Come smile awhile!

Saturday we headed to the Arkansas State Fair. By the time we left, Billy and his crew were hard at work on my patio.

We met up with mom and dad in NLR and headed for the fair. This was Raegen's first busride...he couldn't have had a better bus driver!

It was cool Saturday morning so Raegen was bundled up. I just love these puppy dog mittens and thankfully Raegen does too! He didn't try to take them off once!


Strapped in the stroller and ready to roll...

Our first stop is always the Hall Of Industry. I was anxious for Raegen to crawl through the hay tunnel sponsored by Farm Bureau, but due to misconduct it's no longer part of their booth. (In 2006 a teen crawled in the tunnel and lit a cigarette! Way to ruin it for the kiddies!)

Raegen enjoyed the other aspects of their booth though...

Oooh, pig.

Mammie helped Raegen milk the cow. Once he got the hang of it, he used both hands to milk two udders!!

This fire engine, sposored by the LRFD, was another fave of Raegen's. His eyes blinked and his lights flashed. When it would stop moving Raegen would try to push it!

The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission fish tank is always a fun booth to see.

With all that running around we were ready for lunch...bring on the fried chicken!!

After lunch it was time to hit the midway.

This ride caught everyone's attention....riders ascend 100 feet in the air in 15 seconds then drop back down in less than one!

We were mere spectators...no participators here!

We found some kiddie rides for Raegen. This particular ride played "Rockin' Robin" while we rode in a circle...at quite a fast speed I might add! I had to hold myself back from squishing Raegen.

The super slide was next...

I couldn't ride with him on the kiddie slide, so we rode the big one. Here we are as we ascend. It was a long walk to the top whilst carrying a toddler and potato sack!
And we're off!

I think the expression on my face says it all...we were ZOOMING!! I was holding on to Raegen for dear life. As we neared the end I feared I would skid across the pavement and crash into the gate.

As you can see, our "ride" didn't end at the edge of the slide like the other kids!! haha

Mom misread this temper tantrum as fear....she thought the ride scared him, but really he was mad that it was over!!

We then headed to my favorite part of the state fair, the FFA Barn. I've always loved to watch the ducks waddle up the ramp to eat their feed, then slide down and splash into the water...

They're just so cute!

Some of these ducks were pretty smart! They knew just how to stretch their necks to the feed so they didn't get too close to the slick tin roof and make a big splash!

Raegen enjoyed watching them go round and round...up the ramp, down the slide, swim back to the ramp, and so on....

This year they extended the FFA Barn and brought in some new animals, such as this llama.

There was also a ram that would loudly "baaa" ever so often...it caught Raegen off guard and he needed mommy to feel secure.

He really enjoyed watching the horse eat feed from my hand.

Mammie helped him find potatoes in the shavings at the kiddie corner. He did a great job of putting them in his basket.

It was perfect weather for a day at the fair.

That afternoon we headed to the rodeo to see bucking broncs, bull riding, barrel races, steer wrestling, and clowns!!

As always, after the rodeo we load up and head home.

It didn't take long and Raegen was out!! What a sweet baby.

I was able to move him from the bus to the Explorer, get him buckled, and drive home all without disturbing him! Now that's a tired little boy!

We had a blast and I can hardly wait to go again next year! We really missed Stacy and the kids this year so hopefully they'll get to go too.