cream.  The weather was perfect and  so were our kids.  The State Fair is full of seriously interesting people and it's a fun way for our family to put summer to rest.