After the Fair

I think going to the Fair every other year is going to be quite alright with me. By that time, the not-so-good memories will have faded into that sweet, golden haze of reminiscence. We will have forgotten the sore feet, the stress of trying to get there, the bickering about where to go and when and who does and does not want to do what. And the internal screaming in my head about how much money was spent at the fair will have subsided or at least slipped into a softer whisper.

The things I will remember about this year's trip to the MN State Fair:

1. Riding the bus and listening to Peanut tell strangers about what he was looking forward to at the fair.

2. Buying my kids their very first Pronto Pup and watching them enjoy it.

3. Having BB ask to take my picture with my head poking out of the face of the Mona Lisa outside the Fine Arts building and enjoying the fact that it was completely his idea.

4. Cheesecurds and the noises we make while eating them.

5. Peanut driving the mini tractor at the Little Hands farm, and taking it off the approved path and then causing a traffic jam with the other little tractors. The rest of us stood laughing and called it "Bumper Tractors".

6. Princess holding Peanut's hand while crossing the streets and the moment when she looked over at me and then grabbed mine. There won't be too many times when a 12 year old girl will want to hold her mother's hand.

7. BB's one quest: to find the WCCO booth. It's his favorite station. He loves Don Shelby and the "Good Question" segment. He got to watch the weather man tape his voice over and he claims he was on TV. Who am I to steal his 15 minutes of fame?

8. Riding the bumper cars with my kids.

9. The Miracle of Life Barn. I could spend all my time there. It's my favorite. BB found his favorite calf named Charley. The boy loves cows. PH found the piglets and even got to pet his favorite one. We got to see all the fuzzy ducklings and the little peeps.

10. The sigh of relief when I found Peanut after we used the bathroom and thought he was lost. And the pride I felt when I realized that his brother PH went to look and wait for him so he would not get scared.

11. BB hugging a 6 foot inflatable Kemps cow.

12. The laughter of my children as they rode the swings in the Kidway.

13. The look of sheer delight on BB's face as he rode the Giant Slide and then his remark afterwards, "That was so fun! I guess this place is not so bad after all." (He had been feeling a little let down by what he was seeing at the Fair)

14. Watching Peanut ride the slide, absolutely stone faced but then when he hit the bottom, he stood up, grinned broadly and said, "That was so awesome!" Two years ago, when he rode that slide, he was so scared, he declared he would never ride it again.

15. As we left the fair, Peanut hit "Meltdown Mode" and was crying. PH who had bought a Whoopee cushion, inflated it and came over and said, "Will this cheer you up?" and proceeded to squeeze it. I would have laughed but Peanut just shot him a nasty glare and kept crying.

16. The feeling of relief of sitting on the bus after all that walking.

17. Making silly faces at Peanut who was sitting several seats away.

18. Eating ice cream cones on the drive home.