All's Fair

Phew! Busy weekend. No time to blog. And I don't even have a good excuse like dodging a hurricane. So without further ado, here's what we've been doing...

Nothing says Great Minnesota Get-together quite like a Pronto-Pop and ICEE. Sydney really would be smiling if her mouth wasn't so full of food.

Our annual Larson family visit – complete with the largest cast of characters to date – got off to a later than usual start. It's harder and harder each year to coordinate schedules for all of us to go on the same day. But by lunch time we all made it, welcoming cousin Finn to this crazy family tradition.

It was extremely hot Friday. (Or maybe I was just overly steamed by the hour we wasted trying to find parking at all-ready-full Park-and-Ride lots. Never again will I trust the map in the Star Tribune.) It was so hot, my predicted 5,000 calorie day probably didn't reach half that amount. The heat zapped my appetite. Thank goodness for the chocolate malts in the Empire Building.

The kids had fun on the rides. The big slide was a must see/do. Sydney (who would ride with me) had to trash talk her brother (who would ride with Jeff) on the way up the steps, telling him that we were going to go faster and beat them. Because girls rule. But as it turned out, we had to wait to find a spot at the top, so the guys got at least a 30-second head start. Undaunted, Sydney giggled all the way down, then looked at AJ and announced, "But we had more fun!"

Next up, the giant carousel: 

After that, we walked through far too many animal barns. My kids are past the point of awe at the sight of the big pig and row after row of cows. (At least that's the excuse I'm using to cover up the fact that I have no pictures of it.) AJ is far too practical. We were walking somewhere between the horses and goats when he complained, "I'm tired of having to watch for poop!"

His favorite part of the Fair was the Minnesota Twins display. He played in a mock-game:

And practiced his pitching.

As did Jeff.

(Jonathon and Jessica did too, but I'll be nice and not post the photos here.)

If I were giving out a prize for the most clever booth, it would go to Ocean Spray. Free samples of various types of juice, plus a mock cranberry bog.

Yup, check out what AJ, Jessica and her friend Maria are standing in. AJ was hesitant at first to join them, but once he was in, didn't want to get out.

Jonathon, standing off to the side, commented, "And that's where they make the juice you just sampled."

Sydney's favorite part of the fair was the discovery of a tutu at one of the many booths in the Bizarre. Amazingly, she chose a cream colored one instead of pink. Of course she simply had to wear it right away. It now includes remnants of the gooey chocolate chips from Sweet Martha's cookies (Mommy's favorite part of the fair), but those cookies make it totally worth it.

At last we made it to the "Kid-way". I'd bought tickets in advance, otherwise we probably would have skipped it, we were so tired by then. The kids were glad we stopped. And so am I, if for no other reason than it gave me the photo opp below:

I think this picture sums up my daughter's personality perfectly. Decked out in diva sunglasses, princess shirt and ballerina skirt, she can't hide her tomboyish tendencies. She headed straight for the motorcycle ride. It included fancy cars, but nope, she wanted the bike.

Another fun and exhausting year. The kids are already asking when we can go again.