Rewind...The AG Fair!

Another rewind post. This time about the AG fair. The AG fair is one of my favorite South Bend traditions, for several reasons: 1. It's free. 2. It's fast (we don't have to be there all day, in fact, it takes an hour - tops). 3. It's highly interactive. 4. My kids love it.

 

This year is our last South Bend AG fair. I am pretty sure that Jerome will have, if not this exact same thing, something close to it. I hope they do at any rate...because the AG fair is my favorite. A few pictures of the day:

 

Josie "milking" a cow.

Sammie "milking" a cow.

Learning how to rope a cow.

Love Sammie's 'barely there' face.

Silly boys.

Riding the tractor.

Going fishing.

Okay, this was the cutest thing I may have ever seen. Bunnies on leashes completing jumping courses. Adorable!! I may have squealed like a teenage girl at a Bieber concert watching this. I now, of course, want to own little bunnies who wear leashes and jump over things on a course.

I love the AG fair and am going to miss it next spring. It's really low key and nothing fancy so there is no real reason why I should love it so much, but I really do. Count this as one of the many things I'm going to really miss about South Bend when we're gone.

AG Fair!

We love going to the AG fair. We've gone every year since moving to South Bend. This year, all four of my kids were able to participate and have a good time. The older three wanted to hurry and fill their baskets so they could turn them in for their prize, but Sammie was so enthralled with the animals! She's an animal lover for sure! Even though the weather outside was wet and cold they had the building heated and, I have to admit, this was my favorite AG fair yet. And now for the pictures:

I love that you can just see Sam peeking out the top. She's at an age where she really wants to keep up with the older kids. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but other times (like at the fair) it's just cute and I love it!

Sammie was all about those animals. She could care less about filling up her bucket (fortunately, the older kids were looking out for her and made sure she didn't miss a station.

 I was trying to take a picture of Jo, but Noah kept getting in the way (on purpose). Ha, sibling love.

 Milking the "cow".

 Again, with the animals. I think Sammie would be so happy if we lived on a farm (I don't think I'd love that though so that will never happen).

 This picture makes me smile. These two boys are so funny.

There was a station where the kids learned about bees. It was very educational.

 Look at Josie's face in the background. She was NOT impressed with the bees.

 Going fishing!

I am noticing how girl heavy all the pictures are, but man alive my boys were moving right through the fair. They were so busy that it made it difficult to get pictures of them. I suppose that's the sign of a good time though.

Sam was so mad when Josie got on the tractor.

 But so happy when she got a turn!

 Turning in their baskets at the market for a sticker, a cookie, and a carton of milk.

 Delighting in their spoils.

Ha! Clayton was nervous because he told me that if he doesn't have a straw, he can't drink milk out of a carton because he spills it. I think I solved that mystery.

The AG fair, once again, did not disappoint. We learned about farming, animals, bees, plants, etc. It was educational, fun, rewarding, FREE, and didn't take us too long. Perfect afternoon!

The Fair

"We are going on a surprise adventure today!" I told the kids.
"Chuck E Cheese!"
"Burger King!"
"The park!"
"Grammy's house!" (Okay, that one was a little rough to have to shoot down.)

We loaded the kids in the car and drove. The whole way they were guessing where our destination might be. When the Ferris Wheel came into view there was much screaming and cheering in the back of the van.
"The Fair! The Fair!"

Sure enough, we'd arrived at the fair. Rides, disgustingly delicious food (that you really can only get away with eating at a fair), animals, and a MONSTER TRUCK RALLY! Best. Adventure. Ever! I didn't take as many pictures as one might have thought I would, but I did take a few. Since there's not really much to narrate about a fair, I'll keep it pretty simple. So, without further ado...THE FAIR:
The boys were so excited about all the rides. Sadly, Josie wasn't tall enough to go on hardly any of the rides, so that was a disappointment for her, but Clayton and Noah were so happy!


My brother and his family met us there so the kids were able to go around to the rides with their cousins.


Poor Miss Girl, the Merry-Go-Round was the only ride that she was tall enough to ride (and even then, Justin had to go on it with her). I felt bad for her, but soon realized that she loved it and didn't mind riding the same ride over and over.

Mmmm, cotton candy. Totally a sticky mess, but it's the fair, what can you do??

Shortly after eating, my brother's family left. Not without making a trade first though. They took Josie home with them and we kept Landon with us. We then met up with some of our other friends and watched the pig races!!! I cannot remember a single year going to the Logandale Fair without seeing pig races! I'm glad to see that my boys get to experience this joy as well!

Oh yeah, the last race of the day? Weiner dogs dressed like (what else) hot dogs. Awesome.

Seeing the animals. It wasn't the most impressive of displays, but it was pretty cool.


The main event. The monster trucks! My boys were in Heaven! Big trucks, destruction, being able to be rowdy and loud in the stands!?! Are you kidding me!?! Awesome!
This is the Nightcrawler. By far my favorite! (Yes I admitted to having a favorite monster truck.)


We loved it, but Monster Truck Rallies definitely cater to a very specific demographic. There was MUCH good people-watching to be had (it was almost as entertaining as the event itself). As evidence, I give you exhibit A:
And exhibit B:
I cannot express how much I LOVE this! If you were to ask Noah what you're supposed to do at a Monster Truck show, this is what he'd show you. He's got it down if you ask me.
Clayton will do it too, although with less enthusiasm.
Landon just smiled. (Perhaps his family doesn't posess the 'white trash' gene as strongly as ours does...)
To sum up our Fair experience, I'd say that a good, nay GREAT, time was had by all. We were all exhausted when we got home, but can't wait to do it again next year!