Fun at the Fair

We had a great time at the fair. (Except for the last 5 minutes when we were trying to get 3 tired kids back into the van and convince them our evening must come to a close.) I seriously enjoy these things as much as the kids. And, yes, part of that is just because I have fun watching them get excited. But the other part is that I love the atmosphere...and the rides...and the funnel cakes.

They all loved this ride. Drue kept honking her horn and had a big smile on her face, then the ride jerked to a start all of a sudden and a brief look of terror replaced it.

 

Reese and Tate popping a wheelie on their hog. Tate sat behind Reese on the same bike.

 

The Octopus was the first ride we saw as we were walking up to the fair. I went on and on about how much fun it was and how it used to be my favorite ride at carnivals when I was little. So I was very excited to see that the girls were tall enough to ride if an adult was with them. Then man who came over to lock our car was really nice and joked with the girls, etc. Then he asked, "Do you want to spin?". I looked at the girls uncertainly and just said, "Uhhhhh....". The next thing I know, he spun our car with all his might and my breath escaped me! The girls were squealing and when I could breathe again, I started laughing and looked down...we were already up in the air! He spun us around so hard I couldn't even feel us moving upward.

 

It is hard to try and act calm for your kids' sake when you are scared out of your mind. When the ride really got going, we were still spinning like crazy and dipping up and down way faster than I remember that ride EVER going when I was little! I was screaming like a little girl. Couldn't be helped. Reese kept hollering, "My tummy feels funny! My tummy feels funny!" and I was so glad we hadn't eaten anything yet. When I finally got my bearings, I looked over at Drue to make sure she was ok and asked if the ride scared her. "No" she said, "It just startled me! I love this ride!".

Every bone in my body felt every bit of their 32 years when we finally came to a stop. I thought our car would never stop spinning. I will let you know when my head does...

I love to watch Tate at things like this. He just takes it all in. He is a people watcher. He loves to explore every part of everything. David and I took turns climbing the steps of a huge slide with him and sliding down on a felt bag. We would barely get to the bottom and he would shout, "Again!". He also kept pointing to a ride that just went around and around in a big circle, upside down, and wanted very badly to ride it. We declined.

 

David rode the ferris wheel with the girls and I rode the Scrambler with them...twice. I would much rather ride the ones that go 1,000 miles an hour, than ride the huge ferris wheel that just stops at the top and gives you too much time to ponder your car unhooking or the whole ride tipping over.

Drue first announced that she wanted an Octopus ride in our backyard, then later decided that she would like to live at the fair instead.