The Fair

Michael and I took the kids to the Alameda County Fair today. We forgot our camera, which was a real shame, as there were many good shots that passed us by.

We got there early and got great parking. We had borrowed a stroller which was really smart since there was a lot of walking around.

The fair, as it turns out, is basically one big excuse to spend money. Rides, games, food, more food, more rides, and even more food. Paying $3.50 for a corn dog or $4 is ridiculous. The main exhibit hall was a giant 'store'. And the sponsors were out in full force hawking everything from Foster Farm chicken to hot tubs. I wanted the latter.

Parker loved all the rides, but his favorite was this "fun" house that had tunnels, bridges and slides. He did it over and over making the wrist-band-all-rides-included choice the right one.

Miranda was pretty much the happiest girl in the world with all the animals. She loved the rabbits, chickens, and the turkey. But when we saw the Mama pig and piglets, she was in heaven.

Elizabeth was bummed she couldn't do all the rides that Parker got to do. She just doesn't understand why she can't do things that she can obviously do.

One of my favorite parts was this water balloon game where you sling shot balloons at someone else while they do the same to you. We watched other people do it over and over. The kids sat near the players and loved getting wet. Then we played, me with Parker and Elizabeth and Michael with Miranda. We got super wet and had a blast.

I tasted the cotton candy (as part of my research for my upcoming book about the best cotton candy in the world), but apparently my kids share my love of the sugary stuff so I didn't get much.

We stayed there about 5+ hours, and the kids did great. No major problems. No tantrums. A few fights over a little trumpet I got Eli and a pink teddy bear Miranda had, that was actually Parker's from some stupid game that cost $5 to play. It's a profit thing.

Since it was about 4pm when we left, I thought we should stay away from the house for a bit longer, so we stopped at a water playground and the kids ran around in the water for a bit. Then we headed home, had a quick dinner (no corn dogs) and the kids passed out just after 6pm.

Not a bad day. Expensive, but fun.