State Fair

Yesterday the Partridge Family went to the Mississippi State Fair! Callie and Caleb thought it was especially great, since we got them out of school a whole hour early. (I'm afraid it's not because we're "cool" parents--we're CHEAP parents who wanted to get in free by getting there before 2:00!) This annual family outing is one we look forward to . . . but neglect to save money for.

We usually take our time at the fair, patiently scoping out the rides so that we make the most informed decisions about which ones we choose. I think it's funny how much Callie and I both love rides, and here's my theory on it: She and I both have control-freak tendencies (Note: No need to leave comments about this. Thanks. --Mgmt.), but there is no way to be in control of anything when you're on one of those rides! That's what's so great. I am generally a fairly quiet soul, but I will scream like a crazy person on a fair ride! Callie's the same way. And we're both so task-oriented that it takes something like going to the fair--where the sole purpose is simply to have fun--to help us just to play. It's a fault of mine, actually. I'm just not naturally good at playing. I love watching other people play! But I digress.

Once the options and tickets were weighed, each of us made our decisions. Callie rode the big slide, the spinning bears, the log ride, Gravitron, and her favorite--Crazy Mouse! Caleb rode the Bumble Bees, the log ride, the cars, Crazy Mouse, and his favorite--the dragon roller coaster! Katie, though, had her sights set on one ride alone--the Bumble Bees! She rode it three times and would have ridden it even more. Only once did she ride something besides the Bees; she rode the cars with Caleb, but it was only because the Bumble Bees were temporarily closed. It was really cute. She got so excited about it.

We did some milling around and took in all the sights, sounds, and smells (most of them good). We looked at all the old cars and saw an antique scooter that looked like it should belong to Barbie. The kids got to pretend they were crawling through a house that was on fire, which Katie declined to do the first time around. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the smoke flowing out the doors and windows! Smart girl. But once they had all successfully escaped through the upper story window and down the ladder, they were rewarded with gold sticker badges and red fire hats.

We also visited the petting zoo, where the kids enjoyed feeding carrots to the cute and cuddly critters. Katie only wanted to feed the baby ones. And the poor zebra--he was stuck in one of the corners with a big sign that said "Do not feed." How terrible is that?! The only animal in the entire place not allowed to eat all the food the kids were handing out! I guess that's why he was put in the corner . . . and wearing stripes.

Of course, we had to eat. That's just a given. And out of all those yummy options, I ended up eating a corndog, of all things. It was good, mind you, but it's really all I ate (besides the very yummy free biscuit and honey), and I shared it with Caleb. The biggest crowd-pleaser, though, was most certainly the cotton candy! Colorful, fluffy, sugar that instantly dissolves in your mouth. We had to ration it throughout our stay at the fair, but it was a hit each and every time it emerged. Well worth the $4.

We ended the evening with the free circus, which is always fun and always a little weird. We saw little dogs jumping through hoops, a girl going through about 20 instant wardrobe changes in just a few minutes (You really had to be there. It sounds sketchy, but it wasn't.), an old man doing a clown act, a girl bending and balancing in ways that just shouldn't be possible, and a group of Chinese acrobats flying around in the air on rubber bands! Like I said, always a little weird.

It was a very fine day at the fair for all of us, I'd say. We left with adequate sugar rushes, headaches, and that nice grimy feeling all over!