State Fair 2009

We have made our annual trip to the Texas State Fair! I say annual, but we haven't been able to go the last two years because of problems with my pregnancy in 2007, then Jim, Hunter's Papa had heart surgery last year. There was no way that we were going to miss it this year!

We decided to fly to Dallas at the last minute. We have traveled so much recently that we just weren't look forward to five more hours in the car. We packed our suitcases and headed to the airport. Hunter loved watching the planes take off. He did a great job spotting them. He was so cute sitting on the air vents by the window letting his curly hair blow in all directions! He did great on the flight. For such a busy kid, he has always done well on planes. He loves pushing the window shade up and down.

Getting Ready to Board the Plane

Hunter has recently started saying "cheeeese" and smiling big when we get the camera out. No one is sure where he learned this. In the above picture, as you can probably tell, he is right in the middle of saying "cheese" quite loudly!

Watching for the planes. He was fascinated.

Saturday morning, we got up and got ready to go to the State Fair. I think I was more excited than anyone. Uncle Nathan, Uncle Jared, Maci, and the boys (Joshua, Landen, and Peyton) met us at Mimi and Papa's house so we could head out to the fair.

Our first stop was the petting zoo. We weren't sure how Hunt would do after his refusal to enter any of the animal buildings at the Lubbock fair earlier in the week. Jimmy carried him in. Hunter was intrigued by the many animals, but did not want to be put down. He even pet several animals. The baby goats were especially cute. Hunter also pet the donkey. He was a big boy! So brave!

Since our kid loves horses so much, our next stop was the horse house. Hunter said hi to all of the horses in the stalls. Two horses were out walking. Hunter watched them for awhile. He made sure his daddy saw them too. Jimmy was holding Hunt, but Hunter repeatedly turned his face to make sure that he was looking at the "sorses". I too like the horse house, especially the police horses. They are so beautiful!
We set off into the fair park. Hunter and Joshua rode in the wagon, most of the time. The boys were fascinated by the water fountain. They both watched it intently. Hunter even tried to climb in. The kid loves bathtime, what can I say?!

Uncle Nathan helped Hunter climb a pole while some of the other family were getting food. Yummy! State Fair food! It's tough to beat it!
Once we all had our food, we found a picnic table and sat down. Most of us ate Fletcher's Corn Dogs. Delicious and fried! All of the boys had a great time running around the open space. Hunter chased Joshua all over. They screamed and screamed! Fun times for cousins. It is fun to see Joshua and Hunter playing together now that they are closer to the same size. They don't quite get the sharing thing, but it will come.
There was a great train exhibit. Hunter, being a lover of all things "choo-choo" was in heaven! Everytime one of the trains would come by, he would get very excited, make his train noise, then make sure we all saw the train too. He could have stayed and watched the trains all day.
Another of our regular stops is the car building. It is always fun to see the new cars and new features. Cars are another of Hunter's favorite things. He loves to drive our cars and often has a meltdown when we let him "drive" and it's time to get out. There were so many cars that this kid could drive! Hunter "drove" several cars. He kept pointing to Nate and telling him to get in and close the door. He wanted to take Uncle Nate for a drive! So cute! He is serious about the car business! His daddy couldn't stay away from the new Cameros. Hmm. . . I wonder where Hunter gets it?!
We made another stop on the other side of the train exhibit. This time Papa showed Hunter the sites.
One of our favorite stops this year was the Science Building. They have a great area for little guys. They have science experiments like bubbles, and noise makers and dinosaurs. One floor was designed just for little guys.
They had a great play area for children under two to play. Hunter preferred to play on the big boy side with Joshua and Daddy and Uncle Jared. No one else was around, but us, so we had a great time! Hunter (with Daddy's help) climbed a rockwall. There was a big rock that the kids crawled through. We stayed there for awhile. There was also a farm exhibit with trikes and rocking horses. One of Hunter's favorite parts of this area was a fire truck with a slide. He went up and down the slide. He wanted all of us to go with him. He did not want to leave the Science building. He was having way too much fun!
It was time for more food. I decided on a spiral yam (a curly sweet potato on a stick covered with cinnamon. Quite delicious!). We wandered around for awhile, looking at the sites. It rained for a few minutes so we sought shelter in one of the craft buildings. We all shared some popcorn. I then had a chocolate dipped nutty ice cream bar. Hunter sacked out about 2:00 and slept in his stroller for a good while. A drum line marched by while H was sleeping. He didn't even stir! We made our way through the Midway, seeing the new rides and crazy people. I had a funnel cake, which is a State Fair essential food. It's a miracle I don't tip the scales after this trip! It's a good thing we walk so much and burn a few of those calories!
We were all pretty pooped and the rain was coming in so we decided to head home. It was a great day! I think Hunter's first Texas State Fair was a success!

We woke up early early Sunday morning to head home. H was a trooper! We had two rows to ourselves for the flight home so we could spread out. Hunter had two seats so he could move around, which kept him quiet. He had a good time listening to music with Dad and playing with his phone. We got home, took a good long nap, and rested up.

Thank you God for sweet times with my boys and special memories.