Youth Fair

We made it to the Southeastern Youth Fair on a cold, crisp, sunny morning. For me, the Youth Fair has been more of a social event and/or lately a teaching opportunity, rather than a trip for sheer enjoyment. I mean really, who likes to walk around pushing a stroller or chasing a child or two down poop-laden aisles listening to hogs squeal and politely asking any FFA or 4H member to kindly hold open the barricading 3-board gate so I can push the stroller through? Not me.

But, dare I say, it was all for educational purposes? I don't think I can say that either. Nathan was only interested in this:

He cared not one ounce for any of the animals or displays the Ag. kids worked so hard on. Well, I take that back. The animals were interesting until I demanded he not stick his hands/fingers inside every stall/pen he could find. And then the race was on. He would usually try to outrun me to another stall/pen, hurry up and stick his yummy appendages inside and try to touch or grab whatever animal was near until I forced his hands out.

So, we spent a lot of time walking around in the wide open areas, away from nibblers.

He's also not decided if he's ready to outgrow naps, so any morning activity is a crap shoot. If I plan something, he will undoubtedly wake up at 5:45 and be ready for a nap at 9:30. But if I leave the day totally open, lo and behold, the little booger sleeps in until 7:15 (which is my equivalent to Christmas day for a child).

That was Thursday AM, and Friday PM was the hog show. My niece, K, was showing a hog for the first year and Jim had to work late that night. It is extremely important to me that I show K my support for accomplishing the task of buying, raising, feeding, watering, caring for, speaking about, showing and eventually "letting go" of this hog she appropriately named Barbie-Q. So, I braved going to the show sans husband, with a compliant child and a non-compliant child.

K's mom, my sister-in-law, said to me when she saw me walk in the over-crowded, standing-room-only arena with both kiddos, "You must be crazy comin' in here with two kids."

I took that as a compliment and as you probably guessed, we didn't last for long inside the arena. We headed out to Barbie-Q's stall and did some socializing with family members I hadn't seen in a while (because that's what it's really about, right?).

Luckily, daddy came to pick up Captain Destructo, they both went home and I got to hang out with the one who hadn't been getting very much attention from me for that evening.

She did make it very clear to me and my parents that raising a hog was not for her. Guess that's one area Disney hasn't expanded the Princesses adventures to.