Fair fun

We have been on the go a good bit this summer, so we enjoyed a much slower pace this past weekend. It was nice because it was just us - no plans with anyone else, just Menke family time (not that we don't love our time with friends and family too!). We decided to go the Kent County Youth Fair in Lowell, which is the next town to the west of us. We weren't sure what to expect, but we thought we'd check it out.

It had rained a good bit the day before, so when we arrived, we found a pretty muddy parking lot, but thankfully we found a less muddy aisle to park in as I don't know if my little blue car could have got through some of the "roads". Alyssa's first comment when we got out of the car was "It stinks here" (that's my city girl!), but it was just the smell of the mud. We headed off toward the fair, and the fun began.

There was a tent with animals to pet, which Alyssa just loved. Lauren liked to look at the animals, but she wasn't convinced that they couldn't get her through the fence. She was a little skittish to say the least.

There was a special on rides until 6, so that was our first stop. Alyssa immediately chose to ride the roller coaster, and she absolutely loved it. She climbed on herself and sat right down next to another little girl. She tried to raise her hands, and you could hear her screeching and saying "whee" throughout the ride. So fun to watch her!

She chose a spinny ride next. She started out smiling, but by the end she was either bored or a little dizzy. Her smile wasn't nearly as big, and I said I think we should avoid any more of those (you know, she does get car sick after all!).

Poor Lauren wasn't big enough to go on either of these rides even though they were meant for kids. So we thought we'd all check out the Ferris Wheel. But even accompanied by a parent, she was too short to go on. She and I headed over to the carousel and the trucks while Daddy and Alyssa waited in line and rode the ferris wheel.

I laughed because I was holding Lauren in line for the trucks, so I just carried her over and buckled her in. Well, when the ride operator unbuckled her, I think she thought she couldn't walk or that she was only like a year old because he carried her back over to me. Something similar happened on the next ride too. The greatest surprise might have been though that she let these "strangers" carry her! Maybe someday she'll hit a growth spurt and look her age!

The girls chose to drive the space ships together...

and then Alyssa wanted to go down the fun slides. She was too small to go by herself, so I was chosen to go down with her. In all honesty, I think this might have been my first time down a slide like this. Together we climbed up the steps, got into our burlap sack, and wooshed down the slide. We both laughed and screeched, and I'm pretty sure we "caught air" going over the last bump. I was thankful that I went down with Alyssa as she might have been bounced right out of her lane!

By then it was time to make the night's big decision - what delicious fair delicacy to have for dinner. Lauren chose a hot dog and Alyssa a corn dog. They both chowed down and were ready to check out some animals. Both of the girls talked to the animals, but Alyssa was brave and pet any and all of them that she could.

There was a family fun show after this that we went to watch. It was an audience (read kid) participation show, and Alyssa was excited to get on stage. She was chosen to be a monkey, and she went up and practiced with the others and then headed back stage to wardrobe. Lauren, Daddy and I waited anxiously for her to come back out. When it was time, all the monkeys came back out but one - our Alyssa was missing. Just a few moments later, she came running out from the side of the tent, crying to us. We aren't sure what happened (whether they didn't have enough costumes or whether she just got stage fright), but that was the end of Alyssa' stage debut.

A local country band, The Scott Thompson Band, was playing that night as well, so we headed over to that tent to check them out. They were really good. They played mostly covers of other artist's songs, but they also had a few originals. The girls took to the open space in front of the stage and showed off their moves; they even got a shout out from the lead singer. During the break between sets, they were able to get some free bracelets, so they may have become groupies of their first band. We would definitely go see them again. 

All in all, it was a fun night. The weather was perfect, the size of the fair manageable, and the crowds not too big. We had a great time at the fair and both girls were talking about it the next day - Alyssa about her roller coaster ride and Lauren about the "hos" (aka horses).

I think Lauren might have been inspired by the clothes of many of the other fair goers as this was her dress up outfit the next day (isn't she adorable!). Alyssa, on the other hand, still preferred to be a princess!