Our Visit to the Iowa State Fair

Today was our first visit to the Iowa State Fair this year. We usually go 4 or 5 times each year. Some of you may wonder if I am smoking crack. No, I assure you, I would be much skinnier if I smoked crack. We just LOVE the fair. This year, we only get to take the kids one time. This is both a good and a bad thing. Because....feeding kids at the fair is expensive, and slows you down, and you have to keep saying, stop that, get down from there, quit taunting that redneck...well, maybe not. And they whine a lot. "It's hot....I'm tired....my feet hurt." Blah, blah, blah. The state fair is not for weinies. We go for at least 9 hours each time. We have no room for complainers.

But on the other hand, we make so many memories. I have a picture of my son every year since he was one standing on the large scale in the varied industries building.

They print out a little card for you with the date and your weight that you can keep. It is fun to compare them year to year. I also weigh myself, to compare with the scale at home. I was pleased to see that the fair scale agreed with my home scale, that I had lost about 5-6 lbs so far.

Now here is the pic from the fair two years ago...

I notice I was considerably skinnier. But I hope i can get back to that with some work and patience. The fair is so much fun for us. We enjoy the food, the animals, the crafts, the gardens, and of course the people watching. It is almost a sport. Some young women decide that the fair is the perfect time to wear the most risque and almost illegal outfit they have. Guys wear shirts with the most ridiculous statements possible. Haircuts not seen since the late 80s suddenly surface. And of course many children walk around soaked to the skin.

Several fountains are located in the fairgrounds. Both boys got soaked to the skin. It is a great way to beat the heat, and of course it is free. The downside is spending the next hour or so in very wet clothes. This is also the first year my son didn't ride in a stroller. This was a bit of a nail-biting experience for us. Everyone was on guard. My son has a tendency to dart quickly away to look at some other thing, not even thinking about all the people around him. Next time I may take a cue from my guy and have my son hook my belt loop with his thumb, or hold my hand if he wants to go to the fair. He is not as docile as my guy's two kids though, and things that work for them don't always work for him.

The fair also boasts a lovely garden area completely designed by Master Gardeners. I didn't take many pictures yet, I will take more when I go again Tuesday. They had many different kinds of beautiful zinnias. I was impressed by the differing heights and colors. Hostas, water features, a children's area, and a tunnel completely covered by squash vines are located in this part of the fairgrounds.

My son and my friend's baby are checking out part of the children's garden area. My guy said absolutely not on a jeep planter in our front yard. LOL. The day before, we took our visitors to Reiman gardens in Ames. Check out my friend's blog post on her visit to Iowa and the butterfly gardens:

http://cestlaviemdw3437.blogspot.com/2009/08/central-iowa-my-exotic-vacation.html

We always love to go there, so we knew they would enjoy it too. The baby was fascinated by the butterflies.

We had so much fun while they were visiting. He is a darling baby, and of course my friend and I have known each other since I moved into the dorms on my first day at college. We work hard to maintain our friendship over the distance. We have watched each other's jobs, apartments, houses, boyfriends, and even a husband change over the years. Now we get to watch each other's children grow. I know of few greater pleasures than sharing life with a dear friend.

"A friend is someone that knows the song in your heart,
and can sing it back to you when you forget the words..."