Steamy Day at the State Fair

I am so glad we arrived at the fairgrounds by 8:30 this morning, and were headed back out the gates by noon! Wow, it became a hot and sticky day quickly. Since there were six of us in the van, we didn't have to pay the $10 parking fee. And admission was also half-price today, on the last day of the fair. And I had three free tickets that I'd been given, so it was quite cheap to get us all in.

We started at the livestock barns -- first a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, donuts and milk. Then to see the giant boar -- which had some giant anatomy that Mazy was very curious about... And then to the Avenue of Breed, which is my favorite barn because it has all the interesting rare breeds of donkeys, cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, elk, llamas, etc. The boys loved it there.

On to the Giant Slide next -- Shawn took the boys down it, I photographed it. Then into the Model Railway Hall, which is air-conditioned and worth the $2 admission. Then to the Varied Industries Building so Mazy could fill an Iowa Tourism Bag with all kinds of free stuff -- brochures, frisbees, pencils, coloring pages, a piggy bank, you name it, he got it.

By then the crowds were picking up. I suggested that Shawn and his dad take the boys outside to play on a big playground display while his mom and I checked out the quilts and other sewing projects. It always inspires me to get my sewing machine when I see all those quilts. And makes me want to learn to knit. Quilting I can do, knitting I have tried many times and failed at...

Boys were getting tired so we headed to the Main Concourse while Shawn's parents looked for a leaf-guard gutter company. There were a bunch of BMX motorcycles racing and jumping ramps and do all kinds of daredevil tricks on the concourse. That kept the boys entertained for 20 minutes. Then we went to visit my cousin Jenny at the corndog/lemonade stand where she works. She gave us free lemonades and corndogs. What a cousin!

And by then it was hot and sweaty and we were ready to call it a day. So we came home. Shawn and I went to Wendy's to buy fresh salads for the adults and kid's meals for the boys. Ate lunch together, said goodbye to Shawn's parents and then took nice long naps in the cool air-conditioning all afternoon.

Now that's my idea of a great Sunday!