The state fair MONSTER post.

OK, here we go. Since you were all waiting all weekend, I know, to find out what we saw and, more importantly, what we ate! Susan, this is really for you.

We got to hit up the fair on Labor Day again with our friends Craig + Nicole and their two boys, Carter + Canton, who are all absolutely the most wonderful friends. We are so lucky.

The fair seems to work best EARLY. So we got up at 6:30, fed and changed Fisher, and headed out the door. Arriving early guarantees you free parking on the streets outside the fair. Here they are at 7:30 am walking toward the main entrance. So excited.The grown-ups' favorite part: the coffee. Craig introduced me to breves. Um, yum. A latte but replace the milk with half and half. Perfect way to start off the eating frenzy. The kids were content with their bags of mini-donuts.We were content with their i.d. wristbands:)Listen, Fisher was like the easiest baby. We didn't hear a peep unless it was a happy peep. Not a fuss until he got the hiccups. We didn't even realize until LUNCHTIME that we hadn't even changed him once. Bad parents.

The fair is about everything being on a stick, including boulders apparently. How many years do we have of this, the kids just wanting to pet the animals. Seriously cheap dates.
The fair is also about stuffing your face with the filthiest fattiest food you can find. But we had heard about the peaches, so we stuffed our faces with those. And apples, and frozen apple cider. That is one big peach she's got there.

See, he was just along for the ride. So were the three-year-olds.
Carter is simply the sweetest, putting his arm around Alla to get her to see what he sees. The whole fair must just be an absolute wonderland to a child.
She just wanted ice cream. Nevermind that what she got was raspberry whip from Dole. She just told herself it was strawberry.

Fish and Nicole enjoying the music, or enjoying Dancing Canton. The end of the day, hasn't her face grown a bit long?

Him, when we got back to the car. That poor lovey still smelled like all things State Fair this morning: sweet-sweet cotton candy, everything fried, sweat, hot, dirt. As if he enjoyed any of that himself!

She did cheer up but we saw much more of that long face later in the day, and that's why both kids were in bed by 7. She won this ducky on the midway:) She was not the big fan of rides this year, didn't even want to go down the giant slide with her mama. She's entered a cautious phase, I'm afraid, so that means for sure she didn't want anything to do with the Ferris Wheel that the Francisco-Osterhaus clan went on. I did manage to shove her onto the SkyRide, but there are no pics from our view up there because she would not let me unwrap one single arm from around her lest she fall out or something.

OK, so the round-up of Fair Foods Consumed 2008, that I can remember, between the eight of us. Well, between the seven of us. Fisher didn't exactly get his first-hand.

Mini-donuts

Coffee

fried meatball on a stick

giant pretzel

apple

peach

frozen pressed apple cider

chocolate-covered key lime pie on a stick

corndogs

gyros

fish taco

deep fried Snicker

Dole whip raspberry cone

Sweet Martha's cookies

lemonades

cotton candy

I think that's it? Nicole?