Fair-tastic

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Evan expressed interest in going to the Alabama State Fair. Her husband and I tried to tell her it wasn't cool, but in the end she won out. Heath was at a Fantasy Football draft and therefore unavailable, but Uncle Derek and Stacy and Chloe were going, so we all went together - me, the kids (and double stroller with a flat tire) and the Harlesses.

This was what we saw first. Yep - a bear in a cage. And I am pretty sure the picnic table being destroyed was not part of the act. And, the man in there with him kept saying, "Does anyone see that bar (bear)??" Ah, the ambiance of the fair. It just kept getting better...

We headed here next. Pig races. Some nice ladies walked out of their trailer and talked this attraction UP! That is where I heard the phrase "fair-tastic." They were professional pig encouragers. And those things were squealing!!!

Derek and Turner just soaking it all in

This lady had to kiss the winning pig

Next up, Burke Burke's favorite. The "exotic" petting zoo. Seriously - John Burke could not get enough of this. And he was barefoot, which makes me shudder to write. Here they are feeding the goat.

Uncle D took full advantage of the "petting" part and picked several of these piglets up. I think John Burke squealed as loud as these beautiful pigs when he did that!

A giant turtle in the midst of sheep, cows and goats? You bet. I bet other states don't have that.

Turner's (and Derek's) favorite - the camel

He paid extra to feed all these animals, by the way. Sadly, we had to peel ourselves away from the petting zoo. But, we landed at the....

"MONKEYS RIDIN' DOGS!" - Uncle Derek made sure to scream this at random all throughout the night. Side note - there is a commercial that runs about the fair and they key line in it is "Monkeys ridin' dogs!" I would say it is the main attraction of the fair, and it did not disappoint. This was one of the trainer assistants who brought the monkeys out. Derek, Stacy and Chloe ended up getting a close-up picture with them later, and I wish I had it.

Waiting for the race

Monkey/dog combo number 1

Contestant number 2 (my camera died right here, so I had to take these with my camera phone)

The race. Who even cared who won???

Chloe approved!

Camera phone still, sadly. Turner's favorite part were the "bicycles riding in the circle." Some Colombian men and their lovely assistant entered this cage and rode motorcycles in a circle, barely missing their assistant.

Lastly, Turner and York got to drive their cars. Evan luckily got some great pictures. The man in charge even let John Burke drive, too.

John Burke cracked us up. While Turner was excited and living it up, John Burke looked at us as he went around the circle like "What? I'm driving. So what?" Hilarious. Well, until we had to stop the ride because he wriggled out of his seat belt and stood up. I think that is why they have a height/age limit, but we were appreciative that the nice man let them keep riding. He even let the big boys ride 3 extra times without tickets. That is some State Fair courtesy!

We left shortly after to head home. I thanked the other 2 families because we would not have made it through without them. At least twice, I didn't know where Turner or John Burke had wandered off to, and Wes and Derek each ran and grabbed them. And I can always count on Evan and Stacy to entertain, hold and love on my children. It took a village! :)

Final story, I bought hats for them (Turner is wearing it while driving his car). Well, oddly, my car window was broken and wouldn't come back up. Heath had rigged it up, but Turner rolled it back down on the way home. While on Highway 119, Turner screamed "My hat!!" It had flown out the window, and then I had to answer 20 questions about why and where it went, etc. I panicked, hoping that his beloved lovey, Duck, had not flown out with it. I will not turn around for a hat, but I will for Duck.

I pulled over and searched the bags and the car. No luck. I called Heath, and he left our house to meet us at Heardmont Park - we were on an all out duck search. I was trying to soften the blow for Turner, telling him Duck was gone, but he was a big boy now and didn't really need him. He was nodding in agreement. But 5 minutes later, he said "I need ma-duck (my duck)." Ugh!!

I couldn't open my trunk (both the window and the trunk were fixed the next week...does it sound to anyone else like the jeep is on its last leg??), so I took Turner out, ripped his car seat out in the parking lot and pulled the double stroller out to search for Duck. Still no luck.

Heath showed up, and we headed back. The sweet parking lot attendants understood our predicament, as did the people taking tickets. They let us back in without paying, but assured me there was no way we would find Duck. Thanks.

Turner and I headed in and we were praying to find Duck. We started backtracking, and ended up buying another hat (because, you know, ours had flown out the window). All of a sudden, we headed back to the cars they had been driving, and Duck was laying right over the fence, solidifying my love for the cars operator. Turner yelled "Look Mommy! Jesus brought us Duck!" I agree!! Praise the Lord - he comes through, even in the little details.

I walked back by the funnel cakes and caramel apple stands (don't worry - Evan and I sampled both) and proudly paraded Duck to the car to a surprised but grateful Heath.

I called my mom to tell her of the night as Heath pulled into a neighboring gas station. Why, you ask? Oh, to buy black duct tape to fix the window back up. Jealous? He taped it up and we headed on our merry way, just an hour and a half later than we had originally left!

Redneck night? Oh yes. But a surprising night of fun and adventure I couldn't forget to blog about!