handsful

It’s October, and you know what THAT means? NC State Fair time! We dropped the dog at the vet, and we hit the road with our friends Ed, Kelley, Kylie, and Kailee following behind.

The fair is all about tradition. Randy and I have been going to the fair since we were kids (with the exception of a few years while we were in Florida), and there are certain things ya’ just have to do.

We always eat lunch at the same booth. Dylan finished every bit of his first foot-long hot dog. We might make a change next year since we saw that the local Shriner’s have a booth there, too. Gotta back the Shriner’s, they’ve done so much for Dylan.

The big kids (and Randy) rode the crazy rides. The littles rode a few, too. We took in the pig races, petting zoo (twice), and posed for pics in front of the fountain. We went to all the animal exhibits, ran into friends and family we don’t get to see often enough, and ate. Oh yes, we ate. That’s one of the very best parts of the fair.

Before they big kids took off on their own, I made them pose for pics. I’m such a mom.

The trips and their friends.

We decided to attempt a family shot. Enjoy the progression.

Not bad!

The kids running around by themselves, we took the littles for a few rides just for them. Well, Randy joined in on this one. Mama doesn’t spin. It would have made for a miserable rest of the day if I had!

The tube ride on water. They were really looking forward to this one.

Lainey did most of the work, while Dylan tumbled.

Abbey hung out with us more than the other kids did, which was nice for us.

There was one area that was growing local crops as an exhibit. The kids got to feel real cotton, right off the plant. We took one home…it was lying on the ground already, we didn’t pluck it!

In the chicken exhibit. Looks like we’re skipping through!

Randy made a friend. This rooster didn’t know what to think…

Weird robot-guy wandered around the fair, with loud music blaring. The lady in the white shirt is Randy’s aunt, we usually only see her at Christmas and were excited to run into her!

We also found Jayden and his family…another one of Dylan’s Luoyang orphanage buddies!

Tradition dictates that you MUST wear stickers. And, all of the exhibits give them out. Randy and I wore our stickers proudly. Can you guess which ones WE wore?

The petting zoo…goats, calves, camels, llamas, etc. They sold bags of sliced carrots to feed them.

And, then there was the food.

One of Marley’s favs. As well as roasted corn and cotton candy.

Lainey cleaned that cob perfectly.

If it can be deep fried, it’s at the fair. Abbey loved the Reese’s cups, and Ethan the Oreo’s. Payton enjoyed his old fashioned apple pie, hold the deep frying.

My favorites? One of the exhibits had cupcakes. I had the Smore’s, with toasted marshmallow on top. And, the handmade soft pretzel booth. Oh, and the french fry stand that we ALWAYS stop by. Nothing deep fried for me, though.

Given that the fairgrounds are very close to NC State University, you won’t find anything with UNC-CH on it!

The fair at night…

We did what we always do. Stayed till the very end. Randy drove home, while the rest of us snoozed away. Home by 1am, we fell into bed. Happy…and, very full.