Cream Puffs, Racing Pigs, and Food on a Stick--Oh, My!

We are back from a fun, exhausting, hot day at the fair yesterday! Little guy was a trooper as he missed his afternoon nap, but kept on being a good sport. We ate our way through the fair and have lived to tell about it. Let's start at the beginning of our day, shall we?

That's right...food on a stick. Isn't that what fair is all about? And this year they debuted something quite different that Mike was very excited to try. He loves chocolate more than anyone else I know (which is saying something since I am a chocoholic too) and he adores bacon. So when they announced they were serving chocolate covered bacon on a stick he knew that he'd have to give it a whirl. Sounds crazy, right?

It really wasn't too bad. Actually if you think salty/sweet combos like chocolate covered pretzels then you are on track. It was cold (so the chocolate would stay hard in the heat) so it didn't really have that bacon flare that you'd expect. It was something that I'd have again, just not every week or anything!

Next we saw the racing pigs. This is a tradition at State Fair, but a couple years ago they changed the company that comes in and does it. I have to admit that I really like the other company better. They just raced pigs, but they had a race through the water too. It was funny and they seemed really professional. The company now races pigs, ducks, and goats and they introduced a pig that swims this year. The tiny baby pig only swam about 2 feet and he held it the whole time. Maybe they are working towards doing it on a bigger scale, but they just don't seem as great as they used to be. Little guy seemed to be watching and we did enjoy it. It is a tradition that cannot be missed!

And cream puffs...you just must have a cream puff if you come to the Wisconsin State Fair! And this was little guy's first time time having one. He really like it and ate it the same way he does if we give him a taste of ice cream. He gets really still and opens his mouth for us to put in the spoon. Then he oh, so gently closes his mouth around it and lets it melt/dissolve on the edge of his lips and mouth. It is so funny to see! He has had almost no sweets in his life (other than his first birthday cake) so we don't mind giving him a taste of some of these once a year goodies! He liked the whipped cream so much that he licked the plate off and then cried when it was gone.

There were lots of other great things to see like the Lumber Jills,

the Budweiser Clydesdales,

animals, and a HUGE toy tractor display.

And then there were all the things we didn't get too! It was a fun and busy day.

The Kelty was in full force and we were glad we didn't have to worry about navigating a stroller through the crowd. Little man really enjoyed his vantage point and kept a close eye on the ceiling for fans, as he loves them so. There were some HUGE ones in the animal barns so he wasn't disappointed! He got to see some animals that were new to him and participated in a lot of people watching. I feel like we are always getting to see more of his personality and right now he is a pretty serious, observant little person. Many of our pictures make him look like he is upset or sad, but overall I really think he was enjoying himself. In new situations he just like to watch and then the next time he is more confident and gets sillier. It will be interesting to see what he is like next year at the fair.

I am so grateful for our beautiful family day at the fair. The weather was great, the food was yummy, the fair was fun. To make things even more relaxing we set a dollar limit for the day so neither of us had to worry if the other thought we were spending too much. We came in $8 under what we were free to spend for the day! It was nice for both of us to not have to worry about money and to actually even be encouraging the other to get something that they wanted. Is it wrong that we spent ALL our money on food? :) Sometimes we are frugal even when we aren't trying to be. And that is okay with me!

For more gratefulness visit Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers.

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