California State Fair

On Monday we did our annual family trip to the California State Fair. This is always so much fun, and I was so happy that Steve was able to get off work a couple hours early and join us there. Our first stop was the petting zoo, which was small but FREE (which was a first). The kids spent at least a half hour in there loving on the animals. Molly and Garrett were in heaven. Garrett wanted to look each animal in the eye, and would say "hi" to them. Paige preferred to admire the animals from behind our legs.


Molly also tried milking an artificial cow! This was such a great idea, because the contraption felt so real, but a cow wasn't having endure dealing with hoards of kids.


Then we walked through the agricultural area and got to enjoy the gardens and bugs on display.


Then it was off to partake in some rides. A friend of mine gave me a huge handful of free ride passes and they lasted us for hours. The first ride was just Molly and Daddy, because we weren't sure how thrilled Garrett and Paige would be able them (although they were both just tall enough for many of the kiddie rides).


Once that first ride started up, Garrett made it very apparent that he wanted to join the fray (read: he screamed the whole time). So we let him and Molly ride together next time. Garrett wasn't quite sure what he thought of the ride, but it was so heart-warming to watch Molly reach over, hold his hand and talk to him so he wouldn't be scared. What a big sister she is!


We enjoyed a few more rides before having our dinner. Paige even tried going on the kiddie train, although she was not thrilled about it. And I was so impressed that Molly went down the giant slide all by herself!


Then we sat down and had some dinner. I didn't want to spend a bundle on food, so we just enjoyed the picnic I packed. But we couldn't help but ogle some of the crazy fair food. Check out these menu options: raccoon on a stick, Rocky Mountain oysters, chocolate covered scorpions, and even deep-fried butter. Blech!


For a treat, the kids each got a frozen slushy drink. They each wanted a different color, and we got a lot of laughs at their brightly colored tongues afterwards! Molly's was red, Garrett's was orange, and Paige's was purple!


We left when the sun started setting. The low sunlight washing over the fair made everything such amazing colors and I would have been more than happy just running around taking pictures with my camera. But that wasn't going to happen, because the kids had hit the wall and were melting down. BUT I was able to snap some one-handed pictures while I was pushing the double stroller with my other hand and trying to make a quick exit. I love how they turned out!