State Fair

Gillispie Fam headed to the fair tonight! It is the first time in...um....forever! Seriously, I think Eric and I walked around for a few minutes once before we had kids, but our kids had NEVER gone before tonight. A mom with social anxiety and a mostly blind dad just do not mix. But, our kids begged us this year, and we had the funds to splurge a bit. We were blessed to get some $2 tickets from our neighbor, so SCORE there!

A nice lady across the table from us asked if we'd like our picture taken. Cool beans.

She asked if I would like my pic taken with 3 of the 4 kids too.Don't you love evening light? If only Bright were looking at the camera!

Fair scenes.We at LOTS of yummy food. Actually, the food was all Eric and I were looking forward to! We ate roasted corn on the cob (which was gone so quickly I didn't even get a pic!).
We ate Pizza on a Stick (which was the worst $9 ever, I thought). Taevy and Samren loved it.
The manly men digging into their manly sized corn dogs and pizza on a stick!

This was really a highlight--Kendi and her turkey leg! Her favorite food in the whole wide world is "chicken bone" (chicken legs, bone in). She can seriously eat 6 chicken legs in one sitting. We told her she could get a HUGE "chicken bone" at the fair, and she was not disappointed! Yes, it was about as big as her head!Bright is cheering here on--suck that thing down Kendi!
I ate some heavenly thing called "Pineapple Whip" that we didn't get a pic of. Just trust me. If you go to the fair and see it, try it! And of course, we had to finish the night with a yummy traditional funnel cake and cotton candy. Yummo! Next we went to the agricultural area, where I snapped this beauty of a pic at the "birthing center." Umm...yeah...new birth you say?
The kids and I (minus Samren and Dad) had a blast at the petting zoo. I mean really, where else can you see a kangaroo cuddling with a giant tortoise?!
This young camel was so sweet! He hung his whole neck out for us to hug.
This 4 horned sheep was an interesting-looking character!But really, the ostrich takes the cake, don't you think?
After the petting zoo we headed over to the area where they had lots of fun kid-friendly things to do. A giant wood block building area.... Giant bubbles. {Samren is really cheering Taevy on here!}

Biggest indoor sand pit anyone? Yeah, we didn't partake, but it looked fun!

Giant lego-building area is more our style!

We settled in to watch a milking demonstration. Kendi and Eric are in learning mode, as you can see.

Our friend, "Baby" gives an average of 8 gallons of milk every day--and she's not even a big producer. Holsteins can give up to 24 gallons of milk every day! The "Thank a Farmer" magic show was quite delightful for the kidlings.

Seriously, are the cute or what?!

There were a few "Africa" moments tonight. Recognize these baskets Ghana folks? Yep--straight from Bolga! Unfortunately, this (American) guy was straight for-profit. No fair trade. No employing folks in Ghana to make the baskets. You can buy these anywhere from 30-50 cedis each in Ghana ($20-$35) and this guy was selling a basic Bolga basket (like the one in the upper middle) for $370! Wow. Okay. Maybe I need to buy a few more baskets next time I'm in Ghana, and save them for my retirement fund!

We went past one booth that instantly reminded me of being at the Art and Culture Center in Accra. The dresses were in the exact styles I see there...exact fabrics. I was telling the family that it reminded me of Ghana when I saw the vendor. He asked where Bright was born--said he could tell he was African. Ha! Turns out the guy is from Mali. We talked about how we should retire to Ghana because it's so much cheaper than here. He had some beautiful golden shea butter. Funny how you instantly go into barter mode when you know you are talking with an African. "How much?" "Oh, for you? Five dollars!" [He really did give me a deal, as it was marked $12!]

The kiddos had a fun time on the for-sale play equipment. Since we have nothing but sticks and rocks in our backyard, this was quite the treat for them! At the end of the evening we strolled through the world's largest indoor candy store. They gave you a basket and everything was $3.69 a pound. It was full of old favorites that you don't see anymore. Fun.

By the end of the evening, this is how Kendi was hangin.' She looks how we all felt--tired but happy! We told her she looks like a giraffe in this picture with those long legs!
All in all, it was a really fun experience. We spent money on silly stuff, and yummy stuff, and funny stuff. The kids thanked us over and over again on the way how for taking them to the fair. [Nice to be thanked.] I think we will probably not make this an every year thing, so that it can remain very special when we do it. I don't know though...I could go for more of the fair food right about now!

Love,

Anita