- Baby cows are born live for all the world to see.
- Funnel cake and other deep fried goodies abound.
- Carnival rides will test the strength of your stomach after indulging in the aforementioned deep fried goodies.
- They will end up costing you an arm and a leg to attend.
Here's what I learned about state fairs after visiting ours in Sacramento:
- I was right about all of the above, EXCEPT for the last one (going on Free Kids Day where rides only cost a dollar saved us upwards of fifty bucks, at least!).
- They are huge. Like walk-for-a-thousand-miles-from-one-end-to-the-other-causing-your-son-to-whine-about-tired-feet huge.
- If you park at the west gate, the little kids rides will inevitably be on the far east side.
- Being armed with snacks and juice boxes is nothing less than a stroke of brilliance.
- When two moms are wrangling four children under the age of 4, including two babies, $9.00 is a small price to pay for the ability to sit in the shade for ten minutes sipping a nice cold beer.
- Getting to the fair at nap time in 80+ degree heat means that your children will repeatedly bounce back and forth between feeling like this:
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| Good times. |
... and this:
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| Better times. |
- The only thing funnier than eating ice cream next to dairy cows is nursing a baby next to them. Even I had to chuckle at myself when I realized the comedy of the situation.
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| Sadly, we were photo bombed. The cows are behind red shirt guy. |
- Carousel operators are always ridiculously cranky, but that doesn't spoil our fun.
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| He's been on more carousel rides in four years than I have in my entire life. |
- For just three tickets, you too can ride in the pouch of a kangaroo...
... that used to be owned by Michael Jackson.
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| (Is that a selling point?) |
- After a long, hot day, $9.00 is not too much to pay for a cold beer (I know, I've already mentioned it, but this point cannot be stressed enough).
- Wearing a fire engine shirt while holding a fire hose makes the picture more authentic.
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| All he needs now is the helmet. |
- Some of the slides are ridiculously knee-shakingly tall.
- You will repeatedly question why in the world you decided to take the kids on such a crazy overstimulating adventure while your husband was stuck at work. However, having an incredible friend to spend the day with makes it an adventure worth repeating over and over again. (I heart Candace.)
