Fair Week

It's hard to believe that another fair week has come and gone. The girls had another good year... not as good as they had hoped, but you can't win it all! Ha Over all, we had a great week for weather and girls are already making plans for next year.

Prepare Yourself for Pictures

Okay, so I don't really have a lot of pictures...but I am far too busy to blog about all the goings ons around these parts, so you'll have to subside on a VERY brief recap, pictures and captions! ;)

Since my birthday it's been non-stop go go go! AxMan, mom and I packed up the following weekend and made a trip to Kansas City, MO so I could attend my upline's training day. I went last year and had a blast...the trip was just as good (if not better) this year! AxMan even attended the training with me so he could get a better grasp on what all I do and need to do to get where I want to be with my Scentsy Family business. :) And of course, we had Katniss & Lorraine this past weekend, so we ventured to the State Fair! I have a deep-rooted passion for 4-H and FFA, so the fair is a MUST in my life. It was fun showing the girls the place that I have explored, showed animals at, and worked as a college student.

Momma sleeping in the car on the way to KC

delicious dinner at Jack Stack BBQ...mmmm

my Grace Adele starter kit!

Toby helping me sticker catalogs and waiting on AxMan to get home :)

my Grace Adele purple Cora bag with May clutch and Zebra contrast wallet

girls helped me make Velata Chocolate Chunk cookies! yum!

Grace Adele display for my team meeting

Grace Adele display for my team meeting

AxMan & mom fixed the bathroom door so it actually closes all the way for the first time in 20+ yrs! (this is when they removed it to fix it)

 mom made some delicious peach cobbler...her 1st ever attempt!

playing around at the State Fair

Katniss & Lorraine liking the big pumpkin

*giggle*

silly girls ;)

we're harboring a wanted person! ha

America's Favorite Past times

This weekend we took part in 3 of what I would consider America's favorite past times (at least in my neck of the woods).

1. Dining out
2. Watching baseball
3. Going to the local county fair

Friday I got my nails shellac'd with French Manicure and my toes purple!

Did some grocery shopping & couldn't resist the Coffee ice cream. It's a favorite of mine...and AxMan!

Saturday morning I prepped my Scentsy Scent of the Month Club mailing!

Dinner at our favorite Japanese Hibachi grill with the family :)

Cincinnati Reds baseball game - AxMan's 1st MLB game!

Took the girls to the county fair for some fun!

Got their faces painted...awwww ;)

And on another note...I leave EARLY Wednesday morning to head to Las Vegas for this year's Scentsy Family Convention! I cannot wait! Will be hard leaving AxMan & the girls for the rest of the week, but I'm looking forward to all the announcements being made at convention! Scentsy Family will be announcing Brand X (the 3rd brand - already have Scentsy & Velata). It is sure to be HUGE!!!

I'll have plenty of updates when I return from Vegas. Don't expect too many sightseeing pictures because I've already done "that" Vegas. haha I fly back on Saturday afternoon just in time to get ready for my birthday dinner in Indy with some family and friends! I'm turning the big 3-0 on Sunday! :)

Day 135

After a late night last night...and a somewhat early morning (so I could exercise before the day started), I am back home.

Today, I went to Indy to spend the day with Jen. We were going to attend the Taste of the Trucks in Broad Ripple (food trucks in Indy were all meeting at the same place), but when we got there...the lines were ridiculously long! No place to park. Mass chaos. We decided we didn't want to wait in the heat, so we cruised on down to the fairgrounds to take in a day at the State Fair. The parking there was also insane, as for the first time in my life, they had EVERY gate marked "Hangtag or Handicapped Parking Only." WTH?!? There were tons of empty parking spots around the inside of the fairgrounds and lots of unhappy fairgoers! We ended up paying $5 to park and walking across the street to the fair. We took in some fair food and then sat through the 2 hour Cousin Brothers show at the Ricker's Main Street Stage. We were under a tent, so the shade was slightly cooler than the sun! It was a lot of fun...the group is funny, but very talented. (Jen knows the band & has been to many shows.)

We walked through a few more barns and then headed back to her apartment after running a few errands. I made my way home and am quite glad we didn't have plans to attend the Sugarland concert. If you haven't heard...the State Fair had quite the MESS tonight. The stage collapsed. Early reports show at least 4 people dead and approximately 45 injured. We had friends who skipped the concert because of the threat of bad weather. Luckily, we've heard news from just about everyone we know who was there and all are safe. It is going to be a very ugly situation for the fair before all is said and done. I know most of the fair staff and I can imagine the nightmare they are currently living (not to mention the concert-goers). Say some prayers!

Day 129 - State Fair

There truly is nothing like a fair, especially a State Fair! I guess it's in my blood. My parents took me to my first State Fair when I was 4 days old!?! I think they were nuts. We saw several itty bitty babies today...and all I could think was, why would you torture yourself like? haha

Anyway...on to the day...

