August in Wisconsin. Heat. Humidity. Very, very large insects. And fried stuff!
A couple weekends ago we ventured out to what has become an annual event since we've had kids: the State Fair. Every year we dread it and every year we have a little more fun. This year the weather was actually not oppressive and we planned to go around lunch time with the Bansemars. This is kind of an ongoing joke because every time we hang out with them at a MKE summer event (Festa, State Fair, etc)
someone comes down with
something in the hours before we are set to meet up. Examples include me getting checked out at the hospital for possible kidney infection while pregnant, or little Alana looking like she caught the business end of a date with Chris Brown (when really it was a nasty allergic reaction). Like clockwork we got a call from Shawn at about 10 a.m. that Alana had a case of the barfies and they were not going to make it. Here is Genevieve's genuine reaction to that news:
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| life as we know it: over. |
So the four of us headed to good old S'Tallis on our own. We got there before noon which - note to self - is the key to ample parking. Since the Bansemar's were not going I had two extra tickets which I brought with to try to sell. Matt was all "what are you going to scalp State Fair tickets?". After nearly 12 years together he still doubts. I sold the tickets to the people who parked next to us and in we went. First stop: cheese barn!
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| if you don't feed me something cheesy and delicious i will be forced to eat these cute baby toes |
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| mac and cheese. HAND IT OVER. |
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| a little post-lunch dancin' |
After we finished eating round 1 we went to check out some of the animal barns. Lukie was totally wide-eyed at the critters and Genevieve was a lot more brave than the last couple visits.
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| up close and personal with a goat |
Side note to my husband: this is a goat.
And this is a sheep:
Similar, sure. The same? No. There'll be a quiz next year.
We ventured into the cow barn and for a moment I had flashbacks to last year's
crazy stalker lady (thanks again to Shawn and Mel for ditching us with that nut job). Fortunately Nutty McValium was nowhere to be found. Luke was very intimidated by these massive animals but Geeg was interested. She went to the little demo stations and checked out how cows are milked ("mommy, like your pump!") and hopefully learned a little bit. This before she hopped in the driver's seat of the little milk truck and somehow split her top lip open whilst messing around. It's just not State Fair unless someone's in tears!
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| excellent concentration |
After thinking about delicious milk everyone was ready for a trip to the famous milk barn. This of course was the location of Matt being short-changed last year. This time he was ready and had his singles pre-counted and ready to go. Clever fellow.
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| notice the dollar bill in-hand |
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| oh yeah, we got 10 glasses for the three of us |
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| sure he's not supposed to have cow's milk before a year. but nobody said anything about banana cow's milk. deeeeeeeeeelicious mama! |
Then we headed to the midway to check out the rides. Genevieve has been all about rides this summer and was super excited to hit up the kiddie stuff. So like good parents we shelled out and told her she could pick two rides. First stop: mini ferris wheel!
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| up, up, and away! |
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| chillin' while sassie spins around |
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| next up: bouncy cars |
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| crazy driver, comin' through |
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| we would have never gotten away with this with baby genevieve. love that boy. |
And after a little sweet talking, she even got dad to take her on her new must-ride, the sky glider.
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| ta ta! notice the super excited fair staffer in the foreground. makes a mama feel really safe. |
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| flyin' high |
We stopped for more fair food before heading out. A funnel cake for me, a corn dog for Matt, and a capture of this magnificent Fair specimen for you, dear readers. The best part was when she had to relight her cig after taking so much time to properly katsup/mustard her foot long corn dog. Excellent.
We ended up being at the Fair for damn near 4 hours. FOUR HOURS! Getting there before noon was totally clutch and I will never stay there past 4 pm for the rest of my life if I can possibly help it. Sure the people viewing is ever so slightly diminished, but the outcome after a whopping six blocks in the car was totally worth it.
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| all fair'd out |
Meanwhile while Princess snoozed upon getting home, Lukie decided that he needs to be better prepared to go after all the good food at future family outings. Solution? Get there yourself.
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| first crawl. it's all over now. |
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| eat my dust, mom & dad |
