Fair Time!

Today we took our first family trip to the fair. After talking about taking Iris to the state fair, with a complete lack of enthusiasm from both Josh and I (feeling guilty all the while because we should, of course, want to take her), Josh drove by the Benton County fairgrounds one day to find that they were setting up for the county fair. I don't know if I've ever actually been to a county fair. I've dropped off 4-H projects, but never, to my knowledge, stayed for the experience. I always believed county fairs to be a place of livestock, crafts, and complete boredom. However, I was either wrong, or our county is just fantastic. I now wonder why we ever even considered going to the state fair. Here, you have all of the animals, rides, food, and even rodeo (it wouldn't be Oregon without it!) that the state fair offers, but on a smaller scale. And it's even close to home! As a parent of young kids, this makes it especially appealing.
We decided to introduce Iris to the fun and excitement of fair rides. They had it all--the carousel, the giant slide, the plastic hot-air balloons that get three feet off of the ground. However, my fun-loving, never-scared-of-anything go-getter decided 2/3 of the way into the carousel that she was done for the day. At least it was long enough for a picture.

Linnea did quite well despite the temperatures in the 90's and the complete lack of any naps. But all the heat and overtiredness got to her eventually, and she slept--through the bells and whistles and shrieking kids, she slept. Though she woke up as soon as we put her in peace and quiet and coolness of the car. Go figure.

Iris did appreciate the animals, though (there was even an exhibit with reptiles, a giant tortoise, and a lion cub), and Josh and I took advantage of the nearness of the fair to home. After the kids were in bed, we called some friends over to watch them and headed back to ride a few rides ourselves. All in all, though, it was a lot of fun, and I think, for a few years at least, we'll stay on the small scale.