The Minnesota State Fair

We went to the fair on Friday. It was so much fun! My nephew, Patrick came with us and we all had a blast! We got there about 8:30am and parked in the lot up by Machinery Hill. First on the list, The Little Farm Hands. The kids had so much fun in there and Patrick was a big help.

Next, we met up with Mary and Bill Lynch; shhhh, they didn't tell their kids they were going to the fair . . . We headed to the St. Bernard's Dining Hall for a quick breakfast (nothing big, just something to tie us over until the Foot Long Hot Dog stand opened up!)

After breakfast, we went to the Education Building to check out my niece, Katie's artwork. She won a red ribbon for her age group. Patrick was very proud to show off his sister's drawing.

While we were roaming around the Creative Arts Building, there were all the award winning recipes, etc. We came across this SPAM sponsored contest. We came up with a great idea for Hormel, they need to crown a SPAM princess, like Princess Kay of the Milky Way . . . Princess Pam with her head carved in SPAM. . . . I guess we thought it was funny at the time. When we were done in the Education and Creative Arts Building, we headed over to the Miracle of Birth Center to check out the baby farm animals. There was a litter of piglets being born when we were in there. The sow was on number 2 when we arrived and was on number 7 when we left. I wonder how many there ended up being? There was a calf, Clint (he was 89 pounds at birth) that was only 8 hours old when we were there. It was so cute, he stood up for the first time when we were there . . . he had those wobbly legs. Those poor momma cows, they can labor for up to three days after the calf is born to pass all the other gunk . . . She was still panting. The kids loved to see the cows, the sheep and the pigs.

After the baby animals, we went to check out the horses. (we're invited to our friend, Bailey's 3rd birthday party and there will be pony rides) I wanted Emily and Louie to see the horses, maybe they'll ride the pony at the birthday party??? The horses were just OK.

We finally got to consume some "fair" food and walk through the Grandstand. Man, that place is like one big infomercial.

On our way out, we stopped off in the Kidway to see if they were interested in going on a ride or two. Emily kept pointing to the ferris wheel, so that is what we went on. Of course, we were the first to load into one of the cars . . . so, we had to stop and go all the way around, until everyone was loaded on. Emily did NOT like sitting at the very top, Patrick did his best to keep her happy. Louie on the other hand, loved it. He got to see the tractors and the airplanes all in one place. After the ferris wheel, Dan and Patrick took the kids on the carousel. Emily wanted to go again . . .

We were all exhausted when we left and couldn't wait to get home. Of course, no one took a nap once we got home. HUGE bummer. . . .