Meet Me At The Fair!

Jason and I took Marin to the State Fair in Springfield this weekend. But first, we stopping in to see Marin's Great Grandpa Hinrichs, Great Aunt Vee and Great Uncle Bob and even caught a moment with Neal and Nicole.

First stop: Jason's Grandpa's. Marin was grateful for Great Grandpa and Daddy's August birthdays, because that meant that one of the first orders of business after we arrived in central Illinois, was cake and ice cream!! Marin wasted no time digging into her share, dribbling some down the front of her dress in the process. Then she ran off her excess energy in the courtyard. Other highlights included a ride on Great Grandpa's fancy walker, becoming reacquainted with his tupperware cabinet, visiting with the neighbors and drinking from Great Grandpa's small cups just her size!

From there we headed to the farm for a sleepover at Great Aunt Vee and Great Uncle Bob's house! We had dinner together, Marin ran and ran and ran in the big yard, ate more cake and ice cream, and watched Marin play with Neal and Natalie's old toys that brought us all back. The next day Marin played the piano, helped Great Aunt Vee make homemade muffins, met their kitties, sat in all kinds of tractors and took a ride with Great Uncle Bob and Daddy on the gator.




We were sad to leave the farm, but excited to meet Jon and Ben at the State Fair. After a quick stop to visit with Neal and Nicole for a minute, we hit the road for Springfield. Once we arrived, we had lots of fun. We saw a cow made out of butter, met a Llama named Queen Bee, oinked like the pigs, pet baby goats and a donkey, milked a cow, caught an up-close look at the Stanley Cup and danced in the beer tents.



The State Fair seems to specialize in all things fried, and as the saying goes; when in rome... We threw Marin's normal mostly organic healthy diet to the wind and decided to act as the romans do. Jon came up with a little adult entertainment of State Fair Bingo where squares named items like "tramp stamp", "NASCAR t-shirt", "mullet", "male with shirt sleeves ripped off", and you ticked them off out loud when you spotted them. We might be going straight to hell, but it sure was funny! I wouldn't have done the Fair any other way.


When we were all thoroughly greasified and had stepped in enough manure to fertilize a football field, we headed to Ben's house. Ben and his girlfriend, Marissa live in Springfield so it was a quick trip. Marin was thrilled that they had a kitten, and a neighbor who was just about her size. She chased him around the back yard for a little while and after a bath, was asleep in about 30 seconds. What a long day!

After Marin was asleep the adults enjoyed a delicious dinner featuring grilled steaks and rice crispy treats for dessert (I almost ate the entire pan). The next morning we had breakfast at a Springfield favorite, Charlie Parker's. Charlie Parker's was features on The Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and is known for the locals favorite "horseshoe" (basically the whole menu on one plate on top of each other) and pancakes as big as a pizza. Delicious.

After yet another feast we drove home with stomach aches from the collective gluttony that we willingly engaged in over the course of the weekend. We invited Grandma and Grandpa over for salads that night.

Another great weekend with friends, family and "moooooo" cows.