Fun at the fair

Today we made our somewhat annual (2008, 2013) trek to the county fair. I always think of Rosy when we go to the fair on her birthday weekend. Maybe some day we can go to the fair with her again on her birthday weekend. For now we went with friends instead.

sheep

We started at the sheep barn. These guys were all wearing coats. It was a pretty chilly day and we were wearing coats (sweatshirts) too!

sheep in jackets

Lex found a sign that said they were wearing jackets to keep them clean, not to keep them warm. I guess they were show sheep. :)

cow

This looks like a picture of A, but really it was picture of the guy shaving his cows bottom in the background. There was a lot of that going on today. Elizabeth and I had a good laugh about it. Good times at the county fair.

fun house

It was ride bracelet day (the reason we went!) and the kids loved it! They started with the fun house. I love it because I don’t have to say, “Really? Are you sure you want to spend four tickets on that?!?” Instead I just let them ride on whatever dumb ride they want as many times as they want and everyone is happy. :)

eve slide

The slide is always popular too.

lex slide

I love that smile!

scrambler

This picture had the potential to be pretty cool, but not quite. Oh well. They loved the Scrambler and went on it many times! I made them take breaks though, so no one got too scrambled up!

pumpkins

This was A’s first spiny ride. I think he liked it. :)

ferris wheel

This year the Ferris wheel was a favorite. (The guy looks like he’s posing too.)

sky

Look at that sky! It was breezy and chilly and threatening to rain all day, but it held off. I’d take that over sweltering hot though!

lunch

I brought a picnic lunch (to go with the french fries we bought!) and we settled down to watch a show. This lady had some pretty cool basketball moves.

The girl in the red and white polka dots next to Lex is one of his classmates. She was really sweet and spent some time with us. She wanted to go on rides with Lex, but it just didn’t quite work out. She didn’t have tickets, then the ride was full and he couldn’t get on, and other mis-alignments. She ended up sitting with us for lunch and it was nice to see one of his classmates really being nice and chosing to spend time with him. It also gave me a funny peek into the future. Neither of them really knew what to say to one another and both were a little awkward. He liked having her around though. :)

cotton candy making

The kids really wanted cotton candy so we got a little lunch dessert. Lex was curious about how it’s made so we ordered it on a cone instead of in the bag.

cc lex p1

They gave him a lot!! Lex likes this picture best, but I like the next one. Therefore I’ll post both. :)

cc lex p2

It’s bigger than his head! Good thing cotton candy is mostly air, and he shared happily with Eve. :)

basketball lady

We went back to watch the lady for a few more minutes while the kids ate their treat.

selfie

After lunch I decided to buy some tickets and go on a few rides with the kids. I love fair rides! I don’t love the $1/ticket price though. :/ Turns out my arms aren’t long enough to get a three person “us” shot. Where’s Alan when we need him?!

eve alone

I went on the Scrambler with them, then on the Ferris wheel. Then they went on the Ferris wheel a few more times without me, then Lex was bored and Eve went again on her own!

wipeout

Lex really wanted me to go on the Wipeout ride with him, so we convinced Eve to go too. I thought it would be like the Himalayas ride (remember that one?!) that she loved when we went to Santa’s Village a few years ago. Turns out it was a bit different and a lot scarier! She kept yelling, “I’m ok, just completely terrified!” Poor girl. She held it together though and survived the ride.

lex alone

Lex loved it so much he went again on his own!

tractors

When ride bracelet time was over everyone was sad, however we wandered over to the tractors and managed to have a little more fun.

face paint

Eve waited in line for 40 minutes to get her face painted. The lady does it free of charge and does an awesome job. Eve chose the “dolphin mask” style.

bunnies

Bunnies for sale. Only $25 each. (no, we did not get one)

oxen

On the way out we stopped to visit some young oxen. I’m assuming they are oxen based on the yoke. Does any other animal wear a yoke? The boy was their owner and full of interesting information.

petting

The kids liked getting their hands licked. :)

Home again, home again, everyone was tired and happy. I think tomorrow will be a calmer day, per Lex’s request.

Sciency fun

We are trying to cram as much fun into these last two weeks as possible.  Balanced, of course, with as much “no plans” time as possible too.  It makes for tricky scheduling!

Yesterday we had to get out of the house and I was feeling a bit cranky, so I suggested we start our day with a trip to King Arthur Flour.  No objections from the kids!  They were even happier when I let them get anything they wanted.  Eve asked if she could have a cupcake (at 9am) and they were huge and beautiful and I said sure.  She decided on a whoopie pie instead, while Lex and I both got blueberry scones.

After the kids ran around like wild ones for a few minutes we headed up the street to the science museum. The place was packed, but we all had fun.

dino sketching

Eve brought her notebook to make some sketches.

sue sketch

A T-Rex named Sue.

heat

A “What’s hot? What’s not?” selfie.

jupiter

Lex took Jupiter for a spin.

rocks

We went to a Discovery Lab session on volcanic rocks. The lady kept talking about “frozen lava” and it drove me crazy. My kids knew more about the rocks than she did. I think she was new. She clearly had some learning to do. :) Lex left part way through, but Eve stayed for the whole thing. She showed them basalt, pumice, granite, and obsidian. Eve did some sketching. :)

tinkering

Lex spent most of his time in the Tinkering Lab. The project was to make parts for a pinball machine. They had a bunch of homemade pinball machines set up (six, maybe) and lots of supplies for the kids to make their own components to add. Then the kids could put them in and test them out. It was lots of fun.

pinball machine

Here is one of the machines with Lex’s additions (the red and green parts).

eves part

Eve made an intricate decoration with a red flag on top for the pinball machine.

lexs part

Lex made a ramp and landing zone.

outdoor sketching p1

While Lex continued tinkering, Eve and I went to the top so she could do another sketch. She propped her clipboard on the railing and it almost fell off! Well, it did fall off, but on the inside, not the outside. This is her face when describing what could have happened!

outdoor sketching p2

She decided to be safe and hold the clipboard in her arm while sketching. I thought that was a much better idea.

Everyone was having fun but we had to head home for their final piano lesson of the summer. Then a little rest, a little dinner, and off to karate where they got belt test invitations! The belt test is next week and they are very excited, and ready!