We hit the Oregon State Fair the first weekend in September, on my birthday. It may very well have been the best birthday I've ever had... Walking hand in hand with my sweet hubby on a nice warm day, with a steady stream of yummy stuff to eat, with like-you-see-in-the-movies happy kids, and with my Mom--who always thrills in re-living her childhood days on a farm when visiting the fair. I couldn't decide whether it was more fun watching the kids enjoying themselves, or watching my Mom enjoying watching the kids:
To start the day off right, Corey made it into Guinness. I'm sure of it. He once made the mistake of telling my Mom how his Dad had always played the fair games until he'd win one of those monstrosities of a stuffed animal. Mom got it into her head that she'd bankroll Corey's perpetuation of the tradition, and she has harassed him to play those games every year she's gone to the fair with us. The first time Corey gave in was in the late 90's. We'd been married about 5 years, and I'd never seen him play pool, but evidently there had been a pool table in the basement of his fraternity back in the day... He walked right up to a pool table, called each ball and each hole, and sunk every last one of them as he said he would. There was a crowd of 50-100 by the time it was all over... So for the last decade, he's been holding Mom off, saying he could never do it again, and refusing her best efforts to induce him to play, on the grounds that it's a waste of money. Well, first thing when we got to the fair this year, Mom started in on him. (I had been giving him a hard time leading up to the fair, saying, "You know what I can't wait for? Watching Mom try to make you play those games..." ;0) ) Anyway, I guess he didn't want to wage war this year, so when she pointed out the first game we walked past, the throw-the-light-as-a-feather-softball-and-knock-down-the-three-anchor-heavy-pins, he just said, "Fine." And guess what? Yep, I'm married to a stud. 10 years apart. Played one fair game. And WON. BOTH TIMES!? I wasn't the only one who was stunned. Check out his expression:
Better yet, check out Sugar Momma's expression:
Corey let Kendra pick out the prize... Oh happy day. I always wanted a fuchsia monster to compliment our woodsy decor:
After we got over the shock of Corey winning that thing--well, really, I'm still not over it... We grabbed some grub, and watched a fun gymnastics group. Mom and Kendra didn't know I was watching (and snapping pics of them) as they watched. Crack me up! Mom with her mouth hanging open, and Kendra airborne as she was jumping along to the music... We really need to enroll her in some sort of gymnastics class or something:
Micah is a major animal lover:
I love this picture, because it illustrates one of our family dynamics so well... Notice Micah, ready to hop on in that pen and ride the tortoise if it wasn't for Corey holding him back. Meanwhile, Kendra is trying to pull Corey back because she doesn't want anyone getting too close, much less herself... ha ha ha Especially when it comes to animals, Micah is 100% the adventurer, and Kendra is quite comfortable to play the protector role:
Here's my little adventurer going wild in the rabbit/bird barn:
I'm pretty sure it's a sin if you don't sample some Umpqua Ice Cream while at the State Fair:
One last ride...
...and Kendra and I head for the car with our bag of cotton candy, planning to enjoy it as Micah crashes after all that excitement and no nap...
...but wait! The excitement doesn't end there! As it turns out, the picture above is the last one ever to be taken of my baby girl with all of her baby teeth. I guess the fluff of the cotton candy was the final straw, because a few bites in, we all heard a soft little, "Owww..." I looked over, and her tooth was hanging by a thread. I reached in and tried to wrest it free, but couldn't stomach it. So I made Corey pull over and give it a go: 
He almost passed out himself, I'm sure. Just look at him:
But he did it! Yay, Daddy!! One final shot of the new smile, and we headed for home:
I know I keep saying it, and I don't think I'm going to stop anytime soon... This is just such a sweet, sweet season of life. I am full to the brim, and overflowing with the Lord's blessing on me and my precious family. Thank you, God, for this perfect day. I will always treasure the memory!
