State Fair of Texas

The State Fair of Texas is going on now from the end of September until October 22. We decided a few years ago to make it an every other year deal. We do get free teacher tickets so that helps, but everything is SO expensive. You have to buy coupons to purchase ANYTHING and it gets a little outrageous :) Gracie was just so excited this year. She'd had a whole week at school where they talked about the fair and made crafts and painted Big Texas and even had cotton candy so she was all aware of everything. We went early Sat. morning and got there before the big crowds came in.

As soon as we entered the grounds we had to all make a quick potty run then we found the children's farm. It was way crowded 2 years ago but since we were there early it was just about a 5 min. wait. She had fun but probably her last year to do it. Everything was pretend (even pretend animals). It was cute though for the little kids!

At the farm she got to feed animals, plant seeds, and ride a tractor. They had a very structured path with specific directions at each stop. She had fun so it was neat for her. They even had a cute store where she earned a farm buck and got to buy something. With some prompting, she got cheetos!
Next was what she'd been waiting and waiting for.... Cotton Candy!

 

Now she was happy !! Lucky for me, she did share :)

We walked around a bit then headed to get good seats at the dog show. I see this almost every time I go and just love it. This was Gracie's 1st time she had HAD SO MUCH FUN! She loved watching all the dog tricks and really liked the dogs that jumped into the pools. Super fun!

 

After the show we did more sightseeing and found the Fletcher's Corn Dog stand. You have to get a corn dog (and it must be from fletchers). It is the yummiest thing ever. Gracie actually ate about 1/2 of hers along with the cheetos and snacks we brought in. 

Next it was time for rides.  The elephants went up and down. She liked that one. 

 

 Then we tried the game section (Midway). This is where they get your $$! They make the games look super easy and they reel you in. Gracie did this one where you throw a ball to pop balloons. She did good and even threw the ball with both her right hand and left hand to pop them! She got a few prizes.

We strolled by the farm animals. We steered clear of the animal house that was solid people where you can feed them. It smells bad in there and K and I are paranoid about people and  farm animal germs :) luckily she had no idea what she missed!

If you go to the fair you have stop and see the 1/2 man. He's a must see. He's been there for years and it fun to watch. He makes fun of people in the crowd!

Next we found Big Tex. He is the reason for the fair!! She liked watching him but he was in the dead sun and there was a huge crowd there so we didn't stay long. It was super warm (hot!) out. It started off in the upper 60's and got up to the 80's but with no breeze and solid people, HOT! I even put sun screen on her face.

See all the people? It go sooo crowded you could barely walk. Then you had people walking super slow and or pulling wagons and or double/triple strollers. Nightmare! Our day was coming to an end and we had a few more coupons to spend. We let Gracie pick out another ride and she got to go all by herself. She chose the bikes and had fun!

After this we packed it in and made the long walk back to the car and the long car ride back to Plano. It took forever to get home and we were HOT! We got home and all took naps. We were so tired!!

The fair was so fun this year! Gracie really knew what was going on and has been talking about it still today. Super fun memories made!!