state fair

Mid-October brings a night our family looks forward to all year...

...State fair night!

The first year we went we developed a 'go big or go home' attitude about the fair.  Throughout the year there are plenty of opportunities to tell the kids no to kiddie rides, extra treats and staying up late.  State fair night is NOT one of those times.

Well, unless you are too tall for the kiddie ride.
(someone tell me when that happened?)

We really enjoy the rides and the food and visiting the animal barns, but one of the highlights of fair night is that it means it is time for a visit from 'Cousin Jordan.'

(Who used to be known as 'Cousin Jor-deen' but apparently my kids have grown up enough to pronounce his name correctly now and no longer think the babyish way of saying his name is adorable.  Enough about that.  I can't talk about this growing up thing any longer.)

Jordan began coming to visit our family during his fall breaks from college back in 2008 and in 2011 he shifted that visit back a week to coincide with the fair.  One of our favorite peeps on the planet combined with one of our favorite nights of the year?  Talk about a win-win!

this year it wasn't just 'Cousin Jordan' though...we were introduced to Stephanie.
and we loved her!
(aren't they just the cutest couple?  since this pic was taken they are now engaged!)

Nat rode the little kid 4x4 trucks solo this year.

It's that growing up thing again.  I can't even talk about it.

She didn't seem too phased about having to ride by herself though.  Because while the big kids were riding the Monster trucks...

...she got a little bit of "'Cousin Jordan' all to myself" time.  And that made one little girl quite happy.

As we exited Kiddie-land in search of dinner, we spotted a M7 sized grocery cart.

After demolishing several foot-long corndogs and some 'BBQ sundaes' (no ice cream involved...just pulled pork topped with baked beans and then coleslaw) from the Pik 'N Pig, we headed to the midway to ride some of the bigger rides.  Because that 'growing up thing.' Again.

Genesis proved not to be our very favorite.  Stephanie and I took one for the team on this one as Jordan and Ian kept their feet firmly on the ground and laughed at us.  I mean took pictures.

As it turns out the high swings and Tilt-a-Whirl were much more our speed.

Despite our BBQ, corn dogs, Carolina crab bites, cotton candy and deep fried Reese's Cups, there was still something we were chasing down.  We scouted the main food drag carefully before finally breaking down and asking directions to locate the deep fried Jalapeño Pimento Cheese and Bacon hushpuppies with Siracha Bang Bang dipping sauce.

Um.  YUM!

Next came fireworks.

This year we managed to miss the giant pumpkin.  Who knew that they closed the building when the fireworks started?  We tried.  With several guards at several doors.  Jordan and Stephanie even went to plead our case explaining that we have an annual tradition of taking our picture in front of the blue ribbon pumpkin.  No luck.  Apparently the prize winning fruits and veggies are locked up as tight as Fort Knox.

So I drowned by sorrows with a funnel cake.
It was after all my half-birthday.  If the kids get donuts then I get a funnel cake.

Or...we split the funnel cake among nine.  When that happens you don't get much.  In fact your portion may be so small that the last ones to the party may decide licking the powdered sugar off the plate is worth the effort.

 And then it was time for a few more rides.  One favorite of the evening was the old school Scrambler.  We rode it several times in a row, scrambling our brains for sure!

One tradition we didn't miss was ending the night on the Ferris Wheel.

It's just what we do...

Stephanie, we hope you realize that when you said yes to Jordan that you said to our family!  At least one night in October anyway...

We're already planning strategies to make sure we're able to hit those hushpuppies at least twice next time!