We parked in the infield and made our way up to the main track. We wandered through several buildings (first stop being the FFA Pavilion!) and stopped for the first food items of the day...corndogs! Yum! We then trekked through all the animal buildings (makes me miss those days) before stopping at the Dairy Bar for some mozzarella sticks and mom got a milkshake. I also had to get my "splurge" of the day...a deep fried milky way! mmmmmm So good! :) We hopped on the fair shuttle and made a full lap. I love doing that. We have done that every year and it's fun to see the entire fair from another perspective. You can't beat it for $0.75 per person. haha Once we made the full lap back around, we hopped off and walked a bit before jumping on another shuttle and riding halfway around to take the north tunnel back to the infield. It was definitely hot and sticky today since we had a storm over night. Ugh! We needed the rain, but I can live without this horrible humidity.

 walking thru the midway to get to the first animal barn

fair shuttle!

mmm...deep fried candy bars

mom & I riding around the fair

Day 110

It's county fair time around the state of Indiana...and it's one of my favorite times of the year. (the other being fall) Tonight was our first night venturing to the fair and it was a HOT one. haha One thing that is different about this fair is that I am watching what I eat! Pretty sure that I've never spoken those words before about fair food!?! ;) It's amazes me that with WW, it truly is a lifestyle change. I got to enjoy a corndog, a pork burger sandwich, and strawberry ice cream. Yum! I'm still within my points for the day.

It was fun walking around and seeing old friends. As always, we "judged" the animals as we walked through the barns. haha You can take the kid out of 4-H, but can't take 4-H out of the kid!!

...at the Indiana State Fair!

There's always fun to be had at the Indiana State Fair! :)

The last few years, we usually only make it to the last day because of my work schedule. I normally attend the State Fair Queen Pageant, and had plans to this year, but like the genius I am...I forgot the tickets on my desk at home! :p

So...for the first time in a long time, mom, Jen, and I went to the fair and took our time walking around and enjoying the fair food! (usually we rush in, grab a corn dog, run to a few spots, and leave)

Yes, we fully enjoyed the fair food...to finish off the list of foods "nowhere near my diet plan" - Jen and I had deep fried snickers!! YUM! I haven't had one since I worked at the State Fair, that was a FEW years ago. hahahaha

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

As most of my friends have already posted such things on their blogs and facebook status...it is truly the best time of the year! Why? It's FAIR time!! :)

I have been attending fairs (County and State) since I was 4 days old. Yes, my parents were the crazy ones with a newborn at the Indiana State Fair! haha ;) It's in my blood. I don't think there has been a single year of my life that I have missed fair.

Tonight Mom and I went to the good ol' Ripley County Fair to check things out. The Sheep Show was tonight (which felt weird because it's ALWAYS been on Thursday night). The Baby Show was also tonight. My Aunt Roni and Uncle Kevin are Nikken Wellness Consultants and had a spot set up at the fair, so we stopped by to see them for awhile.

Here's some pics of the fun!

my adorable cousin, Callie Lynn, getting her beauty rest before the Baby Show!

Ethan playing in Roni & Kevin's trailer (his mamaw & papaw)

Ethan getting his face painted...future 4-H'er!

Fair Week Survivor

haha...anyone who truly loves county fairs are the only ones who will understand what I mean by fair week SURVIVOR!?! Each year the fair is like a safe haven, a return to childhood and all that was fun about growing up on a farm, but it also reminds me that I'm getting older and do not have the same energy I once had! ha For me, fair week was a daily barrage of things to do...take care of the animals, get ready for the show, show my animals, cleanup, hang out with friends, sleep and repeat the following day! On top of showing pigs, cattle, rabbits, sheep and even ducks...I always had numerous non-walking projects to get ready for fair - flowers, genealogy, photography, child development, etc, etc, etc... Now when I attend the fair, I barely get myself there long enough to watch parts of a few shows and eat a meal or two! ha Somehow they always seem to wrangle me to announce a show or two and the Auction. I've always loved doing it, but this year it was extra tiring for some reason (just not sure what it was!). ha We survived the typical fair weather...a storm blew in Sunday night and we watched trash barrels roll across the fairgrounds, but drove home going 40mph in a torrential downpour. (I've had a bad experience with being stuck in the bathrooms at the fairgrounds during a tornado and will never repeat that! ha I'll take my chances going home!) It rained again Monday night, but not until really late. The rest of the week was hot and humid per usual, but it did cool down some for the Auction on Friday, which made me happy since I had to sit in the same spot for 5 hours!! :p


All in all, the Ripley County Fair went pretty smoothly this year. Here's a picture of the Queens (and King) goofin around after the Swine Show, the longest day of the week for them!

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend! I'm heading to work here in a little bit...let me say that working 7 days a week is exhausting!