County Fair 2016

Each year is early August our county has a fair.  Most years were are in MN during the fair and we are not able to attend.  This year we got home just before it was starting.  We decided that this would be our year to go.  Our county fair has free admission and free parking if you are willing to walk a ways! A good friend told us about a very sweet deal.  Kiddos with special needs of all sorts including sensory, anxiety, mental health etc could go on the rides from 12-2:00 pm on Friday for FREE.  Just to recap that is free admission, free parking, and free rides! We were very interested in checking this out.

The day started with fun as our library had a pool party for all the kids who read over 100 books.  Well, we stopped tracking at around 230 so we were totally a part of the pool party haha.  Anyway, we had an OK time at the pool but the kids were ready to leave early.  I decided we seemed to have enough energy to pull of the fair too!  The catch was I would be solo parenting it.  Brandon was working.  T is beyond stroller riding age so that means taking two kids to the fair with no where to put anything!

We arrived around 12:30 and quickly got our wrist bands.  We met up with some friends and were able to stick with them for part of the fun and be on our own for part of the time.

M: N has been my buddy since preschool!

We rode LOTS or rides!  Fair rides are expensive.  I have no idea how much it would have cost us, but we were spoiled for sure.  Also, the time of day was perfect because there were no lines or very short lines.  The clientele was also perfect.  We love hanging out with other SN families.  We appreciated that the workers were fine dealing with our big fears for many of the rides!  We rode rides right up until 2:00.  I am not sure who puts this on or foots the bill, but THANK YOU!  We all had a great time!

Enjoying our first ride.  I think we rode it 4 times throughout the day!

After the merry-go-round the kids looked fearfully at all the rides.  Then we discovered this funhouse jungle gym, maze thing.  They LOVED it!  They did it many time!  It was perfect for them!

M and T: The fun house sure was fun!

Next came bumper cars.  If you remember last year, M was too small to be a passenger in a bumper car at an amusement park.  It was so hard on him.  This ride didn't have a size restriction to be a passenger so T got to go too.  Another friend we met up with drove T.  Both kids had so much fun! 

T: I am so glad to ride with my buddy!

M: This is so cool!  I get to DRIVE!!!

M: Do I seem pretty grown up mom? 

Next came the big slide.  M was not sure of it at first, but eventually he rode down on his own row!  I was so proud of him.  T was NOT thrilled to have to sit on my lap.  I wasn't thrilled to ride at all as it was a little fast, but anything for those sweet smiles!

M: I want to beat your guys!

We were going really fast!!!

Next came the swings.  M was considering it and at the last minute decided it wasn't quite for him.  That is fine.  Maybe next year.

T: This was a pretty fun ride!

After the swings someone told us there were rides for younger children on the other end of the fairgrounds.  We thought that sounded worth checking out so we headed over.

We discovered a fun Bee ride!  You can make the bee go higher and lower with the handle bar.  M was very nervous, so T went alone the first time.  He watched her and thought it looked fun so he joined her for the second ride! 

T: This is going to BEE fun!

M: T wait, I am smiling for a photo!  T: Oh, mom already got one of me, I can get out!

We ended with the train!  T wanted to be an engineer.  M wanted to sit way in the back.

T: All aboard!

M: This was a relaxing final ride!

The kids were very hungry and thirsty at this point.  We found some special treats and enjoyed some down time.  This is the only money we spent and would have been avoided if we had a stroller, oh well.  We also discovered a drinking fountain and free food later.  T has been begging to try cotton candy for months after seeing it in a book.  We got her some and she was not impressed.  M had tried some a different time and knew he didn't like it.  They both LOVED the slushies and I was thankful for water!  Sometimes it is fun to get extra special treats.

M and T:  We got REALLY SPECIAL treats!

After refueling we went to a kids music show.  It was awesome kid humor was perfect for my kids.  T was chosen to be a part of the band.  She had the whole crowd laughing when she overshared on every answer!  I didn't even blush.  I am used it by now!

T: We did a train dance!  

T: I got to be a drummer in the band!  It was so fun! 

She was a natural!

After the music show we checked out some animals and scored some free popcorn.

T: This baby calf was so sweet! 

M and T: We asked the owners if we could bet the sheep and they said yes!

Next we checked out the K9 dogs and police area. There were lot of other fun and free kid activities in the area. Then heard a kids magic show would be starting.  The kids loved this show too.  They were in awe of the tricks!

After the show we found a bathroom and discovered a huge room of booths.  The kids were in awe of the free junk buttons, balloons, and candy!  We looked at booths for an hour!  The scored additional bags of popcorn on the way out.

We ended up having a very full day at the fair.  We left after 5:00 and we didn't even go in most of the animal barns.  We told Brandon that he has to take the day off next year.  We want to share this fun day with him!