I love the fair. My Handsome loves the fair. My kids love the fair. We make it a point to go to the county fair each summer. Mr. Handsome and the kids especially love the livestock and farm equipment. This year the kids were lucky enough to borrow the neighbor's chickens and enter them in the fair. We walked away with a 1st place and 3rd place. Not bad. But Hall Monitor was less than thrilled with the report on her chicken. Her little birdie was labeled "out of condition". After seeing that less than beautiful bird I made the equation that "out of condition" = "bare butt & bad manners". I wouldn't have given it a ribbon with that kind of show either. Come on, chick-a-roo. Have some manners and dignity. We're at the fair! Save the bathroom break for after the crowds. 
The other great thing about the county fair is that we women, (myself not included) can be justly rewarded with praise for our everyday contributions to society. My MIL won a blue ribbon for her chocolate chip cookies and my SIL won a blue ribbon for her sour cherry jelly. (clap, clap, clap) Well deserved on all counts I might add. And last, but not least, my sweet little niece won Best of Show and 1st place for her painting. I am so proud, as were her cousins, so we made it a point to get a photo in front of it. You go, Ellie Belly!
You can't go to the fair without at least socializing with the carnies for a moment. It would just be rude not to. So we did a little carnie time and a lot of people watching. (Amazing how the fair puts the people of Walmart to shame.) We made sure to ride the Ferris Wheel and played a couple of games so that we could add some cheap stuffed animals to our already multiplying collection. It was the biggest rip off of the night but the kids loved every minute of it. We also stopped to catch up on the latest livestock competition for next year, checked the stats on the local hay (for Handsome of course) and let the kids inspect and climb on the farm equipment. Who knew that the farm equipment would entertain us more than the carnival rides? And to think that they were free to play on. Suckas!
By far my favorite part of the fair is the rodeo. I know, I know. You probably think it's cruelty to animals. But personal/PETA opinions aside, it's some good entertainment. Both Ranger and Da Wort decided that they wanted to participate in the rodeo this year and ride the sheep. They've done mutton bustin' twice before, so we didn't hesitate when they asked to do it again. But from the moment they woke up that morning, Ranger was a mess. He was physically sick just thinking about riding the sheep. So as we watched the first half of the rodeo that night and awaited the mutton bustin' competition, Ranger decided that he wouldn't be riding. Da Wort insisted that he still ride. And ride he did. He got a total of 74 points I believe. He rode hard and held onto that sheep tight until he rolled of the side and got trampled. He stood up from the ground, brushed the dirt off his hands, gave the clown a big High 5 and then turned to wave at the crowd. It was wonderful. After he left the rodeo arena he lifted his shirt to show his battle wounds where the sheep had indeed stepped on his back. He was sore but tearless and very proud. Both he and Ranger walked away with a trophy and haven't stopped talking about it since. 
Until next year, County Fair. It's been real. It's been fun. Stay cute and cool. See ya next summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment