State Fair Time!

It's state fair time! 

I went to the state fair twice this year, which is about double what I usually do. We had fun both days- here is a quick recap!

We got the troops up early on Thursday, the first day of the fair, for the twins contest. It is the first event at the fair and requires you to be there by 8:30 to register for the 9 a.m. contest. We left our house at 7 a.m.! 

It was a very stormy morning but luckily the rain held off until we had parked and walked to the tent where the contest was. We stayed pretty dry but it was still a mess, having to stay under the tent while it poured, waiting for the contest to start. The girls got second place this year in the one year old most alike category and we were surprised. There were 11 other twins in their group and poor Brynn had gotten a big black eye the day before. I could tell the judge was looking right at them and the ones beside us (who got first) so I know it was a close race. All the twinsies were so cute, I don't know how the judges decide! I did think the girls had the cutest hair and it makes them look more alike when it is done just the same. The rest of the day at the fair lots of people stopped us to tells us how cute the girls were and to ask us if we won the contest. :o) Mostly they were little old ladies, so cute. 

After our group in the contest we grabbed breakfast Uncle Sam and Aunt Nikki at the Cattleman's tent, then got JR Donuts and coffee for me. We wandered a bit, looking at the ag building, the playground and the fun forest. 

The girls loved the baby ducks! 

We looked around in some of the barns while the girls snoozed. These cows have the same hairdo as I do after a day at the fair. Am I right or am I right? 

We took one quick spin through the varied industries building and then Michael spotted the zombie cones booth and decided to try one. This is genius marketing! 

We skipped the pork tent this year for just a pork chop on a stick and it was yummy. Michael and I shared one. So good. Our last stop of the day was for our peppermint bar at Bauders. I only took two bites of Scott's...he was reluctant to share it but they are so big and melt fast that they are hard to eat by yourself. 

The girls were getting crabby so we called it a day! 

The next day, we took my sister in law and niece to the fair while Scott was at work and the girls were with a sitter. They are from MN so we wanted to show them what the Iowa state fair was all about! 

Since I was stroller less (yay!), we parked downtown and took the shuttle. It was fun to see the Capitol Building and a bit of downtown. The shuttle is a great deal and was a fun way to get to the fair. I enjoyed not having to remember where I parked or waiting for a long time to get into the fair parking lots (or paying $10!). 

I had planned a large loop around the fair from the shuttle stop to keep us moving. Our first stop was the foods building to look at the cakes where we saw some neat ones. 

The next stop was the DNR building which I had not been to for years. Lots of fun things for kids to do and explore. 

Next up was obligatory photos on the grand concourse (where are the photopass people when you need them?) and a quick run through the fountains. 

We visited the midway but decided not to do rides there. Instead we headed to Ye Old Mill, which I had not been on for ages. 

I also promised Michael the previous day to do the trampolines so...you guessed it. We gave them a whirl also. Even Ellie tried it!

We grabbed a couple of pork chops on a stick (again, so good) for lunch and found a patch of shade to eat out of the sun. I also cannot resist a state fair lemonade, so good. 

We did a ride on the sky glider and a quick tour through the cultural and ag buildings. 

And then we found our way back to the Bauders stand for a peppermint bar! 

We had ice cream all over our faces and when we turned around, there was a family eating theirs with spoons on the table. What? 

Of course, a stop at the spin art booth was a must (thanks, mom!) where both kids did two pictures. 

One last ride on was on our list for the day: the big slide! 

After a quick funnel cake on our way back to the shuttle, we called it a day. It was definitely just the highlights of the fair but we only had about four hours to tour since travel time was an hour each way and I didn't want to leave the girls too long with the sitter. It was a really nice day and I was glad we could share it with our out of town family! 

Michael will go back to the fair later this week but I think that does it for me. Until next year, Iowa state fair!