Year 2, Day 220: It's Fair Day!

Let the pictures tell the story:
It was a PERFECT day weather wise! 80 degrees, bright blue skies, great breeze!  

I did it! I got a "mouse" ear, which is a mini elephant ear.  It was $2 Tuesday, meaning it only cost $2 per person over the age of 3 to get it, plus every vendor had one of their items, or a version of them, for $2.  I spent $26 total for the day, including parking, gate admission and treats.  That's not bad at all!  I'm so glad that we were able to go, just the 4 kids and I.  I made Benaiah the other "parent" so the others would listen to him and it helped me have an extra set of eyes on everyone.  He also carried the backpack with our lunch in it, which did make his back hurt a bit.  Otherwise, he did well helping me navigate the crowds and the whiny kids and keeping the atmosphere more calm than if I had gone alone.  Kudos to Benaiah!

Last night I played around with my DSLR a bit to get different shots of the clouds.  Here's one.

And here's another with a truer color scheme.

Because I picked up a supplement from a friend on my way to the fair, I came into the fairgrounds from a different street than I normally do.  I ended up in a parking lot on the outside of the fairgrounds, on the northside, which was new to me.  But, the gate had this lovely sign.  And it was exactly where I wanted us to start anyway, with the agriculture buildings, the pioneer village, and Little Hands on the Farm.  There were also plenty of tractors for Abishai to enjoy.

Teenagers and their earbuds of course.

First stop was the bathroom in the nearest building.  Most buildings are air conditioned and have bathrooms.  This was the Farm Bureau building with some basic information on corn.  They give away free popcorn at noon, but we weren't around fr that.

In the Glass Barn, it was all about this year's theme, which I'm assuming was the soybean since it was everywhere.  Blech.  Unless it's being used as fuel, I'm not a big fan of soybeans.  Boys shouldn't drink soy milk or have many soy products because there is a higher level of estrogen in the beans.  Soy also messes with my stomach.  But I did tell them to go and learn something and of course they gravitated twoards the screens where they could plant, take care of, harvest and sell soy or corn.

Kill those weeds!

There was a great display of  John Deere equipment which was a big hit for all the kids!  Abishai especially loved trying them out.  Then I had a dream about them during naptime later in the day where Jared brought an old 4 wheeler home, tok off the cage and was going to put the cage on his truck bed or something.  Anyway, weird.

We then passed the old steel saw mill in the pioneer village. 

It's run on a steam engine!  The kids were like, ew! Look at all that black smoke! So I told them that's what Thomas the Tank Engine runs on.  They weren't impressed.  Pioneer village is exactly what it sounds like.  People dress up in period costume and there's lots of booths that focus on artisan things like quilts, woodwork, metal work and fresh goodies like maple syrup and pies.

They also have a few animals that you would find one a typical farm like oxen, a draft horse, cows, and sheep.  Abishai was very afraid of the animals, especially the oxen when we were leaning near the stall and it's head came up.  Abishai clung hard to me, he was so scared.  But he did enjoy seeing the smaller, younger cows.

Then we went through the very croweded "Little Hands on the Farm" exhibit, which doesn't change much from year to year.  You "harvest" i.e. pick up, different produce like a bag of corn or soybeans, a pretend egg, apple, peppers, tomato, etc. and then "sell" them at the store to get a coupon for a free real treat at the store like milk, a cheese stick, chips, juice, etc.

Abishai listened well and was able to participate and get all the items with little help.  It was crowded, so it took awhile to get through the store part.

Looking at his goodies. 

Planting seeds!

You could even shovel pretend horse poop!  We skipped that part.

I had to push Abishai around, but he traded in some pretend soybeans for a tractor ride!

He wasn't afraid of the pretend animals, lol!  He also got to see me "milk a cow" and we touched sheep wool for a milk carton and bottle of lanolin lotion.  Then it was already time for lunch, because by the time everyone gets fed in the morning and we get out the door, it's already mid morning.  By the time we get somewhere, we are starting to feel the hungry pains.  So, before our big walk to the other side of the fairgrounds, we stopped and ate.  I will take note here that the 3 older kids packed their own lunches without complaint and they all included fruit and/or vegetables and protein.  It wasn't all just fruit snacks and granola bars.  We've done enough field trips in the past where we've brought our lunch that I didn't even have to teach them this.  I LOVE that! Learn by watching!  I did make everyone carry their own water bottles to ease the burden on Benaiah.

Before we headed towards the south side of the fairgrounds, we walked through this set of 3 train cars the historical society put together featuring inventors from Indiana.  They first had a panel for the process of inventing: identifying the problem, coming up with solutions, prototypes, testing, patents and selling the products.  I didn't make them read all the panels because I knew we had limited time before Abishai would be ready for a nap.  That's my biggest regret is that I felt rushed.

And this is why.  The fairgrounds is built around a dirt track.  I believe it's only 1 mile around, but it makes for a lot of walking.  It does keep the crowds thinner though.  They do horse cart racing here and have some barns for that.  All the big buildings are on the southside of fairgrounds, and that's where we went for the Lego exhibit, and the homeschooling convention, and I've been there multiple times for concerts, hockey games, etc etc.  Many times, there's multiple events going on at the same time.  And it's located a tad northwest of downtown on purpose.  There is parking inside the oval, and that's where I usually end up, so the walk is a little less, but that's ok.  I'm glad that the crowds have been big this year.  With kids in school already, you just don't know who will show up.  Although, there seemed to be a lot of younger kids there.  And some schools will go to the fair for field trips.  There's also a kiddie land of amusement rides on the southeast corner for littler kids and the big, big rides are on the west side.  I miss my mini PEI fair where you can see absolutely everything in half a day, lol.  We could actually take in a few shows, too.

