F is for...

The Fair!

Last weekend we made our annual trip to the NC State Fair in Raleigh.

This was Finley's first trip to the real NC state fair.

Last year we cheated and went to the Dixie Classic fair in Winston instead.

Nothing quite compares to the fair in Raleigh.

Family!

We were joined by Grammie and Abuelo at the fair.

Our first stop inside the gates was looking at all the mini gardens and plants (my favorite part).

Flowers!

Finley enjoyed stopping to smell all the flowers.



Faces!

We also got to see this artist carving a face into a pumpkin.
Finley didn't have quite the patience to sit and watch the whole demonstration, but it was still cool to see.


I do believe Finley's favorite exhibit was the miniature electric train.

I am pretty sure we could have left him there for hours watching the trains go around and around.

We also visited the Village of Yesteryear.

Home to all kinds of hand made crafts and their makers all dressed in period appropriate clothes.

Finley really wanted this little rocker. If only it wasn't $75!

Fair Rides!

After visiting the exhibits we decided it was time for some rides.

I was so excited for Finley to actually do some fair rides this year.

I know what you are thinking - an 18 month old doing fair rides?

Yes!

We are a thrill seeking family.

First up was the giant slide with dad.

Fin and I also gave it a whirl. But look out.....

The little girl in line behind us didn't wait long enough for us to make it down and off the side (or the operator at the top didn't stop her from going while we were still on the slide).

Finley and I jumped out of the way just in time. She ended up colliding with our mat. Luckily no one was hurt and this ended up being the most dangerous part of the fair ride - user malfunction. This picture cracks me up though... look at the little girl with her hands on her face in a state of panic! Of course it is funny now. At the time, not so much.

Fire Trucks!

Finley took Grammie and Abuelo for a ride on the fire truck.

They didn't know how high this ride would go.
Up Up UP!

Next it was time to go round and round in some old timey Jalopies.

And then a mini train with Grammie.

And of course the merry go round.

Our last ride of the day was the wiggle worm with dad.

Finley really enjoyed the rides. Each time one ended he would clap his hands and ask for more.

What a little daredevil!

We did see this new thing with these balls filled with air on top of water.

It was very interesting.

Finley was really mesmerized by them.

Luckily he was too small and I didn't have to tell him no.

Fried Food!

Well I forgot to get any pictures of our food indulgences.

But I will say that I had a delicious corn dog and David enjoyed some fried dough.

Finley even got in on the action eating some french fries. Yum!

Towards the end of the day Finley was no longer interested in running around on his own.

Fire dog!

Before we headed out we did get to see the fire dog! Whoever came up with the fire dog Sparky is a genius. It combines two of Finley's favorite things - firefighters and dogs.

Fast asleep!

As we strolled toward the exit it became apparent that we all weren't going to make it to the car awake. Finley was too tired to even say hi to the barnyard animals...well I guess that leaves something to add to our list to accomplish at the next fair.

But we did have so much...

FUN!

This blog post was brought to you by the letter 'F'.