I absolutely did not plan my trip to Texas around the State Fair. But I was waffling on the dates until I saw that the fair would still be happening. It was the straw that broke the camel's back if you will. Fitting, since the fair usually breaks the scale! Ha! :)
I was so excited about taking the boys, but also a little bit worried about their ability to remain excited about the fair while walking around. There is just so much to do and see (and eat!). I had great plans of Thomas being a super champ and walking, while I could push Henry around in the stroller.
You can all see how well I learned from being too confident on the plane ride, huh? Even better was the fact I forgot the stroller...
Luckily, I had two things going for me - my mom came along for the fair and my dad said "Don't they rent strollers?" when I panicked at breakfast (Waffle House!) about the fact I had forgotten to pack it. Not only do they have rentals - they have double wide rentals with a sun shade! Perfect for my two pale Alaskan boys!
Henry does not look so sure about this whole "fair" thing. Or maybe he was mad because we had snagged a pudding sample at a booth and I hadn't let him eat it yet. Who knows?
I'm kidding.
Of course it's the pudding.
I thought it we did something for the boys right away, they would get more excited! Luckily we wandered right by story time just before it was starting. They got their pudding and then they got to sing songs and listen to a story. *And* it was Pete the Cat - one of their favorites!
Then I got a treat - Fletcher's corn dog! Not our usual first stop for food, but it was closer and I figured we would make up for it later. It's not like I would come to the fair and skip all my favorites!
Unimpressed with the minuscule amount of corn dog their momma was sharing with them, the boys opted to enjoy their apple sauce pouches instead.
Henry is primed up with tasty treats and ready to check out the rest of this fun-filled fair!
Mommy (as in me) is already worn out and asks Nonni if she would be so kind as to go get me the crazy sounding S'mores beer. I had to relinquish my license to rent the stroller and was worried they wouldn't give it to me.
Verdict on the beer? While the beer part is tasty, a marshmallow fluff / graham cracker crumb rim is just as gross as it sounds. As is a marshmallow soaked in milk stout.
I know it's hard to see him, but Big Tex is right behind us! You can barely see his boots... It's not Nonni's fault - there were so many people trying to get photos that if you could see Big Tex, there were people all over the place. I like this one better anyhow. You can see how delightfully red all three of us are in the 95° heat.
I swear Henry was having fun. Frowning seems to be his default face today. Maybe it's the 95°...?
When the boys started to get a little fussy and wanting to run around in the crowds, I thought we should divert to the kid's area. I had no idea there was a kid's area, but Heather (who was also randomly in Texas) had discovered it the day before. The boys happily ran straight to the craft tent (and I was sooooo happy for the shade!).
After making cards, they also needed to make kites and then color some before they were ready to move on. I was happy to sit for a second. What else could this magical kid's area have to entertain the littlest Texans?
Sand boxes?!?
Again - he is having a blast. I swear!
A giant Spin Art?!? I was bummed Thomas didn't actually get to squeeze the paint, but he seemed just as excited to tell the guy which colors to use for his spin art. The sign said for 3 and older, but once I saw how "difficult" it was, I took Henry over there. He knows his colors well enough to get the job done! :)
They even had a little booth for temporary tattoos! Thomas was so excited to pick one out even though the line was sooooo long.
There was one person in front of him. 3 year olds are dramatic, y'all!
As for picking one out? They really only had one - but it was a super cool Big Tex that matched their spin art. They gave us a few extras since we came all the way from Alaska. You can see that Henry is trying to give himself another tattoo with it. When that didn't work, he tried using his spin art.
The boy is persistent.
We had every intention of going on the Texas Star next, but the line was so long and they were way past nap time. So we decided to amble back to where we started. Since we had to walk through the Midway, I decided to let the boys have a try at one of the carnival games. The duck grab seemed like the easiest one and Thomas was super excited about it! He didn't quite get the point though and threw his duck back in. I grabbed it before the attendant would think we were cheating!
And since it was two ducks per "pay", I let Henry grab the other one. He was equally excited and managed to hold on to his duck a little better than his brother.
For some reason, the attendant was all confused by the fact the two of them had each grabbed one and said we couldn't add them together for a prize. Whatever, Thomas found something he wanted out of the smallest prize bucket, so I really didn't care.
With more tickets to burn, we headed off to the small rides. Unsurprisingly, Thomas wanted to ride the motorcycle! It was the only ride that was broken at the fair in Alaska and he doesn't forget anything. It was a pretty big ride with a "jump", so I was a little concerned he would decide he didn't like it...
Wrong - he was a champ! He loved the ride and going up in the air. Although I think his favorite part was the button that made ridiculously loud motorcycle sounds!
Ok, Henry is not having fun in this one. He was super bummed Thomas got to ride something and he was too small for all of the fun rides. Sorry little man. Maybe next year!
On to the train display! I usually think of Thomas as the train loving kiddo, but Henry was equally as excited! Apparently it's genetic.
Also note the stuffed donut on his wrist - that's the prize he picked out. I tried to get him to pick something else out, but he was adamant. When the attendant saw my confused shrug - she said that for some reason all of the kids love the stuffed donuts. Weird, but whatever makes him happy!
Finally more food! Funnel cakes and caramel apple wedges. I got the apples thinking the boys would like them. I even cut the peel off of a few pieces for them. Nope. Turns out I just got less funnel cake. Shocking...
Nonni thought it was pretty funny.
Nonni took them on the Skyway (featured in the first photo) while I returned the stroller. It was a bit of a haul to carry them over in the morning and I didn't really want to repeat the process with two hot / tired kiddos. So we bought just enough tickets to get the three of them a round trip on the "train" while I returned the stroller.
Well they didn't charge us for Henry, so we still had tickets! That's ok, it was just enough tickets for Nonni and Thomas to take a spin on the carousel! I tried to get a photo of him having fun, but this blank look was all I got. I honestly don't think he ever made eye contact with me. This kid takes holding on pretty seriously...
When they get done, Nonni informs me we still have tickets because they only charged for Thomas. So Henry and I got to go for a whirl too! Henry was much better about waving - though he would always wave at the random people right after Nonnni instead of at Nonni. These boys...
All-in-all it was a great time, even with the heat! Plus the boys were asleep in their carseats before we even left the parking lot. Win-win!
Ok, those of you that know me well or even just kinda a little bit might be seriously confused about where all the food pictures are...? Did I just not post them because there was so much kid cuteness?
Nope.
That is literally all the food we got. I left the fair hungry for the first time ever. Turns out that the crazy thing you hear about kids changing everything is kinda true. Before today, I never even knew there was a kid's section in the fair and I never would imagine going to a fair and not getting nachos, cinnamon rolls, tamales, exciting new fried things, etc.
But it just wasn't feasible to push them from food stand to food stand and expect them to be happy. Even Henry needs more than food. So we compromised on the fact that I got my two favorite foods and they got to have a ton of fun. Overall I still think it's a win.
It also means that next time Matt has to come and we will just send the kids home with Nonni after a few hours so we can go stuff our faces. :)