My "Fair" Lady

Tuesday, after Russ got off work, we made a spontaneous decision to take Millie Janalee to the fair.  Most of our decisions are spontaneous.  We don't plan much.  Never have.  Ha!  I digress.  The Mid-South Fair is held not far at all from our apartment complex, so we loaded a diaper bag and stoller...and took off on a little stroll.

(Which proved to be a big stroll coming back after dark.  This is solely my opinion, of course.)

Once we purchased our tickets and walked through the mandatory route through an expo of sorts, our first stop was the petting zoo.  I became so excited to see Millie Janalee interact with the animals now that she can walk and carry on a big conversation full of babbles.  She loved it.  She pointed, pet, and looked very carefully at each animal.

There were baby goats, big goats, a tiny zebra, bunnies, baby ducks, huge turtles, a camel, a llama, sheep, and much more.  Russ and I told her the name of each animal and may or may not have imitated the sounds they make too.  (She's very into her Little People farm these days and the book Biscuit Visits the Farm.  So animal noises is something you will hear no matter what time you come to visit.)

After the cuteness of the petting zoo, we walked past pony rides.  The workers asked us if we wanted to try to let her ride a pony.  They offered to let her try, and if she didn't make it...we wouldn't have to pay the $4.  Of course we took them up on it!  By the way, the fair was VERY low-key on Tuesday night.  Not crowded at all.  Great time to take a little one!  Millie Janalee made it halfway around the circle when one pony had to stop to potty.  When they stopped, she did not like it one bit and was ready to get down.  I think Russ ended up paying at least half the price even though the workers told him not too.

He's nice like that.  I would've taken that money and moved right along.

But the memory was priceless.  And I do have those 15 seconds on video.  So there's that.

We strolled around letting Millie Janalee take in all the music, sounds, and sights of the fair.  The workers at the game booths kept calling out to her, and she waved at everyone we passed, of course.  Russ and I took stock of the kiddie rides we thought she could handle before buying tickets.  There were three we thought we would try.

Including the classic carousel!  This is the main reason we went, to be honest.  I excitedly took my baby girl up to the pink horse to ride in circles.  The ride jolted when it started, and she was startled.  Her horse went up and down a couple of times before she grabbed tightly around my neck wanting off.  So the rest of the ride, we just rode in circles standing there.  Beside a horse.

And I was dizzy and motion sick afterward.  Has anyone else ever gotten motion sickness from riding a carousel!?  I don't remember this ever happening before.  That thing went fast! 

The next ride was quite adventurous!  Daddy and Millie Janalee rode the bumblebee ride.  This is the only picture I got of them, because I never saw Millie Janalee again.  She was so short.  Ha!  The bumblebees went round and round and up and down.  I gave Russ cookies to distract her in case things got a little jolty.  Russ said she was great...

...until it started slowing down and stopping.  This is what I saw as the worker helped them out.  Priceless!  I'm pretty sure we were getting glances from all the other parents around.  Taking a 14 month old on such a big girl ride.  But, Russ assured me that she enjoyed it up until that point.

We decided to let Millie Janalee's stomach settle a bit before riding anything else.  So, we stopped and had Cheerios and a pronto pup.  The fair food of choice.  If I could go back, I would also get a funnel cake.  But my stomach was still not ready after that carousel ride!  Ha!

After walking around a little more and letting Millie Janalee watch some of the big rides and listen to the screams, we headed back over to the kiddie rides.  We opted against the third ride we had planned on...and instead used our tickets on one last ride 'round the carousel.  This time on a bench.

Russ gave our two leftover tickets to the nearest long-suffering dad waiting on his young screaming children.  He was thankful.  We made one last stop by the petting zoo before leaving.  This time Millie Janalee fell in love with the llama.  If Russ would have let go, she would have run right to that llama and spread her body across his back like our ottoman in the living room.

Our little family had a great evening making memories at the Mid-South Fair.  I am thankful for a husband who takes a break from his studies to enjoy time with us and truly acts focused on our time together.  Even though I'm sure he had board facts and numbers running through his head.

Our walk back home became a little too "dangerous" for my liking.  So Russ carried our precious cargo, and I was gifted the chance to push the stroller cross country to the apartment.  It's okay.  Even though I may have complained a bit, asking "Who's idea was this?" my view was pretty awesome.

We got back home, washed Millie Janalee's hands and arms, changed clothes, and fed her a little more sustenance before getting her ready for bed.  Russ left to study, and Millie Janalee and I had a fun night catching up on The Voice before lullabies and sleepy time.

And that is our memory of Millie Janalee's first trip to the fair.