Final Days of the Fair ... whew!

What a fair it’s been! I can truly say we’ve seen all we wanted to see and I think my back is ready for a rest!  Here are some highlights before I sign off for this year.

Bucket o’ Cheese Curds ... my first glorious sampling of this delightful bucket of fried cheese. It’s a winner!

The fair at night.  We waited in a nice long line just to see the lights and the Hutchinson skyscape.  Beautiful. 


A rare picture of my whole family together at the fair.  Somebody’s got to work around here!😂


The spray paint artist is a happenin’ guy to watch on a Friday night. He does amazing things with spray paint!!

 

One last hurrah - we made it to the fair for a short bit on Saturday just to see the Butler Community College Headliners.   26 years ago, this was my teacher and still a favorite upon favorites - Mrs Mack😘. My kiddos have even been able to learn under her too. 




And the fairgrounds are now nearly empty. A little sad, but it also means Fall is around the corner!!🙌🏻

Goodbye Kansas State Fair! Til next year!!

Highlights for Thursday

Part of what I love about the fair is just the ability to learn new things. Most of my fair experience can’t be planned out and I like it that way. We never see everything but each year we repeat our favorites and find some new adventures. 

Old Fav #1: Apple Dumplings a’ la mode at the Pride of Kansas Building ... oh.my! 

Old Fav #2:  Gotta make 1 swing thru the Hedricks  petting zoo. Small cups of food are $1. I let my kids split a cup - $3 for a littl hands on activity.

Old Fav #3: The Birthing Center is full of new life. One year we even had front row seats to a calf being birthed!!! Amazing!!  Health class doesn’t get better than that!

Old Fav #4: The bungees are Norah’s all time fav and I will probably hear the question for 364 more days - when can we do the bungees again???  We hit them on a slow day and they were $5 instead of $7!! 

New adventure: The Moo U tour took us thru the animal barns where we were able to learn and ask questions about chicken, rabbits, and cows and also learn about 4-H and showmanship. Our tour guide was very friendly AND this is another way to get free ice cream at the Dairy Bar!! Whoo hoo!!

Dole Whip

I feel a little behind the times as I had never heard of the amazing Dole Whip that people say topped their trip to Disney. So, we tried it. Amazing??  Maybe?? It was a good pineapple ice cream. I don’t know that I’d fly to Disney for it, but it was refreshing.

Instrument Petting Zoo

Our very favorite dulcimer/bluegrass teacher, Erin Mae Lewis, has an instrument petting zoo this afternoon at The House of Capper. 


The kiddos can play dulcimers (super easy!) and other instruments. I think we disturbed the peace of the dulcimer group practicing that is playing from 2-4 off and on.

Reflecting on $1 Day at the rides

 

While the weather wasn’t SO bad on Monday, my kiddos and I still thought of  some funny T-shirt quotes that we should print for next year. While at the far end of the rides with music blaring in my ears and lines out the wazoo, I really wanted my shirt to say “Dollar Day ... who thought this was a good idea anyways??!!”

About 10 minutes into our fair ride fun, I realized half my kids didn’t really WANT to ride rides. They’d rather go thru the Eisenhower building and look at pocket knives😂. Would’ve been good info to know a week ago when I got my discount tickets. But, hey, I’ve always been able to sell them to fair goers who didn’t get their cheaper advance tickets before Sept 5. 

Fair Hint: Tickets are 20/$20 if you get them early and nearly $2 ea if you wait til you get to the fair. Monday is 1 ticket per ride vs up to 4 tickets per ride)

Highlights for Tuesday

Tuesday is the $2 food day where you can get samples! This was the first year I’ve let my kiddos really go all out - well - they each got 3 samples. So fun! 
Our Fav was the Peach Pie from the Indian Taco  stand in Cottonwood Court. Def a great way to try new foods at low risk!  We will do this again. The key was touring the kids all the way around the food court to see what each booth had and then let them go take their pick!

First Day of the Fair

The first Friday of the fair, it’s an unadvertised get-in-free special if you make it in the gate before 11 am! I was SO excited to see so many of our homeschool families taking part in Kansas’ Largest Classroom! Here were some highlights...

Driving to make it in by 11 am!!

Kansas State Fair ... Kansas’ LargestClassroom 

The first Friday all the baked goods get sold that were entered into baking competitions.

The one man band ... “kinda creepy - kinda cool” my daughter explained😂.   Still - pretty fascinating! He just gets a little inside your personal bubble.

The Flores Family Thrill Show at Gottachalk Park.

Hot day!! Can’t wait for the cool front!

My friend Bergin being bench pressed by the Strong Man. He does shows right by the Channel 12 booth.


   

Monday - $1 Day!

Highlights for this morning

1. Get in the gate free with your Dillons plus card ... all 7 of us got in free this year with one card!

2. Dr Goddard Lab - watch Newton’s 3rd Law of motion in action 

 

3. Got our Pollinator and Agriculture Passports to fill out for free ice cream at the Education Building (was Do Art). 

4.  Next we visited the Pollinator Gardens to answer the questions

5. Experienced the Army simulator virtual reality games. 

And it’s only 11 am!!

The Beginnings of the Fair Baby

The Fair Baby

     It's that time of year!  The time of year that the city of Hutchinson fills up with people from all over the state and the Kansas State Fair is lit up from dusk til dawn.  This happens to be one of my favorite times of year!  I know ... I know ... some of you just would rather hide in a cave of bats than come to the state fair!  My love of the fair started 44 years ago.  My mom, being very much with child, walked the state fair as she was in labor with me.  I was born a short time later rightly receiving the name "Fair Baby" from her!  My dad started his own cabinet making business that year and from then on he had a booth at the fair to advertise his business.  I attended 10 days of the fair - sometimes sleeping in the cabinets, sometimes doing homework, and eventually working right alongside my brother explaining the benefits of custom cabinetry.  After work we might enjoy a Pronto Pup, apple dumpling, a ride on the train or boats and ride some rides! 
     Speed ahead a few years and I have kiddos of my own.  Littles.  Lots of littles!!  I love to travel yet with 6 kiddos, traveling has not always been the easiest thing to do both financially and just with the overall gathering of stuff!  So, early on, I decided I would learn how to get around with my kids in tow AND learn to like it!  Living just a mile from the Kansas State Fair, this became our yearly staycation - we could even walk there!  This is also our school for the week.  We explore buildings, ask lots of questions, watch presentations, take time to stop and watch the sideshows and, of course, eat a little junk food!  
     With so much to see and do, I hope you enjoy this Fair Baby blog as you explore Kansas' Largest Classroom!

2011  5 littles ... one on the way

The time of "two strollers"

Friends at the Do Art Building

Reggie boating with cousin Garrett

Grandpa never misses a chance for 

adventure ... he's zip lining!