County Fair

This last week was our county fair.  As a girl, I participated in 4-H.  I always remember completing projects to enter in the fair.  I'm sure I didn't appreciate all the hard work my mom put in to help me get those done.  I know I resisted a lot.  My least favorite part was writing the essay about the project.  I finished many of those essays at the fairgrounds right before I entered my items.  Since those days so long ago, my mom and sister-in-law and I still enjoy entering items into the fair.  Sometimes, we are competing against one another.  Other times, we just do it for fun.  I even helped my boys enter several items.  It is always fun to see how they do. 

 This fair also provides many free activities for kids.  This is the boys waiting for the horse drawn wagon to pick them up and take them for a ride.  They told me they wouldn't ride without me, so off we all went on a leisurely ride. 

 Next, the boys were able to participate in a "treasure hunt" where by age group, they searched through this sawdust for canisters full of treasures. 

 They were able to retrieve 5 canisters each and then inside, there were "cowboy bucks" that they could use at the trading post to buy stuff.  This was so fun for them.  There was also a free station one day to make homemade ice cream in a bag, and another day, a cookie decorating station.  There were pedal tractors where the boys could pedal the tractors to make them go.  (I forgot my camera in the car for that one.) 

There were even little play stations like this sand box for them to relax in.  There was also a model train display which is always a big hit with my boys.  We went up several times and it is always fun to break away from the routine of summer and do something different.  The boys really had fun. 

                                      

Chad with his blue ribbon for his coloring page.  The boys had so much fun looking through the buildings for "their" things.  Even stuff that my mom had made for them and borrowed back to enter into the fair was stuff they wanted to find.  Next year, we'll have to put in more things. 

 This is them with their ribbons.  Tyler only entered his painted rock monster, and Chad put in his monster and a coloring page.  Chad earned $4 for his ribbons and Tyler got $2.50.  They are pretty excited about that!  I was able to enter 5 or 6 sewing items and about 10 canning items.  In all, I earned $26.50 and took home a slew of prizes.  I even was awarded a rosette for the "best sewing item". 
Going to the fair sure makes me reflect on a time when life was so much simpler.  A county fair used to be the culmination of a years worth of hard work.  Now, it is more of a commercial affair, but we try to keep a little of that "fair spirit" alive around here.  If your county has a local fair, check it out.  You may be surprised at what there is there for you and your kids. 

I had to put in this one last picture of the boys in the "Green Machine".  Dave got to drive it in the Chubbuck Days parade and the boys got to throw candy.  They threw two BIG bags of taffy in about one block, so I had to ration the rest to last the remainder of the parade.  I can feel summer fading but we are trying to suck  up every last bit of it.