Step Right Up, Folks!

Another year of corn dogs, cotton candy & "Can we do it again?!" has come and gone. And stomach-ache or not, we survived it.

I must say, though, this year was {far} more bearable than most. With the exception of a couple of days that convinced me we had arrived on the surface of the sun, the weather was incredible! And what's even more -- tolerable levels of people.

I'll take the heat over a {crabby} crowd any day.

Eric and I hit the ride scene on Thursday. It was one of the hottest days, but we found occasional refuge in the shade of telephone poles. There was not one line to be had. Not for the rides {or} the elephant ear stand! Did your jaw just hit your desk? 'Cause I totally heard it.

For those of you who may not know why such a statement is so unbelievable or would like to know what breed of people choose to stand in line to purchase an ear from an animal native to Africa, please allow me to explain: an elephant ear is a giant spherically-shaped scone, smothered in butter and either one or all of the following: powdered sugar, cinnamon & sugar, honey. They are usually boiling-lava hot but you eat them anyway because {even though your tongue can't actually taste it} your brain is telling you it's divine. It's a fact. Factual enough that the line for such a fried delicacy usually spans across at least half the entire area allotted for food vendors. {sigh}

This setup makes it irritatingly difficult for the ladies to make their way to the purse vendor on the far side {so I've heard...}

Saturday, I returned to the fair in the afternoon to play a small part in a Modbe fashion show. It was tons of fun with several cute girls and I got to wear an adorable top with some super-cute jeans. And we got our makeup done. What girl wouldn't want that?

I then got to meet up with one of my best friends {Suzanne Jarvis} and her husband {Jon} and their baby girl {Sydney}. We wandered through the animal barns and watched Syd squeal with delight at her first encounters with several animals: horses, goats, sheep, etc. The goats nibbled at her bare toes with their nimble lips and she giggled and giggled! It was {adorable}! We then enjoyed the final night of the rodeo with great seats and a full moon! And Suzanne got to experience Mutton Bustin' for the first time!

Monday, Levi, Eric & I made it to the Demolition Derby. It was great watching the clunkers go from the classic "boats" as we knew them to compact cars with no front bumpers and always-on windshield wipers. We got some nachos and Eric got a corn dog and we had a really nice, cool evening. After the derby, we grabbed some mini-donuts and Levi got a Tater-Pig, chatted up some friends and headed out before the crowds.

Fair 2009 -- Success