state fair!

had a family day today...thought we'd spend it reclaiming the house, but quickly deduced it was the only day we'd make it to the state fair.

the fair won out! we picked up our free fair train--a benefit of matt working for the town of fishers and headed out on the 2:45 train south.

our first stop was to check out the elephant rides. rachel quickly decided that one loop around a small yard wasn't worth her $6.00(she brought her own money to do something fun). luke decided he did want to spend $4.00 he brought to be a rider on the stock car track. daddy didn't seem to mind spending his money to be the driver. they did great & were one of the better cars on the track. they passed a bunch of other drivers. luke lost his hat and daddy swooped it up a couple of laps later--rachel says only one car ran over it.

we headed on to the little hands on the farm exhibit. basically it seems designed to help city kids understand their food comes from a farm, not the grocery. the kiddos donned aprons & grabbed a bucket.

they collected an egg from the hen house, picked an apple, gathered wool, planted & harvested a vegetable, drove a tractor (pedal powered), milked a cow & took their goods to the market. they earned a dollar to buy something at the 'store'. luke picked a box of frosted flakes & rachel a granola bar. they got a free pioneer seed hat & a college choice backpack. and it was fun.

we checked out some tigers! it was cool. a little scarey to think they were behind just 2 fences, but there were 2 guys in there with them. they would have been an easier meal. good, unexpected show.

we perused the pioneer area, looked at some tractors & visited some friends at the new mac reynolds barn. the barn was just dedicated last week...great place named in honor of a great guy. we caught dan eating ice cream & toney sitting around. mike was working. rachel got a $5 tee shirt!

off to find some dinner with stops at the ffa building for putt putt & a couple other stops. rachel ate a gigantic 'small' corndog, luke a hotdog & burgers for the grownups. we shared some fries & cooled off in the shade. we headed out for more fun at the fair. we saw some 4H projects, milt by some trees, & more. we wandered over to the animal barns to finish out our day. cows, goats, sheep, pigs (& piglets), and rachel's favorite--horses! it was time to catch the 8:00 train home.

no super junky fair food, but a fun tiring day nonetheless.

about the quickest the little people have gone to sleep all summer. good family day!