Ventura County Fair 2013

It was time for our annual adventure at the fair!!!  The girls were so excited and had been looking forward to going since....last year's fair.  We went on the opening day of the fair, on the dollar day, but it wasn't too bad.  We had to wait about 45 minutes for the shuttle from the free parking to the fair, but with all the excitement and snacks in the backpack, it wasn't a hardship.  It was pretty overcast and a bit chilly, which was just fine with us....and then we were off for a fun-filled day!

 

We stopped first in the hobbies and collections building to see how the big girls did with their LEGO creation.  They took 2nd place!!  They were both really happy, especially when we looked at the other creations in their class and saw how well they did.

 

On our way to find their artwork, we stopped in the photography building and enjoyed seeing the 'humorous' and the 'animal' categories best.  We also wandered through the Home Arts building and looked at the table settings, the quilts and sewing, and the cakes!  In the Youth Expo building, we found Miriam and Rachel's artwork all near each other.  They took 1st on all of theirs and were very pleased.

 

Liz's artwork was in Y-2, but we found it eventually too.  Her elephant and flower took 1st and her mask took 2nd.

 

The big area in the Youth Expo had a hay maze for little kids.  I think Rachel was a little big for this car, but there were some other ride toys that they all enjoyed for a bit.  We happened to run into friends from our ward too, so I got to visit for a while.

I decided to let the girls choose what they wanted to do with $10 each, rather than decide everything as a group.  They could spend it on food or things to do or whatever.  Rachel remembered getting her face painted last year and decided she wanted to do that again.

 

Liz really wanted to do the bungee-jumping and spent most of her money on that.  She really wanted to do a flip and by the very end...she did! (Please excuse my very poor videography skills.)

Miriam chose to get a big Icee in a souvenir cup, "Because, then I can keep the cup.  It's a good deal!" 

After she got that, we took a walk through some of the animal displays and then wandered to the BIG slide.  We've also stayed in the little kid area, but this year, we ventured into the regular rides.  They were all thrilled to see the BIG slide and (thank heavens) Rachel was big enough to go by herself!  So I sent them all up the steps and waited at the bottom with the camera.  They loved it!

After the slide, we ended up at the front of the fairgrounds again, near the little kid rides.  I think they all felt a little more comfortable there.  They did the spinning dragon ride and made theirs spin the fastest.  Then they all went on the helicopters.

 

 

Liz had noticed these little bumper boats on our walk through the fairgrounds, so we went over there.  Unfortunately, she was too tall, but Miriam and Rachel loved them and were cracking me up!

 

 

Liz used her last ticket on this fun-house slide and then we were done with rides!

Mom decided that her treat would be a funnel cake.  I ended up getting bacon and maple syrup with whipped cream on mine.  Heaven in my mouth!  It was really good and the girls enjoyed some too.  Then we bought our big bag of kettle korn and the girl's last treat, a big bag of cotton candy and headed for the bus.

Waiting for the shuttle is always the hardest part of the day because everyone is tired and the fun is over.  But we ran into some friends from church, which made the time pass quickly and Rachel got to sit with her favorite babysitter on the way home.  It was the perfect ending to a great day at the fair.

The girls enjoyed their cotton candy when we got home and relived the events of the day for daddy.  Can't wait until next year!!!