Fair Days 2008 and a Haircut

The Wayne County Fair. Great food, good times, food, animals, food, tractors, food, rides, and food. Yes, that about sums it up .. I go for the food! :) And it is also fun running into people you don't see on a normal basis because just about everyone in Wayne County makes it to the fair at some point. The kids go for the animals, the tractors, the rides, and to see Daddy, Grandpa and Uncle Winny (Vince) cook chicken. I can never believe when fair time rolls around each year because it means fall, Thanksgiving, and holy cow, yes, Christmas are just around the corner. I swear 2008 just started.

Here are the kids with cousin Emma perched on the fence watching the horse races. Quite entertaining.


The kids loved the animals last year, but loved them even more this year. Addyson wanted to pet everything .. we would walk into the cow barn and the huge draft horse barn and she would say, "I pet it?" Thank goodness they are still small enough to keep strapped in the stroller. She did get to pet some of the smaller animals, and Aeron joined right in.




Last year I think the they took one ride around on the caurosel, but were too young yet to ride much else. Quite a different story this year. And how fun was it that they always had someone to ride the rides with. There were a few rides that Addyson started out smiling, and near the end had a little worried look, but for the most part, they really enjoyed themselves.

I do have to share on little story about the Jeep ride below. The kids loved this ride, and the second time they rode it, they were happily bouncing along when all of the sudden, Addyson started getting one of her "I'm done!" looks. Now, I don't know exactly what happened, since I was only able to see parts of this take place as they came around the circle on my side, but I am guessing she looked around for me, then looked at Aeron, who was probably smiling, which made her mad. She either said something to him that made him hit her first, or she hit him first and then he hit back .. anyway, it turned into a little hitting match on top of the head (nothing horrible - no screaming, pulling hair, or tumbling out of the jeep), but it was enough to make the little carnie lady get out of her seat and tell them to stop. Oh my goodness did I have to laugh (as well as most of the parents who saw this). I did try to tell them to stop as much as I could each time they came around, but they could barely see me or hear me, and they could sure hear the lady standing right next to them when they came around to her. She would say something to them or at least watch them each time they came around after that, and Aeron was giving her his little stare-down as well. They sure did shape up, and did end up even smiling a little. When the ride stopped and I went up to help them out, I had to thank the lady, who just smiling and laughed .. she said she didn't like to see anyone get hit, and was glad to hear they were siblings at least. Oh yeah, my kids got yelled at by a carnie at the fair. :)

The mini-scrambler - how cute is that?

The kids also had to partake in the yummy fair food. Aeron can hold his own with just about anything you give him.

We decided it was time to give Addyson's hair a little "style." Now, normally, I don't think I would be quite ready to cut her hair at just 2 1/2, but let me tell you, this is no ordinary hair. The sides are still quite a bit shorter than the back from where they had to shave her head in the NICU, and she has this lovely cowlick on the back-left side, both of which make it near impossible for her to leave the house without some sort of ponytail. I was a little worried she might freak out that someone else was cutting her hair, even with all the explanations I gave and her consent to cut it, and I'm glad to say I was completely wrong.

I picked the most horrible day to take the kids out (Matt was working). There was a downpour all day. I sat in the car in the parking lot for a few minutes to see if it would let up and it just kept getting harder. So, I decided to tackle it full-on. I grabbed the diaper bag, full of distractions and snacks, put up an umbrella, scooped up both kids, and made a bee-line for the door. Somehow we made it, but I am sure it was a sight to see. I took her to Famous Hair because I remember being in there before and seeing this seat. It was perfect. She sat down, got to hold onto the steering wheel, and then they turned on cartoons right in front of her. I don't think she even knew her hair was getting cut. She never made a peep. We had to wait a bit before they could take her back, and the kids were so well-behaved. Aeron just watched quietly (asking a few questions, of course) as Addyson got her haircut, and all of the sudden we were done. They did awesome and I was one proud mama, that's for sure.



Addyson's new do. Quite a bit shorter, but it's pretty cute! And look - no ponytail!



Aeron had to take a spin on the chair after Addyson was through.



The kids did so well that I took them to Everything Rubbermaid - even though that meant running out again in the pouring rain - to let them run around in the play area. If anyone in Wooster hasn't taken advantage of this great place (especially on cold, rainy days), you should. They have many of the slides and playsets set up and the kids can just have a ball running around. Here again, the kids behaved wonderfully. So, even though I arrived home with soaked shoes, socks, and pants up to my knees (I am not exaggerating), we were still all smiles as we sat down for lunch.

Here they are enjoying the elevator ride up to the play area.


And a seesaw..