"Tradition!"

(Title sung in my best imitation of Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof." It is second only to my imitation of Tevye singing "If I Were a Rich Man.")

For at least the third year in a row, mom, the girls and I have gone to the State Fair on Labor Day (how fitting, given the vast cross-section of the American Labor Force on hand there.) We arrive when the gates open, walk around the Cow Palace (where, given its name, the country girl in me should be right at home with the woman in me who's been to Versailles; in reality it's a great place to watch your kids gawk at the many amazing kinds of cattle and how often they poop), and then get our all-you-can-ride Midway bracelets.

The girls are Midway Monsters. We had to drag them away after three hours with promises of ice cream at Grandma's (that's where the picture w/the pandas was taken. I considered making up some crazy story about how Mom won them at the Fair, but they are actually part of Mom's grand-kid toy stash.)

Last year Evelyn was SO disappointed she wasn't tall enough to ride "The Zipper." I wasn't disappointed at all. But this year was different. She'd grown. And she'd not forgotten. Not 15 minutes into our ride bonanza today, she dragged me over to it, flapping and jumping and squealing with delight that she was tall enough. Let's just say I think my equilibrium has officially aged past my body's ability to deal with this kind of "fun." All I have is the memory of Evelyn and me bouncing around in that little cage, upside down, screaming and holding on to one another. It took me about 3 hours to recover, although I did manage to enjoy the rest of the day nonetheless. And Evelyn? While she got off saying the ride had made her sick, she says it was the best thing she rode.

Highlights:

- Amelia walking smack into the glass walls in the mirrored fun-house...three times...and laughing her head off.

- The two of them getting off and getting immediately back in line for the "Zero Gravity," the giant obstacle course, and the Funhouses...over and over and over.

- Amelia bursting into tears after the Free Fall (What mother lets her 5 year old ride the Free Fall??) She said later it was because when it dropped "my bottom came off the seat and I thought I was falling off." Well that made ME cry!

- Eating Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream with Mom and Dad afterwards.

- Enjoying a tradition with my mom and the girls. :) Thank you, Mom!

Here's a youtube Zipper clip Evelyn and I found when we got home. She wanted to give Alan an idea of what she'd done today.