Our County Fair

We went to our County Fair this weekend. Don’t you love the fair? It was a great time for all. The skies were overcast, which made for a nice, cool morning. We hit some of the kids' tents first with games and activities especially for little ones. They got to ride in little cars and blow bubbles and get free balloons. They had a “cutest kid” contest going on in the tent next door with all the stage moms primping and applying lip-gloss to their three-year-olds. I said, “Boo, do you want to go up there with the kids?” She said, “No, I just go see duh chickens.” That’s my girl.

We went to the pens that had rabbits and chickens, which the kids liked a lot. There was a loud rooster that really wanted to let us know he was around. The kids had that sound down by the end of the day. We thought that little exhibit was the “petting zoo”, so we called it a day and went home a bit disappointed. Upon further investigation, I realized the “zoo” was on the other side of the fairgrounds.

Day Two

Yes, we went back. I was taking my kids to the petting zoo, so-help-me! I think JB thought I was a little nuts. We hit the petting zoo first, and it was just what I expected. AWESOME. I was a bit nervous about the goats, since I once met one who ate my shoelaces with my shoes still attached to my feet! I thought he would devour my leg before anyone came to help! Fortunately, these petting zoos have a rigorous interview process and no animal is hired if they bite, butt or stampede.

Once Boo and Yaks got the general idea that they could touch these animals without us telling them “no”, they had a great time. Yaks preferred the kind that just sat still, or better yet, were sleeping. If one happened to cross his path, he ran the other way screaming. No kidding.

Look at the poor kid, running for his life. "Please don't eat my fingers! AHHHHH!"

I think that’s why these pigs were his favorite.

Boo liked all of them and would just wander from animal to animal saying "hi" and petting them.

Following the “zoo”, we went to the large event pavilion to see if there were some horse events going on. We were so excited they had calf sorting going on. It took us a minute (okay, 10) to figure out how the event was played, but after asking a very knowledgeable cowboy who took 20 minutes to explain what I could sum up in two, we were on our way! Object: A random number is called and the two horse backed riders must sort that number into a separate pen, once that cow is in, they go sequentially up in numbers until all the cows are in the pen. They have 65 seconds to complete the sorting. If they get out of sequence, they have to start all over again. We only saw one team actually complete the event for full points. I didn’t take pictures, for fear of scaring the cows or the horses or worse yet, the riders. But, it was one of the most exciting events to watch. The horses and riders are truly amazing and have such skill and cool under-pressure.

Boo liked to read the numbers on the cow’s backs, “Der’s a two! I’m two! Der’s five! Yay, five!” Yaks embarrassed us all by tossing his hat (binkie) into the ring. Ugh.