Fair Day 2012

 Oh, the fair...I look forward to it all year. This year, we went with Clem's good buddy Taylor and the girls had a blast.

 The day we chose to take the girls to the fair was supposed to be the hottest day of the year (it was). We met up super early, just as the gates to the fair were opening. I thought we were so clever: outsmarting not only the crowds but the heat too. I was wrong on both accounts! At 9:00 it was already 77 degrees at the fairgrounds and the rides didn't open for 2 more hours! We made good use of the time, though, checking out the livestock for awhile.

Immediately after we entered the livestock barn, a big crowd down the row started clapping and cheering. I wanted in on the action and made a bee-line to this pen. Mama cow had literally just birthed this newborn calf. We watched them bond a bit and then got a mooooove on (get it??)

 Down the way were twin newborn calves a few days old, a boy and a girl. The fair had a suggestion board for their names: Clementine suggested Alabama and Calvin, Taylor suggested Clementine and Matthew. Aw!

 There were newborn chicks to see (no holding!)

 And a mama sow clearly working hard to birth her litter of piglets (we missed that action).

 Clem went fishin' and caught herself a few free classes in dance and tae kwon do!

 Finally, the rides were up and ready for these two. The girls had all day passes for the rides and made EXCELLENT use of them! Clem had a smile on her flushed face for several hours!

 This was our only hiccup of the day. The girls were so excited to go down the big old slide on their own. Taylor knew just what to do but, if you look closely at the picture, you'll see Clementine didn't. She threw the burlap sack over her shoulder instead of sitting on it and she got a bad burn on her back as a result. Poor babe. Believe me, it slowed her down not one bit!

 By lunch, it was getting pretty hot on the fairgrounds. We paused to eat sandwiches and snow cones and lots and lots of water.

 So it only made sense for the girls to ride the Sizzler with a very brave Susan!

Sweet Dutch was there, too, scoping out the scene and trying to stay cool. He slept almost the entire time and didn't complain once about the heat! He loved watching the ferris wheel in the shade while the girls hit up every single ride in the place.

 After 5 hours at the fair I had had my limit of 89 degree weather and, though she'd never admit it, I think Clementine had her limit too. I bribed her to leave without a tantrum with strawberries dipped in sprinkles on a stick. Don't judge me, it's all I had in my bag of tricks!

We had a wonderful day. Can't wait to do the fair again next year.