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we ventured out to the state fair this weekend to see all the sights. i grew up going to this fair and it has such great memories. i think 90% of all the bullough pets were purchased at the fair-and if you are familiar with the bullough's pets, you know that's a lot of livestock. i was pleased as punch to return to the grounds. i felt just like templeton in charlotte's web as i enjoyed the smorgasbord of fair festivites. what a night!!!
for starters, we arrived a little later than we planned only to find out the boyz II men concert was sold out. what a bummer! regardless, we bee-lined it over to the grand stage to listen in as they boyz, now men, sang to a crowd of screaming and crying girls. we all danced outside the gates and looked longingly on as the hits rolled in. i must have looked extra desparate because as this cute, old couple was walking through the crowd, the granny stopped and asked me why i wasn't inside enjoying the concert. i explained it was sold out and we couldn't get in. she elbowed her husband who pulled out two tickets and gave them to cade and i. joy is an understatement. we thanked and thanked and then ran through the gates just in time to scream along to motown philly. whoever you are, old couple, i love you.
next, we were off to the big yellow slide. we all climbed to the top in anticipation with our gunny sacks in hand. the slide usually sends down 5 people or so at a time- yet somehow we conviced the carnies to let us send down eleven of us at once (well-technically twelve, this baby sure is growing). if we weren't a sight enough, somehow the boys all broke out into the chorus of "up in here" as we started our descent. here are the boys in front of the big, yellow slide.
the fair doesn't stop there, my friends. it keeps on giving...
we saw the animals:
we saw the tattoos:
we skipped out on seeing this lady (it costs 2 dollars to talk to her):
but in the end, we just couldn't pass up little lina. i still have moral dilemma about this, but i will admit i actually paid a dollar to see the smallest woman in the world. i don't quite know what i was expecting, yet somehow the experience has left a small emotional scar. we were debating on whether or not we wanted to go in- after all the controversy surrounding this little lady, how could we resist. as we approached the carney money taker, there were some people yelling out their protests.
"this is unamerican" "slavery is over" "let the little lady go" etc. etc.
now, protesting is nothing new to me- i've been to general conference, but this situation was ulta uncomfortable. we handed over our cash and walked around this half wall to find this teeny, little woman from the west indies sitting on a little stool which had been propped up on a table. she had a strange smile plastered on her face and she spoke no english. i said hello, looked at cade, and walked out. did i seriously just pay a dollar for that weird of an experience? my whole life i have been taught not to stare and then i go and pay a good dollar for valid staring rights and can't bring myself to do it. is paying to see little lina wrong? i still can't decide...
finally, we didn't have to pay for this experience, but we were fortunate enough to run into david archuletta. what's that? you don't think that looks like david? well, that is because it really isn't but this kid thinks we were fooled. jason and sam stopped him on the street. he posed for the pictures and did the shy giggle- but in the end, when we asked him to sing a few lines, he took off. the best part of this whole experience is we had a few people in the crowd convinced it was actually him. they were pulling out cameras and stopping to stare... let's be honest though, the closest thing this kid has to david archuletta is that leather vest. still a fun time.
post david, we spent the rest of our time looking at the photography, crafts and booths. i truly love the fair. it is such a great celebration and i look forward to bringing my kids there (however, we probably won't see little lina next time).
