Playing Catch-Up: County Fair

Now this is embarrassing. The first of my "playing catch-up" posts dates back to…September 6th. At least I'm talking about September 6th of this year.

With the exception of the heavy summer heat, the second annual Brazos County Fair arrived at the perfect time: fresh from reading Charlotte's Web (which takes place primarily at Zuckerman's Farm and the county fair), Hallie believed our county fair would provide her an opportunity to ride the Ferris Wheel, eat cotton candy, and most importantly, meet Wilbur and Charlotte. And though she refused to ride the Ferris Wheel, skipped the cotton candy, and "couldn't find" Wilbur and Charlotte, Hallie still enjoyed herself. As did the rest of us.

As a child, I loved the county fair's games and rides. Will and Hallie feel the same way now.

But as a child I couldn't stand "the rest" of the fair: the barns full of smelly pigs, the cow-milking demonstrations, the tractor pulls. It makes my heart smile to see Will, who yes, would prefer the rides, spending even just a little time tenderly talking to and feeding the fair animals.

A Texas county fair wouldn't be complete without a rodeo (or at least I assume a Texas county fair wouldn't be complete without a rodeo - I've only attended two Texas county fairs, both in the same county) and it's Big Ass Fans.

I have absolutely no idea what this sign was about, but Tom and I got a kick out of it.

Tom and I agree that the rodeo deserves a top spot on our "perks of living in Texas" list, and that's saying something, considering the fact that the rodeos we've attended - two TAMU competitions and two county fair showcases - pale in comparison (or so I'm told) to the "real deal" annual rodeos put on in some of Texas' bigger cities.

I shouldn't enjoy the county fair - it's always unbearably hot (early September in Texas = 100+ degrees outside, even at 8pm at night), the cost of admission isn't cheap, the rides are downright expensive, and the food is awful - but I can't help wanting to go and then actually having a good time. I bet it's because I really love the little Texans who come along with me.