Good Ol' County Fair Time

The county fair... a place I looked forward to going every year, growing up as a kid.  I was there to show cattle, see my friends, and present my visual arts displays for 4-H.  (Later, it was fun times at the concerts and beer gardens with my buddies.) Now that I'm off the ranch, fair time means something completely different to me.   It's all about family time and experiencing other aspects of it.

We seem to always start off at the bunny barns!  I'm not sure how they judge rabbits (they're all sweet and cuddly looking!), but we saw the grand champion.

 Then, off to the chicken barn, a few stops to see passing-by cattle, perusing exhibits and sights along the way, taking silly pictures.

 I figured Ramsey would love a pony ride (since that's been a favorite the past few years).  He repeated he didn't want to, but wanted to stop at the activity tent and then take a ride on the barrel train instead.

 We grabbed some grub in the meantime ("monkey balls" - basically fried dough with powdered sugar - a new favorite for Ramsey) and then headed off to the midway to go on rides.
...LOTS AND LOTS OF RIDES!

 He hadn't been on a roller coaster at the fair before (only once, a few years ago at Storybookland, when he wasn't afraid of anything!).  He wasn't so sure about this one at all.

Unfortunately, the video doesn't capture his crazy facial expressions!  Eric and I nearly died laughing!  It took a few rounds for Ramsey to start loosening up and enjoy the thrill.

Where ever he could, he would find some other kids and be their buddy on a particular ride.

 He made a few new friends along the way!

 After the first roller coaster, he was a pro and decided he wanted to go on the larger roller coaster.

Then, he begged to go down the huge slide.  He was too little to go by himself, so I decided I'd take him.   About a third of the way up the rickety teetery stairs (that are OPEN so you can see the ground!), I wondered why the heck I made that decision. One will do anything for their child!

When we got to the top, Ramsey wasn't so sure about it either.   On the way down, he screamed.  It was FAST!!!   We decided it was pretty darn fun though.  He decided it was definitely the scariest thing he'd done that day.

Dad decided to give him a few bucks so he could "go fish".

 With a little help, he brought up two sharks and won a prize.

 A blue plastic katana sword!

Good times.   ...until next year, county fair!