Opening Night at the State Fair

For me, the fair signifies the official ending of summer & the start of Fall.  The evenings are just starting to become chilly.  Sunset is happening earlier & earlier.  And everyone is busting out the plaid (and overalls)!  I always enjoyed the fair as a child, and now love taking my own kids even more.  Conor though... he doesn't love the fair.  Not really at all.  But he loves how happy it makes the rest of us, so he always comes along.  And sometimes I even forget that he isn't a big fan of it because we're having nonstop endless fun!

This year we went on opening night since we were both traveling in the following days.  I was nervous it would be packed, but it was actually the contrary.  I don't really like big crowds, so this was perfect.  And it also made buying ride bracelets worth it since there were no lines!  We even bought one for Finn because he is a thrill seeker and must be doing everything that big brother does.  He joined whenever he could but was so so devastated when he did have to sit out due to being not tall enough.

So our night...  Full of farm animals!  Finn's favorite part; however, Liam was almost too old & too cool for the animals this year.   He only had rides on the mind.  Caramel apples (Liam & I shared).  Cotton Candy (all to myself).  A sunset ride on the Ferris Wheel.  This moment is always so nostalgic for me, and I'm certain that a Ferris wheel is not even remotely as cool at any other time.  We played carnival games, where we won four fish (who lived less than a week), and then Liam won a monkey, who is now "little monkey", and he goes everywhere with "monkey".  So yeah... two monkeys everywhere we go now.
 

And did I mention the rides?  Because we seriously rode rides nonstop for hours.  We logged a good 4 hours at the fair and at least 2-3 of them were straight rides.  One of the highlights was the bumper cars since Liam was finally tall enough for it this year!  Conor & I shared a bracelet (such sneaky rule breakers we are), so thanks to the trading off, neither of us were too dizzy come night's end.  Liam could have kept going, but we had to tear him away eventually.

Liam has since asked to go back at least a dozen times.  But that's what I love about the fair; it's this magical event that somehow just pops up in our city each year for only a short stay.  It's a once a year thing which makes it so special.  Memories were made & we're already looking forward to next year!  And on a somewhat unrelated note (but now I'm thinking about it)... If you've never read The Night Circus, pick it up!  Such a good read!