The last weekend of August we went to the county fair. It was Matthew's first experience with the fair, and first time really riding rides by himself. He had a great time! He's been becoming so much more adventurous with new things. I also wanted to check out the needlework and canned goods entered into competition. That was boring for Matthew so I was pretty quick and didn't get any photos. I'll definitely be entering something next year.
We started off getting Matthew his unlimited ride wristband and finding the Kiddie Land area. We spent about what I paid (half price) even though he rode the rides a couple of times. Apparently there were more rides geared for smaller kids along the midway, but we just walked around the perimeter. We ran in to a couple of families from my mom's group while we were here, but didn't get much time to hang out with the kids all going in opposite directions.
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| Giddy-up! |
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| "I'm in the dragon's tummy!" |
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| Dizzy Dragons |
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| Tick Tock Crocodile |
Matthew BEGGED to go on the climbing/slide structure. He's been avoiding slides for some time, and just recently started climbing to the upper areas of play structures. We have no idea why, but he gets scared. After watching for a bit we decided to let him try. They had a couple of friendly and very helpful employees making sure the kids made it up and then back down again, even if they needed help. Much to our surprise Matthew climbed on up with no problems at all. The second time he needed a little help, but he still did great. Both times at the slide the employee had to reach up and hold Matthew's hand to get him to come down. But then he got to play in the ball pit - his ultimate goal I think.
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| Climbed right up |
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| "Can you help me?" |
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| Throwing balls |
We saw some tigers and bears. We didn't wait to watch the tiger show but enjoyed seeing them in the ring while sitting down with a snack. We did manage to catch the last few minutes of the bear show though. Matthew wasn't too interested.
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| Tigers at the fair |
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| Bear show |
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| "Can I get down now?" |
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| Hanging out after the show. On the left there is a small pool with a bear and a ball in it |
After the bears we came around to the Heritage area. I think we spent the most time there. Mike said that this area and associated activities made the trip out to the fair and finding parking worth the trouble. All of the tractors on display by the Chesterfield Tractor Club had signs saying "please do not sit" so I thought we'd have to disappoint Matthew. However a very nice young man offered to let Matthew sit on his tractor. It's a 1950's John Deere that he had restored from a rusty wreck. He was so patient telling Matthew what each and every lever, gauge, etc. did. Multiple times. A couple of the tractors had long belts attached and were running mills. They were making corn meal when we were there and offered us a bag. I had a really nice chat with a woman by the mill. She said several people turned them down saying they wouldn't have any idea how to use cornmeal. ! If that's not a statement on how reliant our society has become on processed food, I don't know what is.
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| Checking out a big tractor |
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| "I can drive" |
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| Explaining how the hydraulics work. For the 5th time. |
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| Trying out an even bigger and older tractor |
We fed a few animals in the petting zoo.
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| Feeding a goat. Just like at Granddads. |
And rode a (free!) tractor driven barrel ride. We got a little nervous when it drove a bit out of our sight, but Matthew had a great time. He ended up riding this thing 3 times!
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| Barrel ride |
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| The barrel "train" |
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| Passing the oxen drawn covered wagon |
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| Second ride, right up front |
Then we said hi to the two oxen and hopped in the covered wagon for a ride. It was slow and a bit jerky. I can't imagine sitting in one day after day for months on end, traveling to a homestead in the west.
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| Checking out an ox |
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| Sitting in a covered wagon |
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| The obligatory group selfie with pouty Matthew |
Of course I had to check out the spinning demonstration. When it came out that I also was a spinner she chatted quite a bit more with us from everything from wheels (mine is the brand she sells) to her great grandbaby. After spinning with Matthew she pulled off the part he had spun and made him a little bracelet to wear.
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| Showing Matthew how to spin |
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| This is how you hold the wool |
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| Matthew spinning |
And we finished up the day with one last barrel ride. All in all we had a great time, mostly because of the wonderful people we met.
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| Third ride |
