Ticket to Ride

Thursday was Kids' Day at the fair, so Janet and I decided to take the little boys to ride the rides. Grandma and Grandpa Stewart gave each of them money to buy tickets. They were excited!

They checked out the poultry barn first, and saw some interesting birds.

Matthew and Riley tried quacking at the ducks.

And Carter looked a goose in the eye. At least I think that's a goose. I'm not a poultry expert.

We had a little lunch before the rides opened.

Matthew wanted a taco salad. He likes everything except the lettuce. I think that's called nachos.

We spent some time posing by the tractors.

Matthew...

and Riley.

They even let Carter join them for a picture.

And one of Carter by himself.

Those are some big tractor tires!

It was finally time for the rides to open, and they wanted to try out the roller coaster first.

Hold on!

This was the frog jumper or something like that. It went up, and then sort of bounced down.

Next in line for the Crazy Bus.

On to the bumper cars. Riley was tall enough to ride by himself, but Carter and Matthew needed us to go along. Luckily, I was the one with the camera. :)

No head-on collisions, Grammy!

They checked to see if they were tall enough for the big slide.

Here comes Matthew.

Carter had a pretty worried look on his face.

But they were all three ready to go again.

Several times.

We all took a ride on the ferris wheel. They thought we could see the whole world. Well, almost.

These next pictures aren't very good, but I thought they were so funny, I had to include them. This was a "fun house" called "Beach Party." As they came out, there was a rotating cylinder they walked through like surfing. I use the term "walked" rather loosely, as you can see from the pictures.

Carter spent most of his time rolling, and one of the others had to pull him out. The nice ride man even stopped the turning a couple of times so he could get out. Not that he really wanted out.

They probably went through four times. This one is one of my favorites.

No one was hurt, and they all had a ball. In fact, when Carter saw that I had one more ticket left in my pocket, he grabbed it and ran back for one more trip through the Beach Party!

Riley even talked Grammy into going on the big ship.

After a fun, hot afternoon at the fair, it was time to head home.

Sweet Treat

I went to get Matthew in Louisville on Wednesday, and we made a stop at our favorite place, The Comfy Cow. I would go there every day if I lived in the neighborhood. I might call it ice cream heaven.

Matthew had a scoop of Cookie Monster Dough. Yu-ummm!

They even had a cute little fleur de lis hook holding up this pink rocking chair. Just for me.

Matthew had fun spinning on the stools.

It won't be long before Haleigh is getting a scoop of her own. She can't wait!

Of course, I had my favorite, Peppermint Stick. They brought it back to celebrate Christmas in July. They are currently having a promotion to vote for the next great flavor. I vote Peppermint Stick.

I have probably posted this sign they have on the outside of the store before, but I love it. And I agree. In fact, I think tomorrow will always be a day away. So for today... ice cream. Love it! Thanks Comfy Cow.

Hold Your Horses

This week is the Decatur County Fair, and I must say it feels a bit weird not having a 4-Her participating. After 18 years of 4-H projects, it's definitely a different feeling. Not a bad feeling, just different. Maybe it's called RELIEF!?

I met Adam at the fair on Sunday night to eat a ribeye sandwich, one of my favorite fair traditions. The Decatur County Cattlemen provide ribeyes for each exhibitor in the beef project, and sell sandwiches to fair attendees. It's all about the beef, you know. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of one of the sandwiches, or the grillmaster, Uncle Steve.

While we were eating our sandwich, a hot air balloon took off from the airport right over the fairgrounds. I was able to snap a couple pictures on my way home as it toured northern Decatur County. Don't worry, I stopped the car.

Monday morning, I was able to experience a bit of the fair by helping to judge the Horsemaster Competition. This contest consists of four parts, a groom and clean, a demonstration, a horsemanship pattern, and a written test. There are two divisions, one for junior exhibitors, and one for senior exhibitors.

They start by showing the judges what is done to groom a horse for the show. Here, Hannah explains how she prepares her horse, Sonny.

Kelsi walks her horse to get him ready for the contest.

The second part of the competition is a demonstration of the exhibitor's choosing. Kaeli did a presentation about Strangles, a disease that affects a horse's lymph nodes.

Next, each rider must execute a horsemanship pattern. Hannah and Sonny complete their turn.

Danielle wasn't a participant this year, but she was there to cheer on the younger 4-Hers. Looking cute, I might add.

Kathryn waits for the judges' signal to begin her pattern.

Time for some relaxed riding after the patterns are completed.

Finally, they work on the last segment, the written test. Jennifer always thought this part was by far the most difficult. And yes, I realize there's a lovely blue porta-potty in the background. I don't know how it got in the picture, I make it a policy to avoid them at all costs.

After my judging duties were done, I located Adam at the pool and took him to lunch. He had a tenderloin...

and I had the fish. Best. Fish sandwich. Ever.