Fun at the Fair

Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length. ~Robert Frost

So... We went to the fair yesterday. Probably not the smartest thing I've done, health-wise, but I couldn't stand to disappoint DD as long as I could stand and walk. Unfortunately, when we got there I discovered my camera wasn't working, so the only pictures I got were on my cell phone and they aren't very good.

Anyway...

The day was hers. We walked in and I said, "Where do you want to go?" and off we went. The "in hand" horse shows were first, where I batted about 50% on choosing the winners. Once I realized that the judge preferred the flashier horses, I did much better (for instance, in the horse/colt/filly 1 y.o. there was an amazing palomino quarter horse -- I can't remember the last time I've seen a horse with such perfect breed conformation -- but I knew the judge would prefer both the Freesian AND the Arabian over the Quarter Horse, and I was right. The QH came in third).

Then we did rides -- spent half her tickets before she decided we should check out the vendors. The sky was getting pretty black and we wanted to be indoors in case it rained (it didn't, thankfully). We bought some soap and boo-boo balm from Aunt Jane (my favorite vendor -- I try to find her every year) and then DD tried to spend her $10 that she'd saved up, but couldn't find anything she liked.

Then it was lunch (a Philly cheese steak sandwich, sans steak, lol) and a HUGE bowl of fries. After we ate, she took a look at the program and we saw that the Flying Wallendas were going to be onstage in just a few minutes, so off we went. We got there just in time! The act was a little cheesy and amateur (which I suspect was in part due to the location) -- but DD has never seen anything like it and she LOVED it.

Then back to the rides, where she bumped into another little girl who was riding alone. She opted to spend most of her souvenir money on more tickets and had loads of fun!

About that time, though, I hit the wall. All of a sudden, I was massively congested and so exhausted I could barely stand. She wanted more tickets to keep riding, but I told her we had to leave... which broke her heart. It was about 3:00 pm. First, though, I had to sit down because I honestly don't think I could have walked to the car without resting first.

Her tummy hurt on the way home (hmmm... maybe the donuts, cotton candy and french fries PLUS loads of rides that spin you around had something to do with that?) and she was sad. She kept saying, "I can't believe it's over."

We picked up the dog at day care (where I saw another dog who looked JUST like her, only he was a boy ... another Golden/Irish -- who would have thunk it?) and went home. She curled up on the couch and read and watched "The Universe" on the Science channel until bed.

I worked until I couldn't keep my eyes open, and we all crashed. I slept pretty well, but this morning the congestion has settled in my chest. UGH.

Even so, it was worth it.

=============================

Despite being busy yesterday, I took the time to join a cause near and dear to my heart:



=============================

And, I also broke down and turned on the heat. It was 40 degrees out at dinnertime last night, and about 60 in my house. I couldn't stand it. So, thermostat is at 65 and all the windows are closed.

Wah. Summer really IS over.

=============================