Fall Vacation: Day 6 (part II)

Puyallup Fair Day Part II:

So here is the conclusion of Anna's Mutton Bustin

and the last half of our day at the fair. 

 (If you didn't see part I you should start there.)

 Here she is lining up.  She was #11 out of 22 kids.  The goal is to stay on the sheep for 6 seconds.

Anna stands next to her sheep which is already in its chute.

The Arena

On the sheep, in the chute and looking a bit nervous.

The Chute flies open and she's off!

 1 second...2 seconds...3 seconds.....

4 seconds... 5 seconds....  at 5 and a half seconds down she went!

She didn't make it the full 6 seconds but....

So far it is the longest time of any of the children.  Now we watch and see how everyone else does.

The very last child who rode, stayed on until exactly 6 seconds.

Anna won 2nd Place!  Not a bad placing out of 22.

She won a 2nd place medalion and got to stand on the 2nd place block

 in front of the crowd. Good job Anna!

There were still lots of things to see at the fair.

We saw some animals.

  I loved the coloring of this cow.  It was called a Brown Swiss.

The girls got to practice milking a fake cow.

Then watched a milking demonstration.

Everyone got a free game with their ride bracelet.  Our children happen to be freaky good at winning the games.  And daddy has a game he never loses so we end up bringing lots of new friends home everytime we go to the fair.

We got some tasty drinks.  They were make your own slushies.  They had tons of flavors to choose from and you could mix and match any way you wanted and then refill later for a couple of dollars.  I think the kids weren't as excited about the way they tasted as they thought they would be though.

We did some browsing in the vendor area and the girls bought some sarongs to use as cover ups when they get out of pools.  A couple of the girls got handmade jewlry.  Jacob got a samari practice sword which, sadly, met an untimely demise on the way home.

Elayna, shutting down again because she is overstimulated. 

One thing I didn't get a picture of was Anna's trip to the first aid station because she fell headfirst off of a bench and got a nasty bump on her head.  We just wanted some ice to help with the swelling but we got to fill out paperwork for 20 minutes.  I would have taken a picture for the blog but it seemed kind of tasteless for a mom to be snapping pictures of her kid sitting in the first aid station.

By now it was getting late, almost dark.  The older kids wanted to go on a few more rides so we split up.  Daddy went with them to that side of the fair and mommy and the little girls played bingo and then got smoothies while Anna and Elayna went on a couple sillyville rides one more time.  The bingo was mostly an excuse to rest our feet before the walk back to the van but Stephanie actually won a 16 pc dishes set. 

Kylie had won a dance game playing bingo when we were there on rodeo day.  Mommy never wins anything when playing bingo.  Never!

Final Stats:

11 hours at the fair (9am-8pm)

9 Prizes won including bingo and Mutton Bustin

2 Meals, 1 snack, 2 beverage stops

6 trips to the bathroom

Over 100 rides when added together

Only 1 injury requiring Medical assistance

If you haven't ever done the fair, or any attraction like it, while taking the wants and needs of 8 people into consideration you have to try it sometime.  It is....

Exhilerating

Educational

Exhausting

Good Night Children.  I hope you had a day you never forget.

Fall Vacation: Day 6

Fair Day:

Puyallup fair day was finally here!  We all look forward to this day all year.   We needed to go on dizzy pass day or we can't afford rides for all the kids. On Dizzy Pass day you can get a ride bracelet for $25 and go on as many rides as you want.  But they were only on a Tuesday and a Wednesday this year.  So we chose a Tuesday and got there when they opened (actually an hour before they officially opened.  You have to talk your way in if you get there early but they usually let you in.) The rodeo day had been very warm for walking around the fair.  But the weather cooperated for us this time.  It was a bit overcast and cloudy but nice, dry, t-shirt weather.

We started out with scones for breakfast. Then Stephanie watched horse judging with Clara and the rest of us went to the petting farm.  One of the great mysteries of the universe-  Why are petting farm animals so exciting when we have the exact same animals at home?

We like to get our rides started early so we can be done with them before it gets crowded and they start having lines.  But the rides weren't quite open yet and we had some time to kill...so why not ride a camel?

Finally time for the rides.  The big question this year....was Elayna tall enough?  Or would she spend another year sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else have fun?

She made it!! 

I don't know who was more excited, Elayna, or Anna because now she had someone to go on the sillyville rides with her.

If you look close you can see that something isn't right on the slide.  Elayna got part way down and decided it was NOT for her.  She flipped over and got herself stopped and then proceeded to try to climb over the edge!  Thank you God that you sent Kylie to that slide at the same time so she had someone to slide down and rescue her.  She suffered a bloody lip but it could have been so much worse.  No more slides for Elayna this year.

The girls loved all the bubble vendors.  We wouldn't spend the money on the bubble guns this year but they got to play in them every time we walked past the booths.

I didn't get many pictures of the older kids on rides.  They were usually on the big rides and roller coasters and I couldn't be in two places at once.

But they really did go on rides.  I estimated that most of the kids went on between 25-30 rides.  So they more than paid for their bracelets.  With no lines they could go on a ride over and over if they wanted.

After rides it was time to do something Anna had been looking forward to all year.  Last year she went Mutton Bustin which is riding a sheep just like the cowboys ride bulls.  It is for 3-6 year olds only.  The goal is to stay on the sheep for 6 seconds.  Anyone who makes it the 6 seconds goes to a play off round.  If nobody makes it 6 seconds then the longest times win.  Clara won first place about 3 years ago and took home a nice belt buckle.  Anna tried it last year but didn't stay on too long.  She had been waiting for a re-match for a year.

She got suited up in her protective vest and helmet.  She was to go head to head with 22 other kids.  Could she stay on a sheep for 6 seconds?  Would she log in a time that she could be proud of after a year of anticipating and waiting?  Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!