Every year around this time, this kerfuffle of an event moves into town and brings with it the eternal conundrum- is it really worth it to go?? We all know the answer is no, but it still presents a dilemma. Particularly when the fan base (my kids) are so little. And as it turns out, too short. Well, August wasn't in question, but Brooklyn has yet to reach the magic height required by most kiddie rides: 36 inches. She is 35 inches. Dern.

Initial thoughts of the fair conjure up several things: cool, fall nights, ferris wheels, fair food(!!) such as corndogs, fresh squeezed lemonade, monstrous turkey legs, fried candy bars, cotton candy and caramel apples, stalls of sheep and cows (always a favorite of mine) and of course we can't forget the biggest attraction of all - the hordes of scudgy people who come from nowhere to attend the fair. Seriously, WHERE do these people come from?

Yesterday, Kyle and I faced such a dilemma. Most of my family was planning to go, and they wanted to get as many family members there as possible, with the thought that it would be good family bonding time. More on that later. For over an hour, we wrestled with the cost, the exhaustion we knew it would bring, the foods we knew we shouldn't consume, the hassle we knew it would be...and yet, we found ourselvs agreeing to go. In spite of all the cons. We didn't tell Brooklyn where we were going, not that it mattered. She has no idea what "Fair" means. As the rides and attractions became visible beside the road as we pulled into the field turned parking lot, she gasped and said, "What is THAT!!!??" Well, Brooklyn, that is your evening!

After walking excitedly with other fair-goers to the ticket lines, the inexplicable excitement that the Fair brings swept over us. We purchased our tickets and were swept through the doors with the crowd! And immediately Brooklyn fell silent. It was just pure and simple sensory overload. She had never in her life encountered more flashing lights, moving bodies, clanging machinery and smells in her young life.

We quickly discovered that Brooklyn was too short for all but about 2 rides, which turned out to be ok. She screamed and cried on the little bulldozer ride as it whipped around its turn. (It did go faster than I would have thought...) And even the familiar carousel didn't seem to excite her. She alternated between crying, clinging to Kyle and trying to wave at me and her Uncle Michael cheering for her from the sidelines. But she did enjoy the pig races. Who doesn't!

The funny thing about the "family time" thing is that from the beginning we had trouble locating my family members. No one had their cell phones, except for Michael who ignored our first 10 calls. When we did meet up, we quickly split up to do our own kiddie things, Michael and his friend, Jessica joined the Floyds while the rest of the group hit the adult rides. So, there goes the family time. We didn't see each other again until several hours later.

In the meantime, we perused the attractions along the midway, searched forEVER for fried candy bars (finally found them a few minutes before we left), petted some sheep, admired the cows, gawked at the people streaming around us, and generally wore ourselves out. It was all the Fair should and could be. Not worth the money, but still fun.