A Fair Time

I contemplated skipping the NC State Fair this year - we have a lot going on this month, it can be super expensive, and I'm not a huge fan of fair food.  But then Lily came home with a notice that her artwork was going to be on display at the fair this year, so that ended the debate.

The weather looked good for the weekend, and I thought Sunday would be our best bet to avoid crowds.  We caught the first bus there Sunday morning and headed over to the Kerr Scott building to find her picture.



Here's Lily with her picture - Tar Beach.  Her art teacher was able to submit one picture for each grade level.  The gold seal means that her picture was the judges' pick for the whole school.

Madeleine was pretty good about it, but we could tell she was a little bit grumpy that she didn't have a picture.  She had her picture at the mall exhibit last year, and I'm sure she'll have another chance again.  They enjoyed looking at the other art submissions in the Kerr Scott Bldg.

By the time we got out of there, it was almost time for the rides to start, so we got tickets and got in line.  The girls went on the swings first and ran into a friend from school.


Madeleine and I took on the roller coaster while Lily rode the merry-go-round with Eric.  Then we waited almost an hour for the ferris wheel.  Then they girls did two fun houses and the giant slide.

Lunch was a few nachos, and then Madeleine wanted her face painted.  We went to one of the booths run by the ride vendor. There wasn't a long line when we got there, but I guess the woman doing the painting was having a rough day.  There was a family with three girls ahead of us who had been by before, messed their paint up, and then wanted it fixed.  Lily picked the "default" design, but Madeleine wanted something else.  The woman was pretty much yelling, and I couldn't tell if it was at the parents, the kids, or the woman taking the money for her.  She spent less than 30 seconds on each kid, and I'm pretty sure Madeleine was supposed to get a ribbon crown with her more expensive design, but whatever.  I was just annoyed because Madeleine had been so excited to get her face painted, and it was pretty much ruined by this lady's attitude.



We went through the two expo buildings and decided to leave around 1.  It was getting super crowded, and the girls weren't all that interested in seeing any animals.  I think we were all just tired walking and people.