Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Bangor State Fair

After Kate's swim class this morning and a stop at the Bangor library, the kids, my parents, & I went to the Bangor State Fair.

Thunder storms were in the forecast for this afternoon and evening, but we took a chance and went to the fair anyway. It rained a bit when we first got there. Zoe, Emily, & Eleanor went on rides in the rain while my Dad watched them. Eleanor was so excited to be tall enough to ride on all the big rides this year! She loved everything she went on! While it rained, my Mom, Zach, Kate, Noah, & I went to the Pizza Hut tent to grab some lunch. When the rain stopped, the younger kids went on some rides. Many of the kiddie rides were closed because of the rain, but there were some that the younger kids could go on.

Noah's first ride ever was the train. He liked it okay.


Zach still loves the kiddie dragon roller coaster ride. Noah went on it once with him. Noah didn't mind the ride, but he didn't ask to go on it again. Kate went on the ride once last year and hated it, so she did not want to ride it again this year.


There were 2 dragon rides at the fair this year. This dragon ride was just for kids whereas the other dragon ride allowed parents to go with younger children. Zach was the only one that went on it.


Zach, Kate, & Noah had fun looking in the funny mirrors in the fun house.


Here are the older girls in a different fun house. Zach went in this one, too, but at a different time. I didn't get many pictures of the older girls because they were off riding rides with my Dad watching them.






Kate & Noah loved the "horsey ride". Zach went on it the 1st time we went, but since the dragon ride was right next to the "horsey ride", he chose to ride the dragon ride instead.



Zach also enjoyed the Traffic Jam ride. It is a kiddie size version of the Tilt-A-Whirl. I went on this ride with Zach & Kate. Zach loved it, Kate did not. She didn't like how it made her tummy feel.

We have never let the kids play any of the games at the fair because A)The games are expensive and B)The prizes are clutter. However, Zach, Kate, & Noah played their first game ever at the fair today. They went fishing and they each came home with a stuffed animal snake, which they all love. Maybe I can trade the snakes for the kangaroos that my Mom bought for Eleanor, Zach, & Kate last year???

Zoe & Eleanor asked me to go on Freak Out with them, so we waited in line. I didn't know this at the time, but while we were in line, a cell phone came flying from the Freak Out ride and hit Emily in the head. I heard the cell phone hit the ground and I heard that someone had lost a cell phone from the ride, but I didn't know it hit Emily. I had her checked out and the guy treated her cut and gave her an ice pack for the growing bump. He made Emily laugh when he told her she should be grateful that they make cell phones so small these days. Emily seems to be okay. I think being hit surprised her more than it hurt her.

Zoe, Eleanor, & I were the 2nd in line for Freak Out when Zoe decided that she didn't want to ride on it after all, so she got out of line. Well, she tried to, but then she saw a few of her friends from school, Taylor & Emma who convinced Zoe to wait in line with them. She did and they didn't let her chicken out of the ride again. Zoe went on the ride a few years ago with me, so she knew what it was like. After she went on it with her friends today, she was glad that they didn't let her leave the line again. Eleanor loved the ride and wanted to ride it again! Eleanor has no fear when it comes to the rides. Zoe & Eleanor went on many of the rides together (with Eleanor convincing Zoe instead of the other way around). Emily & Kate have the more sensitive stomachs and are more selective about the rides they will go on. The older I get, I am that way, too!

As I was on Freak Out, death was on my mind. Dying from a fair ride accident would really suck. I don't want an exciting death story to tell when I am dead. I would rather be boring and tell everyone that I died peacefully in my sleep.

It started to rain again in the early evening. This time it wasn't just rain though, it was thundering and lightning. We waited in the auditorium for the storm to pass, but it never did. The fair ended up shutting down and we left. This bummed Zoe out a lot, which I felt bad about. We could have waited until Thursday to go to the fair, but I took a chance on today and lost. It was a learning experience and we will do better next year.

We bought fried dough before we left. You can't go to the fair and not eat fried dough!

My Mom treated the kids to McDonald's before we came home. Kate was quite tuckered out by that point.

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