State Fair of Texas - 2013

Today we made our first family trip to the State Fair of Texas.  It's been years since Mike and I have been, never together, and it was Henry's first trip so we were excited!   The weather was near perfect, nice breeze and overcast so the sun wasn't beating on us.  We decided to take vacation time to avoid the weekend crowds, which was a great idea at first. By the afternoon, it was packed!

 

No ride on the Ferris wheel this time, but maybe next time.

Henry loved the ag exhibits, especially the tractors.

Hey, you lookin' at me?

 

 

That's a lot of bacon!

Beautiful and majestic.  Henry enjoyed giving this big guy some extra "patting."

Just when I thought the Fletcher's corn dog couldn't get any better, they added jalapeno and cheese. Yum!!!!

We went to the Jump! Dog Show and while we enjoyed seeing the dogs and their tricks, it was crazy loud and Henry was over it pretty quick. 

Big Tex who Mike lovingly refers to as Big Mex.  At this point, Henry was struggling with the crowds and the sheer volume of noise.  It was intense even for his poor Mama.  I have to admit, if he'd asked to go home, I would have readily agreed. Crowds, lines and people in general suck.

Mike was happy to find Fair food that wasn't fried!

Henry wanted to ride the helicopters and silly me agreed to go with him. One ride for the two of us was $8 and I honestly believe we sat in it longer before take-off than the actual ride lasted.  He had fun and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

This ride was hilarious!!!  We thought all the bouncing would keep him away, but he loved it!!  I think he rode it a total of 4 times and it was definitely his favorite.

Watching him made us dizzy. Yuck!!

This was Henry by the time we got back to the Interstate.  Poor guy was beat! 

 

All in all, our first family trip was a success.  It was budget friendly because we had two adult tickets from work, we could bring our own cooler and snacks and we didn't attempt games in the Midway.  The Kidway was fun for Henry, but the rides at $4 a pop (even for parents to ride with their children who don't meet the height minimum) aren't worth it.  Food was amazing and fairly reasonably priced if you match up cost with high-fat content and calorie count. Ha! 

 

We're thankful that we were able to take time off work and spend the day as a family.  Today was another reminder of how blessed we are to have each other and how great it is to share life together.