So I'm a little backed up in my posts, but I'm just going to continue the chrnological flow of this blog and hope to catch up sometime soon! So a post all about Ms. Parker Leigh's fab doggy glamour party is coming, I promise. But I just had to write about our trip to the Orange County Fair.
We almost didn't go, money being a little tight, what with birthday parties, car problems, you know, the usual stuff. But when it came down to it, the kids were so excited about going, and I'd already broken their hearts once. See, on Monday of last week, I thought, well I'll just take the kids during the day, and we'll look at the cows, buy some cotton candy, and we can declare the County Fair as DONE. So we packed up, put our sunscreen on, sippy cups firmly in hand and headed down the 55. Pulled into the parking lot. Or rather, didn't pull in. Since our way was blocked by a giant sign that read: NO PARKING. FAIR CLOSED MONDAYS. Oh. Uhhh, guys we can't go to the fair today. "We're gonna go seeee coooowwwwsss!!!" Parker sang from the back. Uhhh, no Sissy, sorry no cows. Cows are closed. "But maybe we can go ober dere Mommy" Fin said pointing to the other parking lot. No buddy, the fair is closed. "But wwwwhhhhhyyyyyy!!!" Oh man, here we go. So I thought fast. I thought, where in the heck can I get my hands on some cows? And fast? And cheap? And as we got back onto the freeway it dawned on me. THE ZOO! The glorious Santa Ana Zoo. Which boasts $9 entry fee (and thats everyone combined) funny monkeys, and an entire barnyard with, yes, A COW. So we went there instead, and the kids had a blast. But throughout the week, everytime he woke up Fin would ask, "Are we going to the fair nooooowww?" and then Parker would chime in, jumping up and down "we're gonna go see coooowwwsss?!"
So we went on Thursday. Auntie Mimi, Uncle Pez, and baby-girl Lily met us there. We first hit up a small petting zoo, where Parker stuck her hand into every single mouth of every single animal there. Even the giant camels. That girl has no fear of animals whatsoever. They would lunge out at her, trying to get the food she didn't have, and gum her hands and nibble at her fingers and she'd squeal with joy, saying "Awwww, cute!!! Tickles!" Fin spent about thirty seconds in there glancing at the animals, before asking over and over, "Can we pwease weabe now? Please Mommy?!" So we made our way to the rides. Fin spotted a tiny roller coaster that he wanted to ride, but after seeing it squeal and lurch and rock, he decided that perhaps the bumper cars were more his style. Except he didn't want to go alone. And they were kids sized bumper cars. So in the picture you'll see Josh, knees up to his chin, one leg over the steering wheel, the only adult in a ride filled with six year olds, trying desperately not to knock into them. It was hilarious, and Fin looked miserable the whole time, but as Auntie Mimi and I predicted he declared it "sooo much fun!" We hit up a couple more rides, including one that again, was not made for adults, and I thought I'd break (and thats bad, since I weigh less than most adolescent boys) a sort of "offroading" truck ride that bounced along. I could not stop laughing, and Kim, Josh and Pez were all cracking up yelling at me not to break the ride. Then Fin and I rode a train, where Fin chastised me for pushing buttons and spinning the steering wheel, he took his position as driver very seriously. "What does this button do Fin?" never taking his eyes off the track, he swats at my hand, "No Mom. Stop. Just don't."
We then headed over to some more animals, and Parker once again got a hands on experience. As a couple was ooohhhing and ahhing over "How cute she is!" Parker stuck four of her fingers up a cows nose. Yeah. I lunged to grab her as the couple and everyone else cracked up. She also had a baby chick who bit her finger, which of course she thought was "cuuuttee!" After that we headed over to the "big kids" rides, where Uncle Pez bought a sausage and while he ordered and ate it, we all boogied to mariachi music, Baby-girl Lily especially. Her little legs were kicking in perfect beat, and she had a giant smile on her face. When the music stopped, then started again, her face just lit up in another giant smile. She was loving her some mariachi music. Any gal who will dance in public with us is okay by me, and Lils passed that test with flying colors. She knows how to party. So now that Pez had finished is giant sausage, with onions, peppers and god knows what else, we thought, well we should probably go on one of these rides. How 'bout that one, the one that spins you around and then the whole thing swings around upside down so you're hanging in the air three stories, spinning and spinning and spinning, upside down, till all the blood rushes to your head and you feel like your eyeballs are going to explode. Heck yeah! So Pez and I did it. There were two girls in our little section with us, all of twelve years old, and one turns to me and says, "You're not going to throw up right?" Umm no promises. No one threw up, but we all decided that the County Fair was officially DONE. So we took our photo booth pics and loaded up the car and the kids were asleep before we got on the freeway.
When I was a kid we would always go to the fair, but we never went on any rides. I never felt like I was missing out. For me the fair means ridiculous food, like giant turkey legs, fried twinkies, and popcorn. It means looking at farm animals, booths selling jacuzzis, and dancing in public like a fool. Mainly it meant being with my family and enjoying each other.
The County Fair is officially DONE.
Till the LA County Fair, that is.
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