State Fair Attempts 1 and 2

If you don't know of my love for the Iowa State Fair, you don't know me ;)

I have missed going to the Iowa State Fair only one year,the year we got married. My grandparents camped at the state fair every year, and in fact, my grandpa developed pancreatitis during the state fair when I was 10 years old. My grandma took him to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. He was there for 16 days and ended up dying there.

So, part of my attraction to the fair, I'm sure, is nostalgia. That being said, I'm pretty sure I'd still be a fan! There is so much to do, and the majority of it is free. There are livestock, a cow made out of butter, an area with fountains and misters to cool off on hot days, I really could go on and on. We don't even enter the midway and we still have a blast every year!

I have talked Jason into going every year, and he has grown to love parts of it as well. Yes, you can spend a ton of money at $4 a corn dog, but we've learned what we really like and what we can live without. We usually pack a bag with pb & j's and a couple of water bottles, and then splurge on a thing or two.

This year we were set on not going, but once the first week of August hit I got the itch!!! We talked about it and decided we should just go for it, that Micah was old enough to enjoy some of the attractions and that Jude would do okay.

Attempt #1:

Our initial attempt didn't make it much further than just talking about it. We planned on going on the opening day, Thursday August 12. Our friend Missy was flying solo that week while her husband was out of town. She was interested in joining us and embracing the chaos. We were all set to go, and then the forecast came out. The high that day was to be 96 degrees, with a heat index in the 110's! Um, I love the fair, but I love my children more. We decided to scrap that idea and re-scheduled to go that next Tuesday.

Attempt #2:

Tuesday morning Jason got up with the cows...and Micah, of course, and began packing our pb & j's. By the time Jude and I were up and moving the car was ready to be packed. The forecast looked pretty good, a high of 75 with a 50% chance of rain. Although they were calling for rain we decided 50% wasn't too shabby. There are plenty of buildings and we could dodge in and out as the rain let up.

In true Micah style, he fell asleep about 14 minutes into our trip. This kid loves movement and would still sleep in a swing if they made one that he could fit into. I should just get him a hammock!

Here had to have his sunglasses on...little did we know, we wouldn't need those!

Here he is a little further down the road! His glasses slid down and he just kept on sleeping!

We got about 30 minutes from Des Moines and it just started to downpour...and I mean DOWNPOUR!!! We looked at the radar (shoulda done that before we left!) on Jason's phone and saw that Iowa was covered in green...not good! Since we were so close we decided to wait out the storm and called our good friend Rebekah. Jason (her husband is also named Jason) and Rebekah lived in Iowa City when we moved here. There were actually one of the first couples we met, as Jason (my husband) and Bek worked at a coffee shop together. They lived just 2 blocks from us, so we spend a lot of time together. We share many great memories with them. They have a daughter, who is too cute and SUPER smart, who was born just 5 days after Micah. They have since moved to Des Moines...and we miss them! Jason (her husband) just left for Afghanistan for over a year and Bek is expecting their next bundle in December.

On with the story...

Bek graciously let us hang out at her place, for about 3 hours. It was a great time, which was totally God ordained, as I don't know if we would've ever made the time to visit her! Micah and Ava hit it off and ran all over the house! We love you Bek, thank you for your generosity!

After hanging out there we went to the mall to grab some lunch and burn off some more energy. I should clarify, it was still pouring down rain! So not cool!

We decided to drive back towards the east side of DesMoines, where the fair is and see what the weather was like. By then it was 3, so we were also faced with the decision, spend $ on the admission to the fair for just a couple of hours or give up and go home.

We stopped at the Bass Pro Shop for a potty break for yours truly and to try to feed Jude before trying to go to the fair. By this time it was still raining, but had begun to let up. I ran in to go pee and when I stepped in the door, I knew what decision we should make. This place was awesome! We let Micah burn off some more energy, as you'll see below, and then headed home for a relaxing evening!

Playing with a pop gun. I didn't show him how it works, he was satisfied with just looking at it!

MMM nothin says 'I love you' like coyote and fox urine!!!

They have a HUGE fish tank along their back wall. Micah loved looking at the 'shish'.

Micah loved the mini-ATVs. We let Jude have a go of it too. He just drooled on it ;) Soon enough I'm sure I will be holding him back from anything and everything that moves, Jude that is. We have a feeling that he will be more fear-less than Micah is. He's just stronger willed and doesn't get as upset about the little (or big) things!

There were probably 10 boats that were for sale there. Micah tried to get in every one. As you can tell, he wanted to be in the drivers seat!

"It's a Rum-Rum!"

Jude chilled in the stroller or in my arms most of the time. He really was a trooper considering all that we put him through.

Although this was my intial and fleshly reaction to not going to the fair, I knew without a doubt that God had other plans for the day. We enjoyed a relaxed day as a family, spend some great time with a good friend, and got to enjoy some spontaneous fun!

Stay tuned for my next post:

State Fair Attempt 3

Think it can't get any better...stick around, my friend. Stick around!!!