There weren't many pigs and goats and sheep yet, or regular horses for that matter, because the fair goes over two weeks and 3 weekends, so farmers only come in for part of those days.  But they did have the 1,000 lb pig to show and of course some sows and piglets.  Abishai enjoyed seeing the baby animals rather than the full size animals.  He did make the noises, too.  I know that my older kids find it extremely boring, so we didn't tour the full length of every barn.  However, they were very kind and let Abishai experience seeing these guys for the 2nd or 3rd time.  At this point, Benaiah was starting to get really tired (he's been staying up too late) and needed to find a water fountain and such.

Oooo!  They had some interactive kiosks!  And I downloaded their app last minute and it was EXCELLENT!!!!  It showed where we were and where the different animals were and when all the shows were, etc.  It was extremely impressed.  And by the way, they have an air conditioned trailer for nursing moms with rocking chairs and such.  I think it was one of the first years I've been there that I didn't need something like that.

Doughnut burgers!  Reminds me of PEI Burger Love!

Abishai did like these cows.  I love the color of the brown and white one.  I know they are stinky, but I have always admired how God made each and every creature with their own characteristics and functions.  I can look at a cow and say, wow, that's wonderfully and beautifully made!  And yummy in my tummy!

Yeah for big brothers who willingly pick up baby brothers so momma doesn't have to.  Abishai was super excited about "bunny hops!"

And the ducks!  He knew exactly what they were and started saying, "quack, quack," right away!

Check out that huge grin!  He wasn't even scared when one of them honked really loudly!  I think it has to do with the fact that his blankie has ducks on it. 

After hearing about food for 3 hrs straight, they finally all got their treats.  I got a lemonade shake up for the 3 younger ones and I to share, while Benaiah got his own.  Then I paid for Benaiah to get two deep fried oreos, I got the mouse ear, Justin got cotton candy, Keturah got dippin' dots and Abishai got bites from the rest of us.  Again, simple and cheap.

I don't remember seeing this "ride" last year.  I think it's a permanent exhibit though.  It's ski lifts that went down the whole length of the southside of the fairgrounds between the buildings and the grandstand.  How cool!  I have no idea how much it cost though.  The pillars are huge, so I can't imagine this being a temporary thing.  Maybe the pillars are there year round and they take the chairs down or something.

Deep fried oreos!  They cost $1 each!

Dippin' Dots!

The kids were getting very, very restless, but I ducked into the draft horse barn because, horses. And I'm very glad I did!  I was confronted by this gorgeous wagon from none other than my favorite brand of essential oils out of Colorado!  I had no idea they had a mule team!  I recognized the logo and color scheme right away.  Super cool!  The fair has had the Budweiser draft horse team there often, so having big names aren't a new thing.  But sweet!

Beautiful stall decor and the horses were immaculate!  Large black gorgeous beasts!  I am in love!  The power in those muscles are incredible and beautiful I tell ya!  Any horse lover will tell you that.

But we also enjoyed the mini donkeys, mules, jackasses, etc.  There was one really large mule that was braying in a stall a row over and we couldn't tell if it was an animal or a adult person or what until I heard the second part of the "hee haw."  Abishai didn't want to be near that of course.  This particular mini in the picture's coloration was gorgeous of course!

The fair also has a mini area for a "nursery" where cows and one or two day old calves are.  Seriously, this little one is only 2 days old!  I believe the cows give birth here on the fairgrounds.  Awww....

This big bag of cotton candy was $2!

Always large tractors with large tires.  Always.

Benaiah's new ride!  With a price tag of $7,000, it costs as much as a car!

Dump truck!!

Benaiah traced "Bwop Bwop" in the dust which is the noise that Abishai makes for big diesel engines.

The kids thought this was super gross, but this a live surgery on a dog by the Purdue vet school!  I think they were probably doing a neutering or something.  It was a female large dog.  Anyway, so cool!  They were going to do another one later as well.  They even had a close up of the surgery site on the tv screen.  Love it!

Abishai fell asleep on the way home, but we were able to transfer him to bed pretty easily and went back to sleep.  Then they the others did their screen time.  I had Keturah try out "Oceangirl" which is about a girl that lives alone on an Island and some underwater research station finds her.  The tape was a bit garbled, so it was hard to understand their words and I think Keturah tired of it easily because when I got up from my nap, she had switched it to something else.

Daddy! It's corn on a truck! Abishai understands that trucks transport things! I think he see the car carrier on Tayo and other shows.  Neat!

Two little kernels of corn from his corn on the cob ready to be transported!

Another view of my mini elephant ear.  It had a little sugar and cinnamon on it.  It wasn't as fancy as ours were last year with berries and such on them.

Look, ma, it's a toilet seat!  Almost done!  Just a few more touchups!

Abishai and Socks say good night to Justin.  Of course, Justin didn't drink enough while we were out and he got very sick with a pounding headache.  He ended up throwing up in his top bunk and we didn't have a mattress cover on it, yuck!  He threw up a couple more times while lying down on the bathroom floor.  I had offered a hat to him before we left the van to go into the fair and he refused.  So, next time, I'm going to insist on it.  I guess he really does get heat stroke easily, poor thing.

And, we were all exhausted.  I couldn't even finish this post.  Why oh why did everything have to fall on the week before vacation? Maybe so I can appreciate vacation more? Not really because vacation is exhausting for me usually, too.  But, it's a change of scenery and I enjoy watching the cousins play with each other.  I can't wait to see how the girls interact with Abishai.  Should be tons of fun!