A Day at the Fair

 Make no mistake. I LOVE the fair; namely the Clearfield County Fair. It's the one place that we went every year as kids. Mom and Dad would take us to the fair and Grandma and Grandpa would usually give us a couple bucks to spend on whatever we wanted while we were there. It was a big deal. Now it's my turn. My kids are growing up very similar to the way I grew up. No vacations. No beach trips. No Disney World. But the fair, yep, I can do that one.

Thursday we set off for the fair. None of my three best girls could do the trip with me, nor could my main man, so I set off with three kids to the fair by myself. One of the many things that I love about the Clearfield Fair. . .it opens at 10 a.m. We left the house at 10:11 a.m. and we were there before 11 a.m. to start our day. We set off for the rides, and the kids were in their glory.

We started off slow with Eric's pick of the "Spinning Bears".

They love to ride . . . no matter what the ride. The train was a bit slow, but they said it was fun! However, I did notice they didn't ask to ride it again.

Eric really loved this bounce house/maze that was there. The man running it was so nice. He'd let the kids go through 3 times before they had to move on.

I loved these tea cups!!! They were so pretty! I would have rode them if I didn't have to stay with Easton!

Riding the roller coaster. Eric was almost not tall enough to ride. The guy let him on this time. The next time they wanted to ride, another guy was there who wouldn't let him ride. We lucked out the first time! Eric did really well and didn't get upset over it. I was so proud of him!

After riding for a while, it was lunch time. So this frugal mama had my cooler packed and tucked in the bottom of the stroller. We headed for the "grove" at the fair grounds and ate our lunch. We walked around to the animal barns to let our stomachs settle before we started on any more rides.

Easton loved all the barns and squealed at all the animals. A friend of mine had goats there so we played with them.

This picture is for Aunt Coleen and Uncle Brian. Easton was very excited over the sheep too! It was a good place for him to stretch his legs and get out of the stroller for a bit.

The bumper cars - this year they were mini cars that the kids could drive and reach the pedals!! Eliza and Eric both love bumper cars but say that they are really hard to drive. I think they like going with someone better than driving themselves.

This ride Eric did not want to go on. I practically forced him to try it because he rode it last year. Once he rode it, he LOVED it!! I think it was his favorite! (Another ride I wanted to try!)

It felt good to go and do something so fun with my kids for a day. It's been a long, trying summer. I feel like I haven't been a very fun parent and there's been lots of sad days and stressful times. I want the kids to have time to just be kids. The fair is just the place for that. Going during the day worked out great. There wasn't a lot of people there and we rode rides for hours. We also watched a disco dogs show, which the kids just loved! We also got to watch a show by "Buffo, the World's Strongest Clown" which maybe should have been called the World's Craziest Clown, but he was really fun and loved the kids. Eliza and Eric wanted to be picked to go up on stage, and the last act that he did with volunteers, Eliza got picked! I am amazed at how much she is growing up. She never wanted to do things like that before.  The kids really wanted to see the circus show at the fair, so we stayed until 7:30 for the circus show, and I have to say, it was worth it. It was a great show.  

I've heard people complain about the price of the fair, but to me, we went and had a great day for under $50. We did stop for an afternoon ice cream at our favorite ice cream place. I even let the kids play one game each. . . which made me think I surely must be getting soft in my old age! I have such great memories of the Clearfield Fair. . . memories as a child, as a teen, and as a young adult on some of my first dates with Craig. Now, I have the chance to make new memories with my children. Memories of a day that started at 10:11 a.m., and ended at 9:07 p.m. when we pulled back into the garage. Yes, that's right, we took 11 hours for a day at the fair. Easton was a trooper, riding in the stroller all day long. A DAY at the fair was a bit of an understatement!! As we walked out of the fair grounds at 8:30, Eric said he wasn't tired but he was ready to go home. Eliza still wasn't ready to go home, and actually whined a little while we were leaving! I was happy, but exhausted and ready to hop back on I-80 and go home. I took 4 grubby, dusty bodies back home, slumped into bed & felt happy that we could look on this day as a FUN day in the summer of 2012.

Enjoying some GOOD ice cream on a hot day at the fair. That's surely a tradition in our family!