Meet Me at the Fair

Yes, it is time once again for my annual county fair post! This year was a bit different from past years. Being the proud parent of a fearless 6-year-old boy means several things. First, we hang out at the rides a LOT. Second, we see NO farm animals. (I know!) Third, I don’t have time or inclination to take a single photo of any food! And finally, we hang out at the rides a lot. We bought wrist bands for the first time this year, meaning unlimited rides. Aiden rode 11 times! I only rode 3, but that’s because I wanted to die in a dark corner after ride number 2. Shudder. There is a good reason that most riders are under the age of 30.

Anyways. We’ll get to that riveting story in a bit. The first thing we did at the fair was to go to the zoo show. Aiden was one of the first volunteers, to no one’s surprise.

What made his jaw drop in amazement?

This did. (So glad I didn’t go up with him.)

We stayed to see chinchillas and lizards and tortoises and various other creatures. They even had a tame woodchuck. Dad, I thought of you.

We ran into lots of our friends! It is always fun to see everyone at the fair!
First, we saw Julie and her crew at the Ferris wheel. The kids all wanted to ride the jet skis together.

Then we noticed Christi and her kids at the merry-go-round:

We walked around with them for a bit, eating fries and checking out the junior railroaders exhibit in the 4-H building. It took some doing to drag Aiden away from those trains. I have a feeling that we will be joining the junior railroaders in a few years.

So, rides. Yeah, the Ferris wheel was my favorite.

Then, for my next ride, I made a grave error. I agreed to go on the “Down Draft” with Aiden, who was just barely tall enough and who danced and wriggled with excitement the whole long wait in line.

It looks like this:

Here we are, before:

I look so happy! So healthy! So not-nauseated!

This thing went round and round at alarming speeds. We were pressed back into our seats, barely able to move our heads or anything. I was worried about Aiden at first, because when I looked at him, he had his face pressed against the front bar, and my first thought was that he’d passed out from the g-forces and how were we supposed to stop this thing? Then he turned his face, and I saw his crazy-eyed, big-smiled face and knew he was fine. Kid was screaming and laughing and telling me how much he really loved this ride. I was praying to God that the ride would end early or that I would die immediately. God chose to answer this prayer with a “No.” So I sat there, pressed into my seat, my neck stiff, my arm (which I’d thoughtfully tucked behind Aiden) completely asleep. And then it was over. Dizzy, sweaty, green, and nauseated, I somehow got off the ride without falling on my face and we sat on a bench. Aiden asked, “Can we go on that again?”

Thankfully, Chad arrived from work right around this time and was able to help Aiden ride on smaller rides by himself while I willed my stomach to stop churning. It took me at least an hour to feel normal again!

More friends:

Cute boys

Our fair-going friends of long-standing tradition finally arrived, and after we’d eaten, I was feeling better. I thought about my beloved Musik Express, but the round-and-roundness of it all had me doubting the wisdom of riding it. Someone else was still too short, poor little dude. He felt it.

Hopefully, he’ll grow six inches before next year’s fair.

So then Aiden begged to go on the Down Draft again, and Liv and Mike rode with him. Kristen, Chad and I nearly died laughing watching their different reactions as they swung round and round. Liv looked ready to cry, Mike looked ready to hurl, and Aiden had his crazy happy face on sitting between them, hands raised in the air and waving to everyone watching below.

It was fun!

But I do rather miss those calmer days of years past when we cheerfully looked at stinky pigs and enormous horses and dumb bunnies, eating fried cheese and ice cream bars stuck through a paper plate.

I’m never riding that thing again.

I did, however, ride the hang glider ride. No pics. If it had ended just two revolutions or so earlier, it would have been awesome.