The Fair

After an entire afternoon at the swimming pool with cousins, the whole family was wiped out, cranky, and couldn't fall asleep for nap time. Mother nature intervened and provided a fifteen minute rainstorm that brought in some much needed cloud cover. Mimi and Papa were babysitting my 2 nephews and niece and we were trying to squeeze every ounce of family fun and togetherness into a 48 hour period. The sweltering heat had deterred most of possible plans together, until that shower drifted through. The phone rang and I thought my mother was kidding at first when she suggested they wanted to go to the fair. "Really? Dad wants to go the fair with all five grandkids in this heat and humidity?" I was shocked. "If we are ever going to go, this is the time to do it," dad said. I agreed and began trying to get diaper bags ready as quick as possible for our spontaneous excursion. If it had been in the morning I wouldn't have worried about the kids. Since it was 5pm, I knew we were starting on shaky ground. 80% of our meltdowns and screaming fits happen between 2pm and 6pm. Nevertheless we loaded up the car and headed out hoping that the cloud cover would hold the temperature down. With an arsenal of sippy cups, hand sanitizer, and extra golf balls to carry (it's his latest must have) we arrived and headed straight for the animals. 

 Cruz was so excited. I am not going to lie, I personally love seeing all of the animals. (Maybe its because I have this secret dream to own a farm and all work the land together) We were all impressed by the massive bulls. Both of my kids love animals. Wren was an infant last summer so she was especially thrilled to see real live animals.

 We walked the rows, stepped over their poop, nodded to each of the farmers...

 Saw a baby drinking milk from its mommy. A small dog came near and in true maternal instinct, the mother plowed into it with her head as a warning to stay away. She looked terribly annoyed with the people standing around watching, and her utters looked like they were going to burst as that baby gnawed away. I wanted to just give that mother cow a hug and tell her I totally understood.

 Cruz and his cousin Henley have a special bond.

This is our niece Rivington Rose, she is only 8 weeks younger than Wren. I just know that she and Wren are going to be the dynamic duo of trouble! Not like 'bad girl' trouble, more like 'convince PaPa to buy us' stuff trouble!

 The kids loved getting to pet all of the different animals. I'm pretty sure that they thought the sheep were Franklin, but could you blame them? They feel the same.

 Cruz was all smiles and giggles and none of the kids seemed to mind the thick humidity.

 Rogan and Wren have a special bond as well. He thinks it is so funny to ask her to point to things or to repeat after him.

We had a nutritious corn dog and lemonade for dinner, don't tell our naturopathic!

 The kids got to meet firemen and take a look around the firetruck. Cruz has been carrying around a small firetruck for about two weeks. Just to clarify any confusion, he has been carrying 3 golfballs, a rubber bouncy ball, firetruck, and a rooster everywhere we go. In the car, to bed, outside, inside, in the tubby. I'm not sure if any of you have had the opportunity to look for a rooster that is the size of a quarter, but it sure makes for a fun scavenger hunt about five times a day, especially when its accompanied with tears and panicked whining. We need to get him some kind of satchel to carry it all around in. In the middle of the night we can hear the golfball hit the hard wood and then some crying until it is recovered. So, he was very excited to get to see the life size firetruck.

 He sat up in the driver seat and they all got stickers.

 Cruz's firetruck is in hand.

 Daddy and Cruz did some really lame rides that didn't have much of a thrill factor.

So, we let him try one on his own. He was  a little confused at first. By his third time around the loop he was fine.

 Then the big boys joined him. They all rode it twice together. Cruz was laughing and clapping the entire time.

 They rode a couple more and decided to call it a night since the girls were getting fussy.

We had to stop on the way out for a pony ride. Cruz was so excited. I have been thinking about starting him on some hippotherapy so this was a good test for me to see how he would respond. He loved it.

Despite the sketchy crowd that really started to show up as it got dark, we had a lot of fun. Poor Wren wanted desperately to ride everything but she was too small. Next year she'll get to do it all.

The fifteen minutes of thunder and rain opened up a window of opportunity. We would have just stayed home and played that evening, but the rain ushered us into complete spontaneity. So, here's to embracing last minute opportunities, taking chances, and looking for the blessing that comes after the storm. There is always a blessing on the other side.