A Day at the State Fair

This past Monday we went to the State Fair!  As I was working at the barn, it started raining pretty hard.  Oh no, I thought, it's going to be another wet day at the State Fair.  (It seems like every time our family goes to the fair, it's either raining or really hot. :)  I called Daddy and asked if we were still going and he said "Of course!"  So, after work, I ate my breakfast while everyone else threw together a picnic lunch.  

Then we were off!

We met Grandpa and Grandma at the entrance and followed the police directions on where to park.  By this time it had stopped raining and the sun had started to come out!!  Maybe we won't get rained on all day, I thought.

Once we were parked we hopped out into the crisp, fall air and gave Grandpa and Grandma hugs. 

Judah was excited to be out of his car seat! :)

After hugs and hellos were over, Grandpa and Grandma went on the tram with most of my siblings.  Meanwhile, Mama grabbed some food for Judah and some rain coats for our family and then Daddy, Mama and I walked to the ticket booths.

Grandpa (red shirt) managed to get our season passes for us...keeping the wait time fun by his constant jokes. :)

And, yes, I did say "season passes."  Grandma bought the tickets for all of us on Groupon for $11 each a few weeks ago.  She just thought they were for one day, but we found out they were for the entire 10 days of the Fair!

Lydia waiting in the stroller.

(See those dark clouds behind her?  After getting rained on once or twice they went away and never came back!!)

As we all waited for the tickets, Judah showed everyone his walking skills. (He started walking around 12 months.)

Lexi and Mama reading a board with information about activities.

Once inside the park, our first stop was the Aussie tent.  We saw wallabies and other mammals from Australia (I've forgotten what exactly).

So absolutely adorable! :)

In a corner of the Aussie tent there was a Rainbow Lorikeet.

Aren't they pretty?

Lydia showing you the sign posted on the Lorikeet's cage.

What happened to "don't feed our birds fingers"? :)

As we headed on to the other side of the park, we stopped real quick for some pictures by some boards that were set up.

 Cotton candy!

 

 

The picture on the left was totally Dad's idea! :)

After some "souvenir" photo taking we went through the huge tunnel to get to the other side of the fair:

Once through the tunnel, we decided to go see McDonald's farm first.  While on our way, we stopped in Lakeview Western Wear's booth and tried on some western hats, shoes, shirts, and jewelry! :)

 

While we were in the store, Grandma bought Lydia and Josiah a cowboy and cowgirl hat.  They wore them most of the day!

(She also bought me a pretty blue sweatshirt with a jewel cross on the front. :)

Judah trying on a hat!  

 

We walked to the Young McDonald farm next.  Judah loved all the chickens, goats, rabbits, cows, donkeys, etc.!

In the Young McDonald's farm was Rainaway, Secretariat's great grandson.  (Secretariat won the triple crown and was born on the property the State Fair is hosted.)

 Before we left the animal pavilion, we stopped and watched a video on animals birthing.  That was interesting, for sure, and I don't think I ever need to see that again! :)

 A little Grandma love for Judah!

Outside the Young McDonald's farm building, there were some tractors, lawnmowers and a huge combine.  My siblings soon climbed up the massive machine:...

 ...and Judah played with a pumpkin. :)

Told you it was big...and this is just the wheel! :)

 Grandma and Grandpa paid for Lydia, Josiah, and Eden to go on a pony ride.

Lydia has been talking about riding a horse ever since we told her that, eventually, we would get one.  Her wish was fulfilled but not by riding "our" horse. :)

Yee-haw, cowgirl Lydia! :)

Josiah taking a ride.

Weedels turn!

So you're probably wondering what this wonderfully-yummy looking thing is...it's a mozzarella stick!  And it was absolutely amazing (stop by Hot Wisconsin Cheese!!)!  We rarely get food at the fair because of the extremely expensive prices.  But, thanks to Grandpa and Grandma, we got to sample little bits of delicious "fair food." :)  My favorite was definitely these cheese sticks (or the cheddar balls) and the ice cream I got later that night. :)

Hannah and I taking a break. :)

While Hannah, Mama, Judah, and I sat down for a little bit Daddy took the camera with him to get some pictures of the younger ones on some rides.

Don't these look awesome?  They were big inflatable things that you could roll on water (similar to a hamster exercise ball....except it's for humans and on water instead of a cage)! 

  Lydia riding an alligator.

'Siah about to ride a boat!

Lydia on her boat.

Judah all snuggled up in the stroller.  (After a few minutes of resting, Mama, Hannah, Judah, and I went in the ride area and found everyone else. :)

It was a pretty chilly day so we tried to snuggle Judah up as much as possible.  We also tried to rock him to sleep in the stroller but he didn't fall asleep until Hannah bounced him for awhile.

Lexi and Seth excited to be at the fair!

Caleb tries to be emotionlesss sometimes (I haven't figured out why yet...), so at the beginning of this ride he was all like "This ain't phasin' me," but he eventually warmed up and started smiling:

 :)

 Smiling was no problem for Lexi and Seth!

Daddy and Seth.

Caleb, Lydia, and Josiah riding a little roller coaster.

Seth won this "super boom" hammer-thingy as Caleb, Lydia, and Josiah were riding the roller coaster.

When the roller coaster was over, Caleb and Daddy went and got one themselves! :)

Amazing fries!!

Remember what I said about my emotionless brother?  Well that's him again...twirling upside down in the air while looking at me like he's walking in a park.  Crazy (love him to death)! :)

Lexi after getting off the above ride (a.k.a. Extreme).

After riding some rides, we went to the horse arenas to watch some barrel racing and bull riding!

Camping out on the bleachers and eating pizza...what could be better!?
(Side note: aren't the clouds amazing?)

Watching the bull riding...only one guy made it pass the required time!

When the shows were over we headed back to the other side of the park. 

Daddy playing with Judah-man.

Thanks to Caleb for these pics of Judah and Daddy!

Did I mention it was a little chilly?

We went in the Farm Bureau building and the Arts and Craft Center where all the contest entries (photography, quilting, canned goods, cakes, etc.) were displayed.

Little miss Lydia.

Hannah got Judah to sleep as we toured the buildings!  Yay Hannah!

I'm just posting this because it makes me smile. :)

The last stop for the night was the ride area again.  Grandma wanted me to pick a ride to go on and I eventually ended up with the huge Ferris Wheel.  I love seeing the entire park at the tippy-top!

 Lexi and Seth were buddies on one side of the booth...

  ...and Caleb and I on the other side!

After some more wandering around, we decided to go home.  It was around 5:30 P.M. and Halle needed to be millked.  Plus we had Season's passes so we could come back again.  So, we left!  Grandpa and Grandma followed us home and stayed for an hour or two.  Grandma went and saw Halle and Grandpa told us stories. :)

There's the report on our State Fair visit!  Daddy, Lexi, Caleb, Seth, and I went back Tuesday night and rode some rides.  I don't know if it was just because we had eaten dinner before leaving or what, but some of those rides were not good for me! :)  Obviously I wasn't the only one with weird feelings because Eden started crying and saying her stomach hurt.  That ended her rides for the night!  Daddy stayed with her while Lexi, Seth, Caleb, and I rode once more.  Then I took Eden with me to go see some more horse shows (can anyone tell I love anything horse?).  We stayed there until it was over and met up with Daddy (and my siblings) as they were coming to get us.  (They stayed in the ride area and rode some more.)

And we're going back tomorrow to visit the Agriculture section (which we missed a lot of) and to watch the Miniature Horse show!!

Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma, for taking us to the Fair and showering us with lots of yummy food and fun!  We love you!
Kimber :)