The county fair

We went. We saw pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, roosters, turkeys, and bunnies. We yelled hello to the pigs (Klaas) and really liked the chickens with "hats" (Hazel). We also got lots of balloons, accidentally let the air out of said balloons, and signed up to win a free iPad (!).
Hazel rode on rides this year for the first time. She and Jason went down the big slide. Just look at the pictures and you can tell whether or not she had a good time (no). But then she went on to drive a little car that went 2 mph around a track and thought that was the bee's knees. So we redeemed ourselves and will not be known as "Mom and Dad who tortured me and made me go down a big scary slide." (Though as a disclaimer, she was very excited climbing up the stairs.)

This is the look of jealousy. We do have a rule in our house: you can ride the rides when you can appreciate them (or be afraid) and you might be able to remember the experience at a later date.
Then we dug around for rocks and artifacts in a sandbox provided by the university's archaeology program and headed home. No deep fried snacks this year. But we did have a yummy and fun dinner out with friends at the alehouse. And that's another year at the county fair. It gets more fun every year as Hazel and Klaas get older.