State Fair of Texas

Another year at The State Fair in the books!

The kids LOVED it...and although our group was massive the kids all had a blast together. Plus we didn't lose anyone! 

Once we finally entered the park we made our way to meet up with friends - stopping at random games along the way....

Hayden picked a little orange tiger as her prize and she is obsessed with it. 

We met up with the Bishops and Fowlers...

Jenni took the kiddos on the bear ride. I don't do spinning...

Ryan and Kelby rode this little rollercoaster! Grayson just wanted to watch :)

And this was Hayden...

Grayson REALLY wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel...so we did!

So happy!

And this little one pepped up too!

Jenni was NOT a fan

The older boys went on this super fast ride....and when Ryan whipped around the first time he had a horrible look on his face...I was a little worried, but when the ride slowed down and the guy told them to throw their hands in the air if they wanted to keep going, Ryan threw his up with a big ol grin! Whew!

Hayden picked out a purple monster truck ride for us to go on. I love squishing myself into these tiny rides. 

She was pretty pleased with herself. 

One quick photo at the Midway sign...

And Corny Dogs for lunch...

We played a few more games...and rode a the BIG rainbow slide and then called it a day. It was HOT! Until next year....

State Fair of Texas

We decided to hit up the fair on the Sunday of TX/OU weekend thinking that it wouldn't be very crowded since everyone was there the day before....but we were wrong. We hit some traffic trying to get a parking spot and were slightly discouraged. Luckily we stuck with the plan and although it was crowded outside the gates it really wasn't horrible inside. The only place that had crazy long lines were the coupon redemption trailers. Isn't that ironic? I actually bought tickets and coupons online so that we could avoid any long lines....and the coupon booths were line free but the place to redeem the $50 worth of coupons that I bought online were ridiculous. #fairfail Anyhow, we chalked it up for a loss and carried on.

We played some games. Ryan won (with a little help from his mama) a prize and he picked out a Paw Patrol dog and gave it to his brother. So sweet!

We found the KidWay and rode a few rides. Hayden was all about going on this ride by herself but when it started she wasn't sure how she felt. Each time she went by she had a different facial expression - alternating between joyful and horror. She clung to me after the ride was over. I think she feared I would try and put her on another one. #Oops. 

Ryan was proud to ride the motorcycle ride all by himself. 

Being silly - won't let me take her picture!

She decided that the flying elephant ride would be ok if I went with her. She was one happy little girl!

Grayson picked one ride and he would only do it if Ryan joined him....he loved it!

He had a huge grin every time he came around - so cute! 

We did a little walking around and checked out the animals. Pigs were my favorite. Always are. 

Of course we had a Fletcher's Corny Dog!

Clearly they weren't overly enthusiastic about them. I'm not sure why they look so unimpressed. 

And then we headed to see Big Tex

Our plan was to walk back down the Midway and play a few more games - Ryan really wanted to win a Robot stuffed animal. When we finally found a booth that had a Robot to win we realized we didn't have enough game credits. Ugh. Now the lines were longer and it was going to be at least $20 to load it up - so we convinced Ryan that it wasn't worth it. He took it surprisingly well. But I am sure we will be after it next year. In other news we accidentally lost Gigi and spent a good 40 minutes trying to figure out what happened to her. Mary didn't realize that she was "lost" for a while but when she did she reported herself to the missing kids area where she borrowed a phone to call us. Oopsies! We finally found her and everyone was ready to get home and rest. 

Texas State Fair

Another reason I love fall in Texas - the State Fair! Since I grew up in Houston (ehh...on and off) I didn't really know all about this whole fair situation they had going on up here in Dallas, but it's pretty legit! I mean...rides, games, lots and lots of fried goodness...and the people watching...oh the people watching and least we forget, BIG TEX!

We headed out to fair park on Sunday since the weather was Ah-mazing. When we walked up to the gate there was a long line and we were wondering if we made a bad decision...but once we got inside it was fine. The only time we waited in line was for a Fletchers Corny dog...yum!

