I'm so not ready for snow. Pretty much I'm in sheer denial.
So, how about a post from the heart of summer days?
One of the very best parts of Minnesota is the state fair, nestled in the heart of summer. Its ones of the fondest memories I carry through the winter to remind me of why on Earth we have chosen to live in this 
The state fair is an anomaly in fair going because it is unlike an other state fair in the nation. People who do not live in Minnesota seem to have a difficult time grasping the enormity of the fair because state fairs in many other states are mediocre at best compared to the Great Minnesota Get Together, with only Texas surpassing it in size. The Minnesota state fair likely attracts the most people for the amount of time it is open (1.6 million people in 2 weeks) and everytime we go, even multiple times in a week, we find ourselves in awe of the amazing hoards of people who come out of the woodwork to visit everything from local canning competitions, butter carvings, a taste of deep fried bacon, rooster crowing competitions to Grand Stand performances. Really, its nothing short of a miracle in people watching. 
This year we decided to share the fun with my parents, so they came for a long weekend where we celebrated my dad's birthday and spent a whole day at the fair, which is not nearly enough to visit even half of the fair properly, and by the time we left, my feet ached, it was the second full day I had spent on the grounds (we had taken Collin for a full day of fun earlier in the week) and I still felt like there were so many things that we didn't see.
They had never been to our fair, so we did it up right and started out bright and early, boarding the bus at a wee 8:30 am with Collin nearly crawling out of his skin with excitement to get to the fair. This year was particularly fun for us because it was the first time Collin was able to grasp the excitement around the fun of the fair.
To make the best of it for Collin and avoid the tremendous cluster f**k hoards of people, we took him on a Tuesday, Senior day, early in the morning, thinking that the lines wouldn't be too terribly long on the kiddie rides since Seniors don't find their way to bumper boats and the swing ride all too often. He absolutely adored the fair. It was like stimuli
overload. When we arrived we went over to the little hands farm where kids get to interact with pretend animals on a farm and a milk a pretend cow. Collin was overwhelmed with the fun before him and walked around with a perpetual smile plastered to his face. He carried his adorable silver bucket, tucked in next to the pocket on his little farmer's apron. We walked from each activity to the next with Collin hanging on to my fingertips anxiously stretching away to move on to the next bit of fun.
We spent that day ensared in the draws of the fair, cheese curds, animal barns, rides and baby animals, and by the time we went home I could barely believe the glow eminating from Collin. He was just so happy, and there before me, it seems, was the making of the first memory that Collin will be able to recall as an adult. 
To impact your child's life on a daily basis at some point becomes so natural that we glance over the moments that will matter when they are 10 or 20 years old. But, here, before my very eyes I could nearly see it happening.
To impact your child's life on a daily basis at some point becomes so natural that we glance over the moments that will matter when they are 10 or 20 years old. But, here, before my very eyes I could nearly see it happening.
It wasn't more than a week later that Nana and Papa came and we made our way to the fair. Since Collin had already been, his anticipation was taking over his little brain, with every other phrase ending or beginning with "at the state fair?" He crawled out of bed, ready to get his shoes on and head out the door, and lucky for Collin we weren't too far behind. By 8:15 we had boarded the bus, which was all part of the fun, and made our way to the grounds.
Part of preparing to go to the fair is planning out all of the fun things to see- the 4H buildings full of amazing exhibits, the dealerships of everything you can imagine, the buildings of infomercial products and the many other sites and sounds of state fair fun, but the other, and likely more important part of the fair is planning out what you are going to eat. What new thing to try, what tried and true standard to eat: (read CHEESE CURDS!) and where the strange and bizzare foods are found. Its such a big deal that the state fair webpage has a "food finder" search engine to help you seek out all of your favorite flavors.
So we found our foods- chocolate waffles with carmels and whipped cream on a stick, standard fav- cheese curds, deep fried cookie dough, Sweet Martha's cookies, turkey legs on a stick, to name a few. So, we started out and made our way toward the morning stop: waffles. It was a brisk morning, so the warm waffles made for a perfect start.Then we wandered to one of Collin's favorite stops- the John Deere dealerships where he could sit on and admire dozens of tractors, bulldozers and farming accessories. Collin tried out the bulldozer and found the seat rather cozy. I think it rubbed off on him a bit, because ever since he's been obsessed with all things construction, naming bulldozers, excavators, backhoes, dump trucks...
Then we wandered over to the Miracle of Life barn where momma animals and their babies take up residence for two weeks to be born and visited. Collin just loved the barn, because all of the new additions were accessible for petting and holding. He went from calf to calf noting how new it was and how cute it was. Not too far from the calf were the new baby lambs, all white and fuzzy, and a few steps further were the baby goats, which were many the most adorable animals in the whole building. Well, the baby piglets were pretty cute too, and had it not been that we were shoulder to shoulder with all the other Minnesotans in the state we might have spent even longer in the building taking another round at all the adorable and cuddly babies.
Before long it was time for a few rides, and Collin and Drew were in line for the Giant Slide. Waiting the 10 minutes to get to the top and watching all of the kids ahead of him slide down, Collin found himself anxious to go again, "more, daddy! more!". All the while, Owen was holding his own as our easy and happy baby, along for the ride. I know that this year won't be a year that he remembers, but it is his very first time to the fair, and it was extra special to be there as a family, together. He did especially well, riding along in the stroller and napping in the jump seat with a blanket to hide the streaming sunlight. Somedays I can't get over how easy Owen is and how happy he wanders through his life. Owen smiled at the baby animals, smiled at the people, smiled for cheese curds, waved his arms in excitement and enjoyed all of the fresh air as though the day was designed for him. Having two exuberantly happy boys made for two especially grateful parents.
As the day went on, we wandered passed many food kisoks and stopped frequently for afternoon treats and lunch, found our way to the carrousel, the train, the wild west show, the crazy chickens, the stinky sheep and lots and lots of new sights and sounds. We rounded out our day with a visit to the butterfly house, which is fantastic for a toddler, but a bit awful for parents, realizing that the butterflies in the house are often squished and killed by tiny toddler hands. Collin, though, with and easy temperament, approached the butterflies tentatively and carefully reached out to let them land on him. I imagine those butterflies in many ways share things with our little boys, so anxious and excited for the world around them, carefully confined to a space, but big enough to spread their wings and fly.
And so, 2011 and the Minnesota state fair was a success. We stuffed ourselves silly, enjoyed a fabulous week (and day with my parents) and created the best memories to carry through these cold cold winters.
We'll miss you, State Fair. Until we meet again.
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