Minnesota State Fair

The Great Minnesota Get Together, would we miss it? NEVER! We headed out the morning of opening day, and took the express bus from the Mall of America to the fairgrounds. Mallory was very excited to ride the bus, until we got to the park and ride and she saw the light rail train. Then she wanted to ride the train. Ahhh, the exciting mind of two year old.

Once inside the gates of the fair grounds, we headed right for the pronto pup stand. Mallory had a bite of mine, but decided she didn’t care for mustard. Oh well, on to the french fries, and like years past, they didn’t disappoint. Hmmm, french fries and pronto pups, that’s a good breakfast for a toddler, right?

After getting some num nums in the tum tums, we headed to the Birds of Prey show, held outside of the Department of Natural Resources building. We have seen bits and pieces of this show in the past, but have never sat down early enough to catch the whole show. Mallory really enjoyed all the different birds they brought out for us to look at, and she even had a vulture fly right over her head, to the trainer. She was oooing and ahhhhing through the whole show, and it still talking about the baby screech owl. We figured Mallory would enjoy walking through the animal barns, since she is so into animals, and we were looking forward to it too, since it is not something we usually do. Well, we got through the horse barn okay, and after petting a few pretty horses, Mallory decided it was nap time. She fell asleep just fine in her stroller, and so Christopher and I checked out the cow barn, and then to look at merchandise in the coliseum. Once I realized the Farm Girl/Boy stand did not have any clothing I couldn’t live without, Christopher and I headed to the food building to enjoy some adult food, while Mallory snoozed.

Two servings of State Fair Mouse Trap Cheese Curds answered the cravings as they always do. Man, those are the BEST cheese curds around! Now in search of something sweet, Christopher and I shared a raspberry covered funnel cake. It was a little over cooked, so not the best piece of fair food we ate. Oh well, it’s all about the experience, right?

Before you knew it, Mallory was awake, and for those of you who have asked if she still needs to nap, the answer would be yes. She only slept for about thirty-forty minutes, and while we still had a great afternoon, she was always a little tired. She enjoyed herself, and we enjoyed her too, but if you have kids, you know what I mean.

As a family we opted to rest our feet and try out the Sky Ride. Mallory just LOVED the Sky Ride. She could see EVERYTHING from up there and was sure to tell us the names of all the sights and sounds. It was a wonderful break from the crowd, and nice to be just the three of us for a little bit.

After the Sky Ride, we headed to the Kidway for Mallory to enjoy some rides. As usual she rode the carousel, but also tried Winky the Whale.

We all rode the Ferris wheel as a family, and this still seems to be her new favorite ride. That is until we went over to the Giant Slide. I rode the Giant Slide with Mallory last year, but this year, she was waaaayyyy into it! She went down once with me, and if you watch this little video, you’ll see what happens next.

She went a second time with Christopher. Mallory loved the Giant Slide!

We walked and walked, and walked some more, until we came upon the KQRS stand at the fair. Nothing like watching your two year old daughter rock out to Back in Black by ACDC. I am not sure what her new moves are all about, but she had a BLAST dancing around up there.

More walking, and a little more shopping and then it was time to go up in the Space Tower. It was the perfect time of day, and there was no line, we got on right away. Mallory really enjoyed the fact it went around and around. I can’t remember the last time I was on the Space Tower, and Christopher thought for him, it was since he was in middle school. We all had a great trip up and back down, and basically seeing it through Mallory’s eyes, made it all worthwhile!

The sun was starting to set, and the day was getting long. Our bellies were full, but not bursting, so we headed for a signature last move and got our bucket of Sweet Martha Cookies. Once we were out the gates and across the street, we knew it was the right time to head home. Our feet were beat, and our butts were more than happy to take a seat for the ride back to MOA. Mallory hammed it up on the bus ride home, keeping the other bus passengers entertained and saying over and over “it’s getting dark out.” I thought for sure she would crash once we got in the car, but she stayed awake the whole ride home, talking about her day. She mentioned the Giant Slide, the Ferris wheel, french fries and seeing the horses. Once we got home, cleaned up and changed into our PJ’s, she was OUT. She slept until 9:30 the next morning. That sure was nice for me, as I also got to sleep in a little and recover!

I was looking forward to this year at the State Fair since Mallory could not walk last year; it was more of a sightseeing adventure for her. This year, she was able to partake in so many different aspects of the fair; it was a delight being there with her. We ate to our hearts and stomachs content, and we already can’t wait for next year. Well, maybe we just need to go a second time this year, there are five more days of the Minnesota State Fair!