The Fair

I grew up in Des Moines, home of the Iowa State Fair, and was an annual attendee at the event until I left for college and my parents moved away. It was there that I first discovered that any animal can be replicated in butter provided you have proper refrigeration. It was there that I won a green ribbon for my peanut-butter cookies when I was eight. It was there that I almost met Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine until my friend Lisa convinced me we should try and meet boys instead. And it was there that I discovered that boys that hang out at fairs are generally not worth missing a free concert for.

So when Brad, Marlo & Mia invited us to go to the Montgomery County Fair this past weekend, I was really excited to relive one of my childhood memories with Owen. The brochure they'd received boasted of the family friendly fun to be had and even mentioned a petting zoo. But when we first made it to the midway, the only animals to be had were those of the genetic mutation variety -- a dog with two bodies, the "zonkey," a zebra-donkey hybrid, Goliath the freakishly large horse -- whose main selling point appeared to be that they were alive. Inundated with carni-esque glory, I realized that we clearly weren't in Iowa and wondered if we had made a huge mistake.

But as we continued to make our way through the fair we eventually happened upon the local fire department which gave Owen & Mia helmets and let them check out the engine. A little further up the road we encountered the goat barns, followed by the sheep barns, rabbit pens, pig barns, and Owen's personal favorite, the cow barns where he and a champion jersey got into a mooing contest. There was a parade which included some mounted police and a lot of 4-Hers spreading their love of sheep and swine. After some barbecue, we happened upon a field of John Deere equipment which included a combine that was made into a slide. Before we left, we even managed to find the horse and pony stables and got to do a little petting.

It was threatening rain, but held off while we were there. And despite it being August, the temperature was in the low eighties the whole time. Owen and Mia and the rest of us had a pretty amazing time and we really couldn't have asked for more.

Except, maybe a butter cow.