Dusting Again...

It seems as though I have forgotten to post some pictures from a few weeks back.  Maybe it was on purpose, maybe subconsciously trying to block it out.  Who knows. But regardless, I am blowing the dust off of them and sharing them now.

Anyone that knows us, knows how much we love fair time!  We love to walk around, we like to people watch, but most importantly, we like to EAT!  Fair food is the best!  So when the fair was in town a few weeks back, it was a no brainer that we were going.

The girls were looking forward to riding on a few rides. Sulla loved the train so much last year that she and Quinn talked about riding it again this year.  Come to find out that there was no train this year.  Bummer.

They had to settle for the Dukes of Hazard cars instead.  Not that they had the slightest clue what "The Dukes of Hazard" really was, but that's okay.  And looking at these cars, I am fairly certain they are circa 1980's for sure.

Quinn was looking forward to the giant Fun Slide.  She went on it last year with Ryan and they had a blast.  Sullivan wanted to take a turn this year and being that she was a little bit older, we thought she might have fun.

Apparently they didn't oil the slide very well and at every hump of the slide you had to hurl yourself down.  It made for great picture taking, but probably wasn't the most thrilling of rides.  Bummer.

Who doesn't love the carousel, right?  Whenever the girls see one, they want to ride it.  So when the fair had a carousel, they were all over it.  Once loaded, it maybe went around 5 times (if we are lucky).  We blinked and it was over.  Bummer.

Despite what looked like epic failures to us on the part of the midway rides, I think the girls had fun and enjoyed themselves.  They didn't complain once - not even when they probably should have.  And in the end, that was why we were there - for the girls to have a good time.  They had no idea or recollection that the circa 1980's rides could have been better.  They just enjoyed doing something out of the ordinary!

At the fair, we also visited Old McDonald's Farm, where there were (as you would guess) a series of farm animals on display.  Since Sullivan loves neigh-neighs so much, we were certain she would love this horse.

Turns out the horse might have been a little to "up close and personal" for her.  Especially when the horse sneezed on them.  Look at her grip on Ryan!

Quinn was happy to oblige with a picture with the horses and Sullivan was a little more comfortable with ponies about her own same size.

Here is the crew - Ryan, the girls, and Nana - checking out some other animals.

Nana with her girls....

Something, again, struck Sullivan as funny.  She took time to chuckle a bit!

Who are those animals?  They look a little familiar!

While looking around the fair, we stumbled upon someone very familiar to us all.... Santa!!!  Sullivan was excited to see him, and so was Quinn.  But before Quinn could approach him, she was frantically brainstorming what she could ask for for Christmas.  She asked me for ideas and was quietly talking to herself.  Once she came up with her idea, she proudly approached Santa ready to share her ideas.  Much to her dismay, Santa didn't want to know what she wanted for Christmas.  In fact, he didn't mention a word about Christmas.  Instead, all Santa wanted to know was what rides the girls had been on.  Bummer.

After meeting Santa at the fair, Sullivan was so excited and animated.  She came up to me and proudly announced, "I not even scared of Santa.  I not shy to him!"

While there, we certainly partook in out fair share of the fair food.  Fair food, like I mentioned above, is the best!  We got a little sampling of a lot of the offerings, but much to our disappointment, everything was sub par.  Bummer.

After a couple of hours of entertainment and much lighter pockets, we headed for home.  The girls were content with the stuffed animal they "won" at one of the booths, happy with the memories of the rides they rode on, and full of the foods they thought were tasty!

Ryan and I had higher hopes for the fair and were let down a bit.  We left satisfied knowing that we don't need to go back next year.  While we have had our love affair with the Sioux Empire Fair for the past many years, all good things must come to an end!  Unfortunately I think our end has occurred!  And because time seems to blur memories and make things appear grander than they are, I may need some help from everyone next August reminding me not to go!