Our trip to the State Fair

We had such a wonderful time at the Fair yesterday!!! It was a perfect day, with sunshine, warmth, and a nice breeze. It was cold the day before, so we hit it just right. We "milked" a fake cow, we squeezed oranges to make juice, we gathered eggs, we pet a bunch of dogs (Shiloh got to see a poodle, so she was thrilled), we fed some goats, and we saw a chick hatching out of its egg. Cora said, "Boy, that looks like a lot of work! He must be exhausted!" I was hoping to see a calf being born, but none of the mommas cooperated. Shiloh was just as glad. :) We brushed a cow, visited some "stinky pigs" as Shiloh said, and saw some adorable newborn goats. We saw some ladies square-dancing, and the girls loved their pouffy skirts and cowboy boots. In the craft building, I was pleasantly surprised to see how interested the kids were in the paintings, wood-working, and photographs. Congratulations go out to the son of a friend of ours, who got two first place ribbons for his photographs! I think his sister also got a ribbon, but I didn't see her photograph. We needed a break after all that walking, so we grabbed a spot underneath a shady tree to have a picnic, and we ended up having a wonderful view of the parade that got underway shortly after we started eating our lunch. There were marching bands, Shriners in little cars, farmers in huge tractors, Army vehicles, clowns, and lots more. We were also sitting on a small hill, so rolling down the hill became the main attraction after the parade was over. We set out for the horse barns after lunch, and we were able to see the mounted police, some Haflinger horses (I think they're from Australia or New Zealand), a Belgian pulling a fancy cart, and a team of six pulling a wagon. Shiloh got to pet a lot of horses. In the kid's section, they rode a saddle on a sawhorse, saw some donkeys with hats on, and got to groom a beautiful horse named Bourbon. All in all, it was just one of those days that makes you glad you have kids so you can see these things with them and see the wonderment on their faces. They were EXHAUSTED, and I don't mind saying I was, too! I put them to bed at 7:00 since we had another big day today with co-op, and I had to teach! :) That went well, so we did some errands afterward and then stopped at the park for a picnic to enjoy the beautiful weather. Well, that was our trip to the State Fair. Enjoy the pictures. Jackson looks a little hesitant about the goats in the picture, but he actually LOVED them getting so close. He was squealing and grabbing their ears. I guess he smelled good, because they kept trying to nibble his neck. That's a tickle spot for him anyway so he was really giggling. It was adorable.
Cora was the only one brave enough to have her picture taken anywhere near this Watusi. I tried to get her to hold onto his horns while my friend held her up, but she decided that was the line she would not cross.