fair-weather fair...

...um, not so much.  what started out as a need to get out of the house for a while last saturday afternoon of labor day weekend had us running back into the house in panic mode a couple hours later.  we had been pent up inside most of the afternoon after a morning spent at the farmer's market and doing errands.  it was sweltering hot and we were attempting to cross items off our to-do list on this last weekend of summer before our return to school, michael's mba and the girls in daycare overtook our lives making it exceptionally busy- straightening the basement, purging things we don't need, doing laundry, napping the kids.  we decided to head to the local fair for a bit, and asked harper's preschool teacher, who lives around the corner, to join us.  we knew the threat of rain was evident, but decided to chance it, even when we heard the rolling thunder as we exited the car and walked to the fair entrance.  i took this photo when we finally found ourselves among the rides.  the sky looked like this...

and i was not about to head up on the ferris wheel with lightning in sight.  crazy people.

nor was i going on this ride.

been on it once, many many moons ago, and only remember walking off of it and into a tree.  not trying that again.

so we walked around, found some fun of our own...

tried our hands at some games, completely rigged by the way.  harper wanted a dora doll, so we paid $5 to play the fishing game.  you pay $2, you get the cheap on the ground in the bucket toy.  you pay $5, you get to pick a hanging stuffed toy.  

needless to say, she won exactly what she spied.





did i mention rigged games?  see the much larger dora hanging on the wall?  well, harper saw this after she won her little one and of course, wanted it.  michael was coaxed by the vendor to try his arm at this game.  he gave it three tries, and with every throw, only the blue can remained standing on the table.  glued down?  filled with sand?  we'll never know.  but we didn't get the dora.



this was the one ride harper decided she wanted to go on, which i was just fine with.  michael bought the tickets, and on his way back, the hail storm rolled in, sending us running into the shelter of the barns.  when the rains stopped, the slide remained closed.



so, we stomped in the puddles.



hung out with some farm friends.







ate some yummy carnival food.







rode the merry-go-round.





and walked through the fun house.



and then the sky turned much more ominous.



and we booked it back to the car.





we made it home safely before the storms took over.  and michael and i both agreed that the short (and pricey) trip was completely worth it.