The Fair

In my world, the summer isn't complete without a trip to the Champaign County Fair. This place is so wrapped in nostalgic memories for me, and now being able to share it with my family is a thrill. We pretty much covered all the bases yesterday, from the food to the rides to the livestock. We started out watching a dairy cow show, where Erin clapped enthusiastically for all the winners and yelled, "Yay, cows!" Dinner consisted of a pulled pork sandwich from Grumpy's BBQ and some Bailey's Fries. I look forward to these fries all year, and they did not disappoint! We rode the merry-go-round with the kids a couple times. (It was pretty fast, so a couple of times was plenty!)


Then we watched them ride some kiddy rides.



The best part for me was touring (of all places!) the chicken barn. The look on the kids' faces when the roosters crowed was priceless! As a child, I woke to this sound every morning, and it made me realize all the things I take for granted, having grown up in the country. There was a petting area with some baby chicks, where a little boy held up a bird for Erin to pet. But instead of petting it, she kissed it! (I guess we don't worry too much about hygiene on days like this!)


We topped everything off with milkshakes from the Rotary Dairy Bar...the same Rotary Dairy Bar where I would get a shake after I finished showing my sheep each year. How comforting it is to have a place in your life that is virtually unchangeable. Some of the buildings are different now than they were in "my day" and the kids with the animals are a new generation, but the simple pleasures that make up a county fair remain the same. I know my sister will be reading this in Africa and will agree with me when I say that it's a very good thing.