Colors of the Fair
March 21, 2010
They both won a prize here.
I did not know this sort of thing still existed. A freak show?
This ride went so fast and bounced up and down so hard that I thought for sure the kids were going to come off of it with back injuries. But no, they laughed and laughed and went on it again. Ah to be young again and not worry about debilitating injuries, chiropractors, and co-pays.
This ride brought you a million feet in the air and then dropped you. I guess people like having their stomachs shoot up to the back of their throat. I am not one of them.
Miles is one of those people. He loves rides. He went on his first “big” ride at Disney World right before his fourth birthday. He screamed the entire time he was on the Tower of Terror. I thought he was surely traumatized. As soon as it ended he screamed, “AWESOME! Let’s do it again!” Unfortunately for him, he is often too short to go on many rides.
I took this photo when we were stopped at the top of the Ferris Wheel. The seat kept rocking back and forth. And Miles kept STANDING UP. And I was all hyperventilating. I am not sure why Ferris Wheels irrationally frighten me so, but they do. The kids kept telling me to look around at the scenery behind me, but I was using all my mind powers to keep the seat from flipping over upside down and spilling us out. Which worked by the way.
See my foot in the photo? I was pinning Miles to the seat with my leg.
And right here? $24 worth of icecream. I believe my exact words were, “You better enjoy the shit out of those cones.”
Here we are watching a monkey, dressed in cowboy attire, sitting in a tiny saddle, riding on the back of a dog, herding goats. I know. I KNOW!
And if that doesn’t make you laugh you are dead inside.
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that last picture? OMG! *hilarious*! as someone who has both a herding dog and goats (but no monkey sadly) i got the most fun out of it–thank you for posting it!!
March 21st, 2010 at 11:04 amFreak shows and costumed monkies riding dogs?! How did I not know these things still exist and where can I see them! Oh right, I live in MA and the most exciting thing at the Big E is watching the elephant poop. I guess I’ll have to live vicariously through this post. And I hope your kids did enjoy the shit out of those cones
March 21st, 2010 at 11:16 amI too am terrifed of Ferris Wheels. I think it’s the openness, the reality that you COULD. FALL. OUT. Also the incredibly long load/unload times. What a poorly designed ride.
March 21st, 2010 at 12:03 pmLooks like they had a blast! I can’t wait for the fair to come back here!
March 21st, 2010 at 12:35 pmI don’t know, I think that monkey picture was worth the three days pay you had to plunk down in that place.
March 21st, 2010 at 12:38 pmWho doesn’t love Whiplash? I’m talking about the monkey, of course!
March 21st, 2010 at 1:10 pmIrrationally frightened? I think not. Here you are, gazillion feet up in the air with your children and there are no walls around you. Plus, your seat is tippy. And who says the whole darn wheel won’t fall over?
I’m not big on fairs, myself.
March 21st, 2010 at 2:00 pmwhat? No mutton bustin’?
March 21st, 2010 at 2:15 pmNot dead inside- laughed out loud!!
March 21st, 2010 at 2:31 pmIf the monkey and dog picture doesn’t say Texas, nothing does.
March 21st, 2010 at 2:49 pmIt DOESN’T make me laugh… it scares the shit out of me!
March 21st, 2010 at 2:57 pmOh god. The ferris wheel. I was one of those kids who rode the most terrifying roller coasters over and over and over and over. But now that I’m a mom, the ferris wheel is the purest form of hell for me. The rocking. The lack of five-point-harnesses. Oh believe me, I’ve done the leg-across-the-child form of ride restraint. Don’t know what it is but it scares the living shit out of me. So weird. Glad to know it’s not just me!
March 21st, 2010 at 3:40 pmOh to be in Texas, now that spring has sprung…
March 21st, 2010 at 4:45 pmLaughing like crazy at the monkey, and the man who appears to be mad at him. Why do you need to be mad at a cowboy monkey?
March 21st, 2010 at 8:56 pmI totally understand about Ferris wheels. The book Devil in the White City talks about the one built for the 1893 world’s fair in Chicago. No one had built anything like it before - the guy who designed it didn’t even know if it would really work. It was also enormous. It was something like 40 train cars that held people.
March 21st, 2010 at 9:01 pmYour foot-belt on the ferris wheel… I use my ski poles to hold my children on the chairlifts. I scream at them from the ground to stop wiggling around when they are going up alone…I don’t know why they encourage me to take some ‘Mom Time’ and stay at home…
March 21st, 2010 at 11:54 pmA shout out to backpacks full of contraband food/drinks etc etc -the kids moan but man that stuff costs a fortune in there. And the number of times my kids have gotten sick on hotdog/burgers or doughnuts… (Only ever on the trip home or when we get home though..)
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 amSo did you go and see the cyclops baby or the 2 nosed cow??!
Amazing pics!
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:24 amChris, these are some awesome pictures! The colours came out beautifully. Your kids look like they’re having lots of fun!
