A Fair day

I don’t have to say much. This picture pretty well describes our afternoon at the Carroll County Fair.

We started the day with haircuts, then lunched at Arthur’s Garden Deli, a must for our trips home. Oh, Arthur’s how we miss you when we’re gone. Isabelle ate a bowl of cream of potato soup herself. “I love crackers!” she exclaimed before we ordered her soup.

After lunch, it was off to Milledgeville for the style show. Isabelle’s MeeMaw made her a Dora the Explorer nightgown that she entered in the fair, and Isabelle had to show it off for judging. Paired with Dora slippers and a Boots monkey friend, she was the picture of cute. (Of course, I’m her mother, and I’m biased.) See for yourself.

Her outfit didn’t win. She got a participation ribbon and a package of fruit snacks. (Really, they could have just given her the fruit snacks and she’d have been happy.) But she enjoyed herself and is loving her new friend, Boots. Don’t worry, there’s not Toddlers and Tiaras in our future.

We explored a few more areas of the fair — a kids farm display where Isabelle completed “chores” typical on a farm and got a goodie bag when she was finished; the chicken barn; the cattle barn; and her absolute favorite, the rabbit barn. I’ve never been a big fan of animals beyond cats and dogs as pets, but after a walk through the bunny barn, I can see why some people are bunny people. Awfully cute.

Phil and I wanted to treat Isabelle to a fair-style treat, so she got her first taste of shaved ice. Lemon-lime, once again her choice. Although, she did eat about a third of MeeMaw’s blue raspberry shaved ice. Pretty sure she’d have eaten just about any flavor of shaved ice.

I know Isabelle had a great day because she passed out in the car on the way back to Dixon. That’s her sign of a good day.

Me, I had a great day because she did. The whole county fair thing is still new to me. I went to my first county fair when I was 22 and covering it for the newspaper, so Isabelle has me beat by 20 years. I didn’t grow up on a farm or around farm animals. I’m still learning to appreciate the camaraderie and fun of the county fair. I haven’t really gone to any fairs for fun, always for work purposes.  Not that it wasn’t fun to go, but I’m reminded of deadlines and tracking down stories, trying to make sense of breeds of cattle and chickens and pigs. (Jeannine, if you’re reading this, don’t make fun of me too much!)

I’m glad my daughter gets to experience farm life. She can join 4-H in a few years, and I think she will. My husband had great experiences with it. I never really knew it existed. I’m in new territory, but I think I’ll adapt quickly.