County Fair Fun!

Every summer my family and I look forward to the County Fair. We love the rides, the shows, the animal races, the fireworks, and most especially THE FOOD! Corn dogs, cotton candy, snow cones, chocolate covered bananas, deep-fried Twinkies, and our family’s favorite… FUNNEL CAKES! We visit the fair at least three days per season. One day is devoted to getting there early, pigging out on all the food, watching animal races, riding a few rides, walking around to see the displays, seeing a concert, and staying late for the fireworks. (The two other days are to eat more fair food because it will be another year before we can consume such greasy, fatty goodness.)

This year was my son’s first time at the fair. He is only 3-months old, but we weren’t going to let his age stop us from enjoying this family tradition. Big Sister wanted to show him around to see why the county fair is so much fun. She took him to see a circus act and bought him his first clown nose. Daddy showed him every kind of food he bought before eating it so that he can admire the crazy shapes and sizes, such as footlong corn dogs and tornado potatoes. And I took him to his first rock concert: Night Ranger! I don’t know how much fun my son had or if he even understood what was going on, but we’ll be making sure he knows how important county fairs mean to this family.

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Children’s Themed Birthday Parties

Last weekend we went to a birthday party for our friend’s 5-year old son. The invitation was cowboy-themed. The party was decked out in Western decor. The host gave away cowboy hats and bandanas, and there were even pony rides. YES, pony rides! It was the BEST party my daughter has ever been to (she exclaims this after every party she attends). It seems like children’s birthday parties are getting fancier each year, and it’s becoming a challenge to “top” the next party – not that these kids are competing. But as a parent, you don’t want to be outdone (recently, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were in the news, having hosted a $100,000.00 birthday party for their daughter, Suri, where the cake alone cost over $15 thousand!). The pressure is on if you’re only going to have a simple “cake and ice cream” birthday gathering.

We’ve been to quite a few themed events, such as:

• a Dinosaur party hosted at a children’s activity center (complete with dinosaur-related games)
• a Princess Ball, along with a dressing room filled with gowns, crowns, make-up, glitter, boas, etc. for all the girls (and the loot bag was more expensive than our present for the birthday celebrant!)
• a Pirate party with a scavenger hunt, and enough gold coins to fill Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship
• a Musical party where a music teacher came and brought boxes of different musical instruments for the children to participate in song-and-dance activities
• and the most outrageous one I’ve been to… a Super Model party. The dad even built a runway for the girls to parade down the catwalk in their fashionable attire!

My daughter has had her share of themed parties:

• Hawaiian pool party with beach toys as giveaways
• Gymnastics party where the instructors came and set up their equipment at a park, and had a “class” with all the kids
• County Fair-themed party with a cotton candy machine, an ice cone maker, face painting, and a friend who made balloon animals for all the guests.

The day after my daughter’s 4-year old party, she started discussing with me what her theme will be for next year’s party. (I’m not kidding!) She had a few in mind: a Power Ranger party, a Pokemon party, a Princess party to name a few. But the winning theme is a Pirate party – just like her cousin’s but not exactly the same. She wants it to be a PINK Pirate party and have a Pirate Princess come to entertain her guests. (Demanding for a 5-year old! And don’t even get me started on her wanting an iPhone as a present.) So, two months before her birthday, I’m already making a mad dash looking for a Pirate Princess to come to her party, and hunting down a bakery who can make custom-designed cupcakes with black and pink skull and bones. As the date gets closer and I’ve secured the entertainment and the cupcakes, I sit back and sigh, “What the heck am I doing? I’m trying to impress her 5-year old friends. Next year will be just cake and ice cream!” I say this every year, and I know I’ll be sucked into another theme party again next year.

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