We went to Madison for the Lac Qui Parle Fair on Saturday and Sunday. The Nelson's were home, and Jason and Marni came too, so Brendan got to see all of his cousins but Reese, who stayed at home with Tami because she was sick. As the kids get older and older, they enjoy the fair in different ways This year, instead of the animals (which he still loves to see), Brendan was all about the rides. We were extremely lucky in that a co-worker of Gene's had a bunch of extra tickets, as did Tami's parents, so the kids got to go on many,
many more rides than they would have otherwise. We ate fair food, checked out the animals, and went on rides galore. Gene and Mary went above and beyond in getting rides for the kids and treating them to a couple games and treats (as Marci put it...."This is why grandpa's are the best!" after he bought them a cotton candy to share.) We enjoyed two fun-filled days that went by quickly.
Hey...there's a goat eating my blanket!
Charlie and Brendan, checking out the bunnies in the Kid's Barn.
Brendan didn't really want to hold a chick...only pet them, so Marci held it for him, and it worked out!
Alyssa and Marci, holding the chicks.
Marci, Brendan and Charlie in the Wildlife Building. The boys ran up and down the tanks, pointing at each large fish and exclaiming, "I'm gonna catch THAT one!"
Brendan and the much-talked-about skunk. Ever since smelling his first one this year, he's asked
daily (seriously), "Why do skunks spray out of their butts?" Funny and cute, but it gets old after awhile... :)
Brendan feeding one of the horses some hay.
Marni's ready for some 4-wheeling action!
Marci and Alyssa going down the Super Slide.
The boys (Brendan, Brad, Jason and Charlie) at the bottom of their trip down the Super Slide.
Brad and Jason took all the kids on the Spinning Apple ride. They all had a blast, and they high-fived afterwards.
Brendan and Alyssa shootin' them up.
Brendan and Charlie on the motorcycle ride.
Brendan and Charlie, both distracted by the neighboring roller coaster, while on the motorcycles.
The fairgrounds were covered in mud from rain the previous day. It made using the stroller tricky, but we managed, with minimal mess.
Brendan got to lead the roller coaster (and he was the only occupant), but he enjoyed it.
The Nelson kids also enjoyed the roller coaster (front: Marci, back: Alyssa and Charlie)
Marni's first joyous taste of cotton candy (holding the wand she won at the duck pond.)
Brendan's first taste of cotton candy. He enjoyed it also, much to Brad's unhappiness. :)
Brad's cousin, Sherry, was in town and she spent some time with us at the fairgrounds. We hadn't seen her since Christmas, so it was wonderful to get to catch up with her in person.
Two exhausted kids. Neither of them woke up when we took them into the house and put them to bed.
Day two of the fair! We all enjoyed some skeet ball.
Megan, cheering on the skeet ball players.
Brad and Brendan, headed down the Super Slide.
I took Alyssa and Marci on the Tilt-A-Whirl. I do not enjoy rides much (haven't been able to really enjoy rides since puking into a bush after riding the Salt-And-Pepper Shaker, while wearing my Miss Amery formal getup when I was 16...and a slight fear of heights and a queasy stomach make most rides off-limits for me), but I took one for the team (meaning for Alyssa and Marci...and for the other adults who had no desire to go with them.) I've gotta say that, as queasy as a ride like that makes me afterwards, it's extremely enjoyable to giggle and scream with two little girls (even though I would have probably done it by myself too! Well...at least the screaming part I would have...)
I managed to overcome my slight fear of heights long enough to take Brendan on the ride he wanted to go on most...the Ferris Wheel. It was a hot day, and the breeze at the top of the Ferris Wheel felt good. Jill and Marci were just above us, and the ride lasted awhile, so Brendan and I really were able to relax and enjoy ourselves.
Brendan was extremely excited when he could see all the tractors from the top of the Ferris Wheel, and he tried to point to as many as he could when we were up at the top.
Brendan took Marni for a drive.
Brad got to have his turn taking Brendan on the Ferris Wheel too. Aren't they cute?
By mid-day, the Super Slide had warmed up and was very slippery. I practically went airborne over the bumps (much to Brendan's delight!)
Hey...there's a goat eating my blanket!
Charlie and Brendan, checking out the bunnies in the Kid's Barn.
Brendan didn't really want to hold a chick...only pet them, so Marci held it for him, and it worked out!
Alyssa and Marci, holding the chicks.
Marci, Brendan and Charlie in the Wildlife Building. The boys ran up and down the tanks, pointing at each large fish and exclaiming, "I'm gonna catch THAT one!"
Brendan and the much-talked-about skunk. Ever since smelling his first one this year, he's asked daily (seriously), "Why do skunks spray out of their butts?" Funny and cute, but it gets old after awhile... :)
Brendan feeding one of the horses some hay.
Marni's ready for some 4-wheeling action!
Marci and Alyssa going down the Super Slide.
The boys (Brendan, Brad, Jason and Charlie) at the bottom of their trip down the Super Slide.
Brad and Jason took all the kids on the Spinning Apple ride. They all had a blast, and they high-fived afterwards.
Brendan and Alyssa shootin' them up.
Brendan and Charlie on the motorcycle ride.
Brendan and Charlie, both distracted by the neighboring roller coaster, while on the motorcycles.
The fairgrounds were covered in mud from rain the previous day. It made using the stroller tricky, but we managed, with minimal mess.
Brendan got to lead the roller coaster (and he was the only occupant), but he enjoyed it.
The Nelson kids also enjoyed the roller coaster (front: Marci, back: Alyssa and Charlie)
Marni's first joyous taste of cotton candy (holding the wand she won at the duck pond.)
Brendan's first taste of cotton candy. He enjoyed it also, much to Brad's unhappiness. :)
Brad's cousin, Sherry, was in town and she spent some time with us at the fairgrounds. We hadn't seen her since Christmas, so it was wonderful to get to catch up with her in person.
Two exhausted kids. Neither of them woke up when we took them into the house and put them to bed.
Day two of the fair! We all enjoyed some skeet ball.
Megan, cheering on the skeet ball players.
Brad and Brendan, headed down the Super Slide.
I took Alyssa and Marci on the Tilt-A-Whirl. I do not enjoy rides much (haven't been able to really enjoy rides since puking into a bush after riding the Salt-And-Pepper Shaker, while wearing my Miss Amery formal getup when I was 16...and a slight fear of heights and a queasy stomach make most rides off-limits for me), but I took one for the team (meaning for Alyssa and Marci...and for the other adults who had no desire to go with them.) I've gotta say that, as queasy as a ride like that makes me afterwards, it's extremely enjoyable to giggle and scream with two little girls (even though I would have probably done it by myself too! Well...at least the screaming part I would have...)
I managed to overcome my slight fear of heights long enough to take Brendan on the ride he wanted to go on most...the Ferris Wheel. It was a hot day, and the breeze at the top of the Ferris Wheel felt good. Jill and Marci were just above us, and the ride lasted awhile, so Brendan and I really were able to relax and enjoy ourselves.
Brendan was extremely excited when he could see all the tractors from the top of the Ferris Wheel, and he tried to point to as many as he could when we were up at the top.
Brendan took Marni for a drive.
Brad got to have his turn taking Brendan on the Ferris Wheel too. Aren't they cute?
By mid-day, the Super Slide had warmed up and was very slippery. I practically went airborne over the bumps (much to Brendan's delight!)
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