Fun at the Fair !!

Hey, have you heard ? The fair is in town !

Today I was helping to campaign for one of the judges I work for by volunteering some of my time in his re-election booth at the fair. After my 3 hour shift of passing out notepads and nail files, I soon had my fill of people watching. Eric and Elaina met me at my assigned booth and helped me to scour the fairgrounds trying to narrow down what fat-laden-overpriced-fair-food would be my dinner. Seriously, I wish they had a sampler platter - I could eat it all ! Elaina was quite content with sharing some greasy-vinegar-soaked french fries as I headed for the pork tenderloin.

Upon finishing dinner, we went straight for the animal barns. We started out with the ducks, followed by the goats, sheep, cows and horses. I was anxious to introduce Elaina to some real, live animals that we read about in her books. Elaina began to "moo" in her seat, letting the animals know that she was near. Throughout many of the barns, the animals heard the screeching squeal of our excited girl and took cover. The girl who was afraid of bubbles showed no fear as she rubbed the goats heads and tried to put her hand in a cow's mouth. (Smart cow wouldn't let her - only backed off in fear.) Just outside of the barns, we saw a young girl who had her cow out on a leash. She welcomed us to pet her 9 month old cow who stood every bit of my height, and someone asked to take our picture. After the photo, we discovered that it was a reporter from the local paper and she had taken our picture to publish ! How exciting -Elaina's first taste of publicity !

Although our evening was wrapping up long past Elaina's bedtime, she held on strong for the rest of the entertainment. On our final lap around the fairgrounds, I spotted a train ride that was just boarding. I left Eric in line for a funnel cake and Elaina and I ran to catch a quick ride. She sat on my lap, taking in all of the sights, sounds and lights that surrounded her. Even though it was a mere 20 foot loop, she enjoyed every minute of it almost as much as I did. Of course the ride was no thrill for me, but finally being able to put my arms around my girl and experience our first fair ride together was priceless.

Shortly past 9 o'clock, we bid the fair a fond farewell until next year. Eric strapped Elaina in her carseat and cuddled a blanket next to her. With her binky in her mouth and one in her hand, she was out before we made it out of the parking lot. What an enjoyable family day out !