Fun at the Fair

Last Friday we went to the fair in my hometown. Every year the fair gets a little bit bigger and is now becoming a rather large event only second to the state fair. This year we brought our neighbors Jeff and Liz and also Josh and Tammy.

We didn't get to the fair until dinner time on Friday so we had to get as much in as possible before Alyce got tired and turned into a pumpkin. After eating we all walked over to a new exhibit this year the Big Cat Cages. Alyce was rather taken with big cats or "meows" as she likes to call them.

Next we watched a little bit of the tractor pull. A tractor pull is when a supped up tractor pulls a weighted sled down a 300' track. If they make it past 300' then it is considered a full pull and is then usually accompanied by the comment of being "way down there." Alyce surprisingly was a big fan of the tractors. The excessive noise didn't seem to bother her and she was mesmerized by all of the smoke.


After the tractors we took Alyce to the petting zoo. All of the cute animals are in cages, but you can reach through to pet the animals. Alyce looked at some odd birds, a cow, goats, sheep, and baby chicks. She and I had a really good time playing in a big box of corn. Alyce would place handfuls of corn into a little trailer and then proceed to dump it out. Alyce had another plastic rake that she wasn't playing with, but apparently still wanted ownership of. A little girl came up wanting the rake and I gave it to her. Well Alyce wasn't keen on that one as she got up and started walking towards the girl with the intention to get that toy back. We intercepted Alyce before she got there, but it was good see that Alyce was willing to fight for a toy even if it was one that she wasn't using anymore.

The last event of the night was a stop by the midway. This is where all of the carnie rides are. We didn't have the time or the inclination to go on big kid rides, but we did put Alyce on two rides the carousel and the electric train. Alyce patiently stood in line for both rides. On the carousel she rode the big brown dog. She seemed to enjoy herself, but we couldn't get her to wave at mommy or Jeff and Liz. For the electric train she seemed less enthused by the ride, but she did smile at the people on the sidelines.

The day ended with a waffle ice cream sandwich and the slow walk back to the car for the trip back home. Alyce and everyone else in the car fell asleep (except for me) on the way home with us finally getting Alyce to bed around 10:30. We asked a lot of Alyce and as usual she came through with flying colors. There are always a few hiccups but there were no major meltdowns. We are truely blessed to have such an easy going kid.