State Fair 2014

I have the most handsome boys on the planet! Sorting through these pics, I'm realizing how many close-ups I took of my three boys at the State Fair this year.

We had such a fun trip there this week, as we always do. We counted out years and figured that Elijah has been to NINE Fairs (including when he was in my tummy) and Sammy has been to five. 

We always start out with a massive Pronto Pup. :)

Then we move onto Sweet Martha's Cookies. The boys' favorite.

We tried a few new things this year, like this dreamsicle smoothie that the boys sucked down in 60 seconds. Another new favorite: reuben bites.

Sammy was so excited about seeing Cowwy's (his favorite stuffed animal) family! "LOOK! It's Cowwy's family! Take a picture!"

Our standard Oink Booth crown pic that I take every year.

Sammy was excited to see the "Daddy Pig" (MN's largest boar).

Aww, love this one.

It took MUCH effort and many tears to capture this photo. I'm glad we made it happen.

Waiting in line to get my age guessed.

Sammy, snuggling with his new I-Love-You-Monkey.

In previous years only Elijah has wanted to go on the ferris wheel, but this year Sammy joined us. Can you spot their cute faces?

Last year Elijah would not go on the Giant Slide because the previous year had traumatized him. I talked him into going this year and he was a little scared, but loved it once it was done.

The boys' first time ever eating snow cones!

As usual, we ended with the kid rides. The boys have a love-hate relationship with the Winky the Whale ride. They love it once it gets going, but anticipating the strange noise it makes drives them just about crazy!

Elijah rode on the little swings alone while Sammy watched.

Then Sammy decided he reeeeallly wanted to go, too, but only if Elijah could sit right behind him. Once the ride got going, he reached back for Elijah's hand and they held hands for the duration of the ride. It was the sweetest thing ever, and it totally calmed him.

My favorite pic of the day.

Note to self: buy THREE sheets of ride tickets in advance next year. Now that the boys are older and enjoying more things, we go through them quickly.

Super excited to be exiting the Wacky House.

The boys each won a handful of toys and had plenty of sugar in their bellies at the end of the day.

We spent a family record amount of time at the Fair--FIVE hours! That's a lot for us.

Dan and I had saved money up specifically for the Fair and had a tiny bit "extra" in the end. So we caved when the boys pleaded for us to buy them a fluffy unicorn from Despicable Me.

Fluffy Unicorn is treated like royalty in our house. She gets tucked into her bed in the loft every night and is gently awakened every morning.

It's so sad that our Fair time is done this summer! That means Fall is near. :( We had such a fun time and we are thankful that we are able to do this as a family every year.