A Fair Evening

It's the most, wonderful fair, of the year!The Loudoun County Fair is in town!Every (end of) July the Loudoun County Fair makes its way to the fair grounds for a week of farm animals, fun activities and carnival rides. Bubba has attended the fair previously but he has no idea. I believe he was only a few months old when we took our first family trip down the road to the fair and I think it is safe to say- he doesn't remember a bit.So, as our life has drastically changed since Little Bear's arrival and Bubba's obsession with all things machinery- I thought it would be a great idea to take him to the fair for some Mommy-Bubba time!Away we went on a muggy Monday evening for night ONE of the fair which called for a demolition derby (of which I had never seen) as well as a dinner of fair food and some much-anticipated cotton candy. Of course, being night one parking was crazy- to the point that I had no idea parking went so far back- we know that now because we were parked alllll the way back there! No worries, good for the legs and Bubba had plenty of questions on our way.We hit the Hog Barn first- of which Bubba thought they were dogs... not hogs. We may need to do some more animal recognition here shortly. He was concerned that they were so big and why they were making such an interesting noise. Quite the experience for his first!Then it was on to the small animal barn, goats, and chickens and bunnies oh my! The baby goats were quite adorable. I could have watched them forever! From there we visited the Beef Barn to see the beef and dairy cows. I never remember how BIG those animals are until you're right up close. I have to say, Bubba was not keen on touching any of the animals...except the bunny named Poppy as he figured that meant Princess Poppy from the trolls movie. We nipped that idea really quick as I shared that bunnies might bite little fingers.Then we got to the good stuff in the eyes of my three-year-old date. The rides. Now, Bubba has never been on a Carnival or adventure park ride and there were plenty to choose from. We found some food (and in retrospect, maybe we should have eaten after the rides) and then some tickets for Bubba to enjoy. He chose, of course. the Racecar ride first which looked like a gentle, go-in-a-circle type ride so I was happy to see the added bonus of a secure seatbelt. Well, that seatbelt was for more than my sanity- apparently, this ride whipped the rider around the corners at a high rate of speed which neither Bubba on the inside nor I on the outside were prepared for. I so wish I had gotten a photo of his face on that first turn, but we were both so shocked! I thought I had ruined him for life with that one, but as he rode it a total of 4 times during the evening, I think we made it through unscathed. Between race car rides, it was the firetrucks, regular trucks and cotton candy to fill the time before we met up with Uncle E & his friend Lady. I can't believe he wasn't asleep by the end of the ride time! Side Note: I have to say the amount of time they allow the kids to ride for each go-round was quite generous! You definitely get your money's worth! DERBY TIME meant the national anthem and Bubba learning a little about respect for our country with his hat in hand following Uncle E's example. Followed by some crashing of cars and lots of smoke!We stayed for two rounds of the derby and as it was well past bedtime, we headed on our merry way home. It was an action packed few hours but I really think Bubba enjoyed his time and we are lucky that we have opportunities in our town for fun outings. Hopefully next year Little Bear will be able to attend as this year was well past her bedtime! Stay tuned for a video of our adventures coming soon!Be Great!M