Ethan and Sarah were the first ones to test a ride...fun stuff!

Uncle Michael and little G watching. I really like Michaels purse...just pulls everything together :)

And we were twinkies! 

The first thing Ryan tried was a funhouse...and he didn't think it was all that fun. 

But then he saw this super duper slide and was all about it. 

We even rode a roller coaster. He LOVED it. Seriously, he is thrill seeker...and I had NO IDEA! 

Miss Lyla Hale

And Ryan was able to ride a bunch of rides by himself...which he LOVED. 

Taking a break while we tried the fried thanksgiving dinner (most creative award this year)...which was basically just fried stuffing. I actually didn't try it but the group consensus was "eh". 

Hale family photo opt

And our turn

We made our way to some corny dogs and this little man passed out. Poor guy missed out!

He was a fan :) He basically ate the whole thing! Sarah bought the friend Cuban Roll (best tasting winner) and I loved it! It was uber greasy...and uber delicious. 

And after lunch we had to get some desert. We tried the fried s'mores since Kevin loves his smores. Not bad...could have used some ice cream with it. I guess I just prefer my deserts cold. 

Trying to get a pic of all the kiddos to send to Grandma....not incredibly successful after sharing a funnel cake!

We hit up a couple more rides...Ryan wanted to go on all of them! 

Action shot...Ryan flying!

And this crazy ride that bumped up and down quite vigorously. Some of the kids weren't big fans...but little R sure was!

2013 fair was a success! I might take the boys back sometime during the week with some friends since they had so much fun. Can't wait to bring the boys back next year...I can only imagine how much Grayson will love it when he is big enough to ride some of the rides!

State Fair of Texas

Yee-Haw!

Yesterday we took the boys to the fair and we had a blast! This was the first year that Ryan could actually enjoy it (we missed it last year and the year before he was too small to remember...like Grayson's age). 

I snapped this picture walking in...my little baby G all bundled up. He actually stayed up for quite a while. I think all the lights and sounds really interested him...perhaps a little overstimulation? I nursed him once and then he was passed out the rest of the time. Nothing like nursing a baby at the stat fair! lol!

 The weather wasn't all that great and Ryan had a major runny nose but overall it was a success. When we got there we stocked up on tickets and a game card. Ryan was unsure of all of the chaos and noise but he eventually eased into it all. There was a rubber duck game where you just pull a duck out of the pond with your hand and you win...but Ryan kinda freaked out and wouldn't do it. I think it was too soon...he still needed to scope things out.

There were lots of fun rides but he wasn't interested in going on them - he really just liked watching them. 

We did finally get him to go on one little train ride with Kevin and when it was over he cried.

I guess I probably should have gone with Ryan - Kevin's poor legs!

What's a visit to the fair without trying the food? Of course we had to get a corny dog and a turkey leg - you can't really go to the fair without doing that! The rest was just for fun :)

Ryan was a big fan of all the fair food. He loved the turkey leg and the corny dog.

The fried cheeseburger balls were pretty darn good! 

I also LOVED the fried Oreos - we got some vanilla ice cream to go along with it - per Ryan's request. 

Wow! Can you see why I haven't lost the rest of my baby weight? lol! Kevin and I felt pretty worthless after eating all that food but it only happens once a year - you gotta do it!

In between all of our food we played some more games. I thought Ryan would love this game since he plays it all the time at home. He did. And he won a prize which he absolutely LOVES. 

After some games we headed to the other side to check out the animals. It was pretty crowded - apparently one of the goats gave birth like 5 minutes before we got there and I guess it drew a pretty large crowd. Goodness. Ryan was a fan of the kangaroos. After the animals we were pretty tired so we decided to call it a day. Can't wait to take the boys next year - when Grayson can actually enjoy it!

Ryan and his prize piggy that he calls Blue. 

It hasn't left his side...he slept with it last night, ate breakfast with it and insisted on bringing it to school today. So cute!