State Fair of Texas

When Mark and I were dating or possibly already married, (we dated for so long it sometimes runs together :) ) I admitted to not remembering ever going to the fair. I think like most any tradition in a family, if you grow up doing it, you love it and have fond memories of it. This was the case for him and the fair. A love relationship if you will. :) So, he promptly took me one year, and I loved it. He was my tour guide... he showed me the livestock, the cars, the rides, the food, and the bird show (Have I ever mentioned he's a bird nerd? I haven't? That's weird.). Anyways... we have kept this tradition alive as we have had children (except the year Bella was born and we were paranoid new parents and wouldn't take her).

Bella's 1st trip to the State Fair

Then, Jack was born, and he got to go when he was oh... 2 weeks old. :)

This was last year...

Max in the womb :)

This year was fun, entertaining, and lots of hard work for Mom and Dad. Have you ever anticipated something, and then when the day actually arrives, some things don't quite live up to your expectations? We had been doing a countdown all week for "Fair Day", and Friday morning the kids woke up a bit on the whiny side. Awesome. Yay for fun family day! We finally made it into the car... it's always nice when you're finally on your way. I sometimes think, "If we can only make it into the car..." We did arrive just as smoke filled the sky from Big Tex's death. That's a bit of a downer to a kid who has been looking for Big Tex the last 15 minutes of a car trip. A little comical too.

On to the pics...

Is it me or do they really look alike here?

They really did have a blast. At one point, I realized I had left Max's blankie in the car, which is magic when it comes to him falling asleep. I told Mark it was the difference between him falling asleep in the stroller or becoming miserable. Sooo... Mark went back out to the car to get it, aaaannndd... he never fell asleep. Oops. He was delirious by the time we left, as was Jack, so we were quite the scene making our way back out to our car. Max was asleep in his carrier before the car started moving. Poor baby.

Sometimes it's hard work for a tradition to live on... one we are willing to work for! Happy Fall and all of your family traditions.