The Great State Fair

Early September means that the great state fair of Oklahoma has come to town, bringing with it copious amounts of fried food, carnies, and the glut of humanity. Wow. Doesn’t that sound so positive? But at the same time, despite the fact that I was not taken to the fair more than 2x in my childhood, I do have a sense of nostalgia for it. I really enjoy some of the fun, old-fashioned elements of it all, like the 4H stuff, and the animals, and the cake contests. I mean, it doesn’t get much better than that! Now if only I could figure out where to sign up to be a taste tester for the cake and bread contests. THAT is the place to be!

Come, join me for a photographic tour of the state fair of Oklahoma 2009…

Oh, Internet! I took this photo (above) just for you. We bought several of these gorgeous, tasteful lamps (only $38 apiece! A steal!) to display lovingly in our home. Aren’t they delightful? Now if I can only fight Simon for the JoBros one. ::sigh:: We must find a special, hallowed place here at the house for it, so it will never be broken and we can then pass on this delightful, klassy piece of culture down to our offspring. (disclaimer: If you can’t tell that my tongue is firmly in cheek, then maybe it’s time that you and I part ways. I thought we knew each other a little bit better…)

Now THOSE are some pumpkins!

Simon wanted me to document the 4H Fashion project.

Yay for ribbons!

Did you know that there is a bug collecting division at the State Fair? I had no idea! Seriously, where do you sign up to do this kind of thing? And I am LOVING that 9th place winner Kaylee Young put her bugs into a really cool vintage cigar box. Gorgeous!

Simon, inspecting the baked goods. Where do we sign up to judge, pls?

On the other hand, I have a hard time understanding how it is that you win a prize for things like license plates. Or key rings. I mean, really? What ribbons could I be winning simply because I just am not aware of the potential for state fair greatness?

When I saw these, I knew that I too could be a winner. See that hobnail glass above? yeah, I’ve got one! It was my favorite glass at my mom’s as a kid, so she passed it down to me. I also have a set of those teacups. LOVe them.

We adore anything cake-related. I mean, who doesn’t? Congrats to the winner of this amazing cake!

Now for the food.

But first, a trip to AGtropolis. To see the chickens! This year, there were no chicks hatching from eggs, which disappointed us. That’s always neat to see.

Jude got to pet a bunny. It looked a little frightened, but maybe that’s because it had bright pink eyes and those are just a little bit frightening on their own.

Now we’re off to see the real big chickens. Jude loves to say “chicken” when we go eat at Chick-Fil-A. He associates chicken with tasty morsels of nuggety goodness. So you can imagine his confusion (er, dismay?) when this little guy pecked his way towards us and I proudly said, “Chicken!!!”

Wait, where?! Where’s the chicken nuggets?

Is it hiding in his magnificent headdress? Hmm. This is confusing.

Checking out the goats and sheep.

Here’s my sweet hubs, buying me a delicious (if overpriced) fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Inside the beautiful horse barn.

Ok, I wish I had a better picture of this, because this photo does not do justice to the sheer magnitude of how big this horse was. He was enormous! Easily 8 feet tall or higher. A beautiful animal!

All over the fairgrounds are the Tootsie Wootsie feet massagers. For 25 cents, you too can relax.

please, no photos, while I am relaxing, rejuvenating, and reviving.

He cracked up when Simon picked him up and let him feel his feet.

Sign of the times: The sign says that they had deep fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick.

Hmm, I need to see this!

Guys roasting corn on the cob. YUM!

Time for the pony ride! I didn’t think he would stay on it, but I was shocked and amazed. He lit up like Christmas morning and you would’ve thought that he had died and gone to heaven.