State Fair 2008

In true Vande Lune fashion, we headed out to the Iowa State Fair this year. We went on opening day and enjoyed a cool afternoon and evening exploring the many splendors the fair has to offer. Of course the first stop had to be to the cattle barn. Not exactly sure why, but Nathan is totally into cows and mooing lately. He thinks that Papa Tractor (Ron) should get some cows.

We checked out the huge elk and when we get home Nathan kept saying, "That deer scared me." I'm definitely glad that thing was caged myself! I can only imagine what it must have looked like to him!After checking out all the livestock we headed to the Little Hands on the Farm where we all had a blast! I think I may have even been more excited about it than Nathan! You arrive and the kiddos get a nifty apron to wear and a basket to carry to gather their crops. First thing Nathan did was plant his crops with some help from Daddy.
Once they are planting you go and gather your crops.

It was so cute to see him walking along with paths with his John Deere hat, sunglasses and basket in tow. He was a pretty serious little farmer!

Next it was off to the apple orchard part of the farm where Nathan picked apples.

Nathan knows how to gather eggs from doing it with Grandma Kris on the farm. He knows to grab quickly lest you get pecked at!

Of course you have to ride a tractor to help harvest the wheat. I guess they don't make pedal combines yet, bummer! This was the highlight for Nathan - who would've guessed that?

After harvesting the wheat, it was onto the sheep shed where to sheer the sheep to get some wool. They must not trust the kiddos with the sheers so you just get to pet the fake sheep. Nathan loved it just the same!

A farm yard experience just wouldn't be complete if you didn't get to milk a cow! It was utterly hilarious (ha!) to watch Nathan try to milk the cow. He was pretty serious about it all.

After milking the cow, you head to the Farmer's Market to sell your goods.

With his "money" Nathan got to "buy" a little treat from the Fareway store. I'm totally impressed with the whole setup and think it's a great adventure for the kids and parents!

After our farmyard experience we headed out in search of the infamous footlong corn dog and were pleased once our bellies were full. Too bad Chad didn't bring me a footlong back though. He must have thought I couldn't handle it or something. Soooo very wrong honey! Oh, well. Next year.

With full bellies (Chad's at least) we checked out the Varied Industries Building where Nathan got to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog. Following tradition, we searched out the Iowa Hawkeye booth and got the boys their Hawkeye tats. Lookin' good boys! Go Hawkeyes! No visit to the State Fair is complete for Chad or Nathan unless you go check out the John Deere tractors. Nathan's eyes glazed over in sheer delight when he saw them all. He was pretty pumped and wanted to drive one. All in all, we had a great trip to the fair again this year. This was Nathan's third year to the fair with his first fair being when he was 12 days old. We figure we will make it a yearly tradition and maybe someday we'll get to see more than just the livestock and tractors :)