State Fair and New Hair

First off, a couple of gifts Elsa got for her b-day that I wanted to share. I didn't have any decent photos of them until now.
Here are Elsa and Lila in a present from Grandma and Grandpa E... a big bouncer! They go crazy in it. It's excellent for wearing them out when they get wild. It should be even more perfect during winter.


Here's another great gift. Grandma and Grandpa R got her some of her own personalized M&Ms! How cool is that? She loves them, of course.


Gotta love the State Fair. I don't think I ever loved it more than I do now. It's so much fun with the kids, and we can justify spending a lot more money!


One of the first things we tried was Little Farm Hands. It was up on Machinery Hill. Each kid gets a bucket and an apron, and then you walk through a farm, perform different tasks, and collect eggs, wool, milk, etc. At the end you get to cash everything in and choose a food item. They had canned goods, mini cereal boxes, apples, a stuffed animal, chips, tons of stuff. Elsa chose an apple and Lila chose Honey Nut Cheerios. I was surprised. I would have been all over the toy and the chips.


Lila with her bucket and apron.


I can't explain this photo except for that it must have been State Fair magic. It was Elsa's idea to sit on this pumpkin and pose nicely for a photo! And a lovely one it is.


The kids planted some seeds and dug up dirt. They had to do all kinds of stuff and it took probably 20+ minutes. It was almost too long to hold their attention, but it was good for photo ops.




Looking lost in the mini corn field.


It was fun to have Auntie Jenny and Uncle Shane meet us at the fair! Here they are with the kids in the food building.


Lila executes perfect State Fair manners and chows down.


Elsa and Shane check out the cows.


Lila liked the baby piglets in the pig barn.


The kids pet a calf in the baby animal barn. It took Lila awhile to warm up to the animals, especially the cows. She'd stare at them with wide eyes and yell,"Big, BIG!" as we walked through the cow barn. If we tried to get her out of the stroller to pet one, she'd start to cry and say,"I no want him to eat my shoes!" Tim said, "No, you're going to wear him for a pair of shoes!"


The fam.


The moment had arrived! Tim and Shane hold Elsa and Lila in front of Elsa's favorite ride, Ye Old Mill. She'd been talking about it and patiently waiting for a whole year.


We spent way too much time in the kiddie midway, but the kids had a blast. Bumper boats...


Whale ride...


Airplane ride. Elsa said this one was her favorite. They also went on the carousel, but I was too busy wrastlin' with my $8 Turkey leg to take pics.


Lila and her new haircut! The bangs were in her eyes, and the rest was always somewhat reminiscent of Nick Nolte's mug shot. Not any more. Elsa just wanted a trim. They're ready for school!