The Frumps Visit The County Fair

We recently attended the County Fair.

This is a big deal in our family and an annual tradition.

First, there is the fair food.

Judah was in the mood for an ice cream cone.

Jericho walked away with some deep fried concoction.

Surprisingly, it was not the deep fried Twinkie he'd been thinking sounded so great on the way there.

Ahhh...mini doughnuts. The gold standard.

They always remind me of the time we were helping my dad move a family member from suburban civilization way out to the boondocks on a very rainy Saturday in Washington. Suddenly, my dad pulled off the country road into the parking area of a remote gas station and went inside for a snack. He emerged, his hands full with a two paper trays filled with great big globs of greasy grimy something-or-other and sticks one in through our car window under our noses, announcing excitedly, "Gizzards, anyone?"

I was scarred for life.

Mini-doughnuts, however, aside from smelling faaaar better than deep-fried gizzards, taste heavenly. Which I’m pretty sure mean they’re like manna, and therefore good for you. Ahem.

Judah in his chili pepper sunglasses cracks me up every time.

Of course no trip to the fair would be complete without stopping to see some farm animals.

A friend’s pig.

And you just haven’t lived until you’ve washed your hands at a porta-sink while tapping your toes to a country tune playing loudly at the nearby bandstand.

There was one exhibit not far from the animal barns that included a whole bunch of exotic animals we don’t often get to see up close.

Kookaburras. Australia’s laughing birds.

I really enjoyed getting them to laugh, but have to admit I would find them terribly obnoxious in a tree outside my bedroom window in the wee hours of the morning. Even if they are cute.

Also from down under, the kangaroo and wallaby exhibit. Here the giant rat wallaby bit Judah’s finger. There was a sign warning of the possibility, but Judah is just too quick. Thankfully it didn’t break skin.

**sigh** He’s a very hands-on kind of learner that way.

He then looked up an noticed that the animal handlers were allowing folks to touch a select few critters.

“Isn’t he so cute, mama? I want a bearded dragon. Please? I’ll keep it in my bedroom and feed it and everything.”

My answer was immediate. “No!” Oh, heavens no!

Imagine finding a colorful critter like that darting out from between the washer and dryer after it got lost in the house?

Because that is undoubtedly what would happen, and I just can’t live with that kind of stress in my life.

Now these guys were almost big enough for Judah to ride, and seeing the wheels turning in Judah’s head as he grasped the low-walled sides, their owner said, “No climbing into the exhibit. You may touch their shells with your hands.”

They did, however, allow him to hold this little reptile.

And, just to freak mom out, he had to go and hold an emperor scorpion.

And charm a snake.

“Aww…look, mama…he’s playing with me!”

The snake didn’t scare me so much. It was behind glass.

What really frightened me was that delighted look on my boys face while interacting with the deadly creature.

Because we live in rattlesnake country.

And people within walking distance of our house have had to call out animal control to rescue them from snakes on their property.

I quickly tried to distract him by dragging him over to the cage with the adorable little African hedgehog in it, which seemed a bit shy.

Unfortunately for me, there around the corner was this gator.

Which reminded Judah again of the bearded dragon, and because the owner was still holding it, he ran back over to see it once again.

The llama looked spitting mad (pardon the pun), so we kept a safe distance.

My sister was once spat upon by a llama (while she was pregnant and morning sick, mind you).

Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience, and we’ve all learned from it.

And this emu…well, frankly it looked a bit deranged.

It had orange eyes and turquoise skin.

And the way he kept leaning down and eyeing our boy let us know we should keep his curious fingers far from the enclosure.

I can’t recall the name of this fowl from the Amazon, but it had a body and legs like a turkey with a head and bill something like a black flamingo, topped with a curly feathered mohawk.

Perhaps the biggest attraction at the fair for our boys, however, was this:

Getting to stand inside a giant hamster ball bubble and roll around on the water in it.

The boys thought it was a huge thrill.

It was a lot trickier than it looked, standing up in a rolling bubble.

Ahhh...success. Pressing on the bottom and top at the same time, he did a complete turn around.

It was an unseasonably cool and windy day at the fair that day, but because our boys were laughing and having such a good time, they brought in some extra business for the attraction, and the operators let them stay in extra long.

They did not complain once.

Afterwards, the operator pushed their 'pods' over to the exit.

Jericho emerged headfirst.

Judah in breech position.

Jericho reported afterward that the inside of the bubble had a sour sponge smell. Eww.

Germaphobe that I am, I took one look at their now filthy socks and opted for another stop at the porta-sink to scrub down all their exposed skin.

Both boys talked about the attraction for days afterward, so it was a definite highlight for them.

And last, but not least, my favorite part of the fair:

The home and fine arts exhibits.

Though I love visiting these buildings anyway, this year was extra special for us because the boys and I had each entered items and wanted to find out if we’d won any ribbons.

Jericho entered this marvel. Captain America.

Jericho had been hoping for a first place blue ribbon, but he still got best of class.

Though as you can tell by his expression, he wasn’t too happy that his ribbon was pink.

This was Judah’s abstract work, painted last summer while his cousins were visiting.

And that is his blue ribbon for his division. He was thrilled beyond words. “I won? I won a ribbon?! Oh…I’m so proud!!”

I suppose it chafed a bit for Jericho to see his kid brother win a blue ribbon for what appeared to him to be more of a happy accident than a purposeful, time consuming rendering like his Captain America.

But when his attitude turned a little south about the whole issue, we had to stop and explain that we ‘can’t win them all’, and that he still needed to be happy and supportive in his brother’s success, just as Judah had been when we stopped first and found the pink ribbon hanging on Jericho’s work.

The photography exhibits were nearby, so we dropped in to see how my photo had done.

Nada. No ribbon in sight. Oh, well…cute kid/kitten photos aren’t for everyone.

We then meandered over to the textile arts building to see if my quilt and crocheted items had won.

I’d scrambled to get my pinwheel baby quilt done in time for the entry deadline, and knew it wasn’t my best work, but they were kind enough to still include it in a colorful display.

Wandering around to another portion of the large building, we happened upon my woolen granny square afghan, which apparently didn’t make the cut and was crowded together with other ‘losers’ on a rack up against a barren wall.

Hmmmph. They don’t know quality work when they see it, I thought indignantly upon seeing the 3rd of my 5 entries without a ribbon.

Then my earlier talk with Jericho came to mind and I felt the sting of guilt.

A winter scarf that I crocheted won a 2nd place red ribbon, but the item displayed in front of it blocked both my ribbon and my name and was in a glass case so I didn’t bother with the picture.

Finally, we located the display with my ripple afghan, and was delighted to see that it, too, had won a 2nd place red ribbon!

Afterwards, in keeping with our usual trip-to-the-fair tradition, we all went out for dinner at a diner near the fairgrounds.

All things considered, it was a winner of a day for our family at the fair!