Fair Time

One fun thing that came out of being in the states this summer was taking the boys to the county fair.  Marvin grew up involved in 4H.  I however don’t have a clue.  Just recently I told Marvin that I thought the fair was only for the carnival.  Boy was I ill informed.

Of course we had to go to the parade.  

We knew Micah would be over the top in love with the tractors and trucks.  We were right.  

Calvin on the other hand was in love with the ridiculous amount of candy he scored.

  We had fun waving to everyone we knew on the floats.

The boys loved the Parents As Teachers area, where their grandma works so hard every year.  Micah spent hours playing in the water which happens to be one of his favorite things ever.

Both boys would rather watch these ponies from a distance than ride them, but Calvin mustered up the courage with the help of eager cousins wanting a ride and rode once.  Micah would not release the death grip around my neck, so we just watched.

Calvin loved helping his cousins feed their bucket calves.  Thanks for including him girls and teaching a city boy how to do chores.

And a City boy he is, the first time he helped he asked when they fed the calves Popsicles? It was so hot, so I'll give him that.

Our nieces did so well showing their calves, and one of them even came away with the biggest trophy and best ribbon, which in my lack of 4H knowledge don’t know if it was the light purple or dark.

One evening while we were eating at some picnic tables a couple of guys were playing guitars and singing behind us, and as they belted out their country tunes it was just a perfect small town moment.  As we watched people stopped chatting with neighbors and friends, music playing in the background, sun setting, it really made us enjoy small town America and thankful to have those roots.  Since I’m not a….native I was surprised when I ran into a friend from grad school.  It was much fun to reconnect.  You just never know who you’ll see at the fair.

We ended our fabulous experience with the carnival because that’s what I always thought it was about.

Favorite ride?  Spinning dragons, but I think it’s just because of his company.

The alligator really surprised him.  Next time it’s important to watch before you get on a ride.  Lesson learned.

Thanks for the memories Marshall County.