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:28 amI am scared of Ferris Wheels too. But I enjoy roller coasters.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:32 amI find the monkey a bit more creepy than funny. Just hope I don’t have nightmares of him riding through my house!
Then again, the scariest thing is right now I’m multiplying the costs of taking our one child to the fair, by seven. Gasp! Keel over!
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:39 amA monkey herding goats? That’s way better than the ring toss for knives we saw last summer LOL.
I don’t understand the irrational fear of ferris wheels, but I know someone else who has one - my husband. He’ll jump out of planes for the Army, but white knuckles the ferris wheel when we can happen to drag him on one. Cracks me up every time. His reasoning is that when he jumps hes’ strapped to his parachute. On a ferris wheel, you’re not strapped to anything.
March 22nd, 2010 at 7:30 amgreat photography!
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:44 amSo was the dog riding monkey the freak show?? Hilarious!! I’m looking forward to taking my two yr old to the fair for the first time this summer.
Chris says: No, Whiplash, the monkey, was his own little show.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:46 amLove the pics!!
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:14 amI hope a post is coming up on the actual rodeo? Or okay, not the rodeo, but the events in between. I always get a good laugh out of mutton bustin and the calf scramble. Do they do Money the Hard Way there?
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:14 amLove that last picture! I showed it to my husband and said “this is why we need to move to TX - you just don’t see stuff like that in CT”.
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:45 pmThis line
March 22nd, 2010 at 1:29 pm“You better enjoy the shit out of those cones.”
almost made me pee!!
Seriously.
Your post makes me want to get to an amusement park or county fair as soon as possible.
Fina/Sayville/Long Island/NY
I feel the same about ferris wheels, especially since they went to those bucket seats instead of the lock you down seats of the olden days.
LOL!!! About the monkey. All we got at our fair’s freak show was a giant rat.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:20 pmWow the colors in the first picture are absolutely brilliant!!! You have such a great eye for artsy photography!
The cowboy monkey may be one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
March 22nd, 2010 at 2:25 pmIf they didn’t, I promise *I* would have enjoyed the heck out of those ice cream cones. My love for soft serve ice cream is just as irrational as your fear of ferris wheels. MMMmmmm….ice cream. There was a family-owned ice cream barn back in MA that served black raspberry soft serve. I would trade one of my kids for just one of those cones right now.
March 22nd, 2010 at 4:33 pmI am a little sick just looking at the ride pics, unfortunately I am so immature that if bets and money where placed I would go on anything (and throw up later).
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:20 pmThat last pic, omg how freaking cute and funny and awesome, agreed with pp, well worth the $24 icecream cones:)
hahaha you’re ice cream comment made me LOL!
and that monkey is seriously awesome. I need to get to Texas - the place seems like it’s in a world of it’s own!
March 22nd, 2010 at 5:58 pmI don’t like the ferris wheel either. You children are beautiful.
March 22nd, 2010 at 6:05 pmThat last picture is absolutely hilarious. And we don’t even have to go to the fair for $24 worth of cones…just try Marble Slab / Cold Stone Creamery!
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:00 pmWell, why the frick wasn’t he herding cats? Now THAT would be funny.
Splendid photos. Also, I need the name of the conditioner your kids use. They all have gorgeous hair. Truly.
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:47 pmThat monkey just made my day. But so much for the “everything is BIGGER in Texas” theory!
March 22nd, 2010 at 9:54 pmOkay, maybe the ice cream prices are bigger. Holy crap!
Thanks for sharing these beautiful pics!
Are you afraid of flying? I rode a Ferris wheel once. Once was enough for me. I have a fear of heights - so planes, Ferris wheels, and such are NOT my favorite things! The kids look look as if they had a blast. Hope fun was had by all!
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:43 pmIsn’t life in Texas awesome? Did you go in to see the animals? Those exhibits are usually really good. Of course, then you see the cute widdle piglets and want to become a farmer…I love the colors at the Rodeo and Carnival and took some shots at the Houston Rodeo yesterday http://elzabelz.blogspot.com/2010/03/god-bless-texas-hlsr-version.html
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:20 pmMissing from my post are the funnel cakes. Good Lord, the funnel cakes.
Shorts, T-Shirts, & Sunshine!!!!! Totally jealous!!!!!
March 22nd, 2010 at 11:27 pmWOW, What i took from these pictures is how SWEET your daughter is looking at that little boy in the second to last picture.Her attention to this little boy during this awesome show , is telling of how, you have raised your children! Saddle off to you, laslie …
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:01 pmYour ice cream comment totally cracked me up. But ice cream? When you could have had fried Oreos? Or Twinkies?? Where’s your sense of adventure??
March 23rd, 2010 at 1:38 pmI always love your photos … but that last photo is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
March 26th, 2010 at 5:15 pmI don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but you are one of my absolute favorite photographers.
Chris says: That is high praise coming from you. Thank you.
March 30th, 2010 at 5:37 pmA bit confused - do you have 1 girl and 3 sons? I can’t tell if one of them is a boy or a girl.
April 5th, 2010 at 12:44 am