Kissing Cows and Petting Pigs

Judging by the title, I hope you assumed it was Fair Time, but if now let me set you correct, it's Hendricks County Fair week. If you are from Indiana or any Midwestern state, I'm sure you know the rite of passage that is the county fair. Scott and I both remember treks to the old fairgrounds with the super scary carnival rides which were right in the middle of all the other 'fair' things. The sheep barn was next to the pigs and cows, and the horses were way in the back. The midway was in the middle of it all. Things have changed, including the move to the new fairgrounds, but it was awful fun to take a 2 year old Connor to the fair tonight.

For reference, here is Connor during our 2010 visit. It POURED rain. It was miserable. We just saw chickens and rabbits, it was the next to the last night, nothing was going on. He looks positively thrilled I'm sure.


2011 tells a different tale. This year we went earlier, and that was wiser. We took reinforcements (grandparents) to help with corralling our little animal. We ran into a wonderful former Commissioner and all around amazing man, Mr. Whicker, who let Connor get close enough to kiss the cow!


Two groups of baby pigs were in the pig barn, and Connor was in L-O-V-E. He even had to pat a few other bigger pigs, but he was smart enough to stay away from the momma sows.


Ahhh....the lemon shake up!


Connor loved walking around the big tractors. He climbed up in the wheels and would scream 'Cheese!' for me to take his picture.


Connor and Daddy posing by the combine. No wonder you can't get around them on the back country roads - they are huge!


The absolute strangest looking chicken we have ever seen. We never did 'see' it's eyes. I call him Disco Chicken.


In the exhibit hall, I love looking at the 4-H projects. They have photo projects, scrapbooks, gift wrapping and my favorite, cake decorating. We even saw two lego shuttle projects (I'll have to do a Flashback Friday on Scott's lego building soon!) in the craft entries. Here is the most amazing cake in the bunch:


Awful reminiscent of Cinderella's Castle don't you think?

If this is your fair week, or if you would like to visit your fair, look here for all 92 here in Indiana. Ours goes through July 24th, and you can learn more at www.4Hcomplex.org. You can also follow them on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.

County fairs offer good hometown fun, and a great sense of place. You can experience that on an even grander scale at the Indiana State Fair, coming up August 5th through the 21st. Take the time to visit, I promise it won't disappoint!