2013 Colorado State Fair

    

     Two weekends ago, we made our annual trip to the Colorado State Fair.  We go every year and we look forward to it.  It kind of seems like a wrap up to summer.  We always have a great time at the fair.  My one and only complaint is that the fair is in August in Pueblo.  It just gets so hot down there.  It was in the 90s the day we went.  With young kids, we couldn't stay as long as we would have liked.  The heat just got to be too much. 

      Despite the heat, we still had a wonderful time.  We have our favorite things to do at the fair which we do every year.  It also seems like each year there is something new to do or look at.  Its definitely what keeps the fair fun!  This year Joey, Ashlyn, Dawson, Katy, Jameson, Ella, my mom and I all went.  The kids really got into looking at everything.  I think the animals were definitely their favorite.  Ashlyn even got to do some fishing and got a fish!  She was thrilled at that one!We are lucky in that the kids are still young enough that we don't do the rides.  They have enough fun just looking at the exhibits. 

    The fair always has all sorts of yummy food to entice the senses.  We had some really good fresh squeezed lemonade which was great on a hot day.  We had to try something fried.  This year we picked oreos and cookie dough.  The oreos are good, just very sweet and its always good we share.  

      I love that we can always count on the fair for a good time.  I have been going since I was a kid.  It always reminds me that summer is over and fall is getting ready to begin.  We had an amazing summer, but I am ready for fall! I can't wait to go back next year and see what sort of fun we will have. 

The cakes have always been my favorite thing at the fair.  The kids love them too.  This was a cake decorated for the movie "Up".  We all thought it was pretty impressive!

Checking out the different cakes.

They do a sand sculpture every year.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but this thing is huge!  It is made all out of sand and it is amazing to see. 

Posing in front of the sand sculpture. 

Every year, they have a model train set up.  We knew Dawson would love it and we were right!

Pointing at the train.

He absolutely loved this train.  In fact, we were ready to go look at something else, but he insisted on staying.  His nice Gram offered to stay with him for a bit so he could enjoy them some more. 

Ella checking out the cows.  She was really excited to see the cows. 

Ashlyn looking at  the chickens. 

Ashlyn the race car driver. 

The kids always love playing in the bins full of beans and corn.

They had a petting zoo.  Inside they had puppies and kittens.  Ashlyn said petting the kitten was her favorite part of the fair. 

Sweet puppy!

Something new this year, was a giant animal poster that kids could paint  The neat part was that they just washed it off with water, and a new child could come paint.  The girls loved painting. 

They love to paint and draw together.  It warms my heart. 

They have this buffalo where you can measure how tall you are.  This was Ashlyn last year, and now this year.  She definitely did some growing!

After painting, they got a free cow hat.  Ella loved hers and was too precious wearing it around. 

Jameson trying out the hat. 

Ashlyn having a bite of the fried cookie dough.

You can't go to the fair without having some curly fries.  Yum!

Ella and Katy fishing.

Ashlyn fishing.  I didn't get a picture, but she caught a big fish.  She was so excited.  They just release them and put them back in the tank.  She still had a blast though. 

This was the other highlight of the fair for Dawson.  Along with trains, he LOVES construction vehicles.  His absolute favorite is the bulldozer.  They had some to look at and you could even sit in them.  He was besides himself with joy.  I love the look of pure happiness on his face. 

Ella and Dawson practicing their farm skills. 

He had such fun!