Good, Hot Fun

Yesterday we spent the day sweating off a few pounds at the great Iowa State Fair. You know, I never used to be a fair lover. Not sure if having kids changed that, or if our state fair just worked its magic on me and finally won me over. But now I look forward to going each year, and it's no longer "if" we'll go, but "when."

So this year, we picked one of the very hot days to go. Um, that wasn't my idea. My ideal day is ALWAYS the coolest day of the fair. The day before yesterday would have been fantastic! However, yesterday was the only day that Dakota's sister, Lindsey, could come join us. Good thing for her we like her so much--we decided to suck it up and brave the heat. You're welcome Lindsey! ;)

We all had a great time and crammed a lot of stuff into the day. And much to my surprise, despite the heat and full day of activities, the girls did an amazing job. Here are some of the highlights of the day:

The four of us girls started the morning in the butterfly house. The house has been full of blue butterflies the past two years, but was mostly populated by monarchs this year. The butterflies "hatch" right there at the fair. They have an enclosure with sheets hanging up, showing the cocoons as the butterflies come out. When they're ready, they can come out of the enclosure and fly around the butterfly house.


Next, we headed to Little Hands on the Farm. The girls enjoy it since they get to walk around and pick up a bunch of things. In the end they trade all the things they picked up for a dollar to spend in the farm store. This year Ashlyn bought a banana and Emma got a rice crispy treat.


While we were walking around, we found some statues of ourselves. It's so nice to be honored with our own wooden statues for all to see.

Dakota and Lindsey showed the Marines how tough they were. Dakota had to do chin-ups and Lindsey had to see how long she could hold herself above the bar. They both did great and won prizes for their efforts.


Before lunch, Emma entered the Big Wheels Race.


She won third place in her heat.


After lunch we paid a visit to the photography building, where Emma got to see the picture of herself hanging on the wall. I took it during a previous state fair, in the butterfly house. Yes, that's a real butterfly on her nose.


Then there were the rides, slides, and more rides!


And finally, some random stuff--sculptures made of sand and butter, and some wet little girls who had fun in the fountains. (One got much wetter than the other!)


There were more random things that I don't have pictures of, like... we couldn't believe how much Ashlyn ate! The girl didn't care what she was eating, as long as she was eating something! Many people do go to the fair especially for the food, and she appears to have figured that out already at two years old!

And speaking of food, Emma devoured an ice cream cone half the size of her head. Ashlyn and I helped her some, but she took care of most of it herself. Lindsey asked her if she could finish it all. And she looked at us like, "Are you kidding? Do you think Mom will ever let me have an ice cream cone this big again in my lifetime? Of course I'm going to finish it!" And she did.

Another amazing thing yesterday (well, to us anyway) was Ashlyn kept her diaper dry all day! She asked twice to go potty while we were at the fair, and again when we got home. Unfortunately, it seems to have been a fluke thing, as today she's back to being comfortable in wet diapers again.

And finally, after a long, hot day at the fair, the girls did not fall asleep in the van on the way home like we expected. Instead, they insisted on swimming in the pool until dinner time. How were they not as exhausted as I was?? Must have been all that ice cream!