State Fair and More

After deliberating for quite some time about how to tell the following, I came up with nothin'. I wanted to do something creative and fun, but everything I could think of was either boring, took way too much time, or had been done before by numerous others. SO, due to lack of anything better, I'll just state it bluntly: I'm pregnant! We're so excited that Baby #2 is on board, due February 22, 2012. Our prayer is that the Lord will call this new baby out to live a radical, Jesus-loving life even from the womb. Though I don't think Abe really comprehends it all, he loves to give "baby" kisses on my tummy. 1st trimester is just about at a close, and I'm glad to bid it good riddance--it's been a little difficult with a 2-year-old and a transplant to a new state!

Anyway, on to the state fair. Thursday night, opening night, there was a mugging that took place. Apparently, a group of 30-50 young people started attacking fair-goers as they left late Thursday night. It was pretty violent, though no one lost their life. Some people ended up in the hospital with injuries (mostly police officers who intervened). Needless to say, I was a little hesitant to go on Friday (we had planned all along to go on Friday), but Ryan insisted it would be okay. The place was to be swarming with security, and new security measures had been put in to place to keep individuals without guardians out of the fair entirely. So, we jumped into the car and headed that way, with the understanding that we would leave while it was still light outside.

When we arrived, it seemed that the fair was certainly not hurting any from the event the night before; there were thousands of people in attendance, and I'm glad we were 3 of them! We had a wonderful time. There was so much to do, and had we been interested in the rides, there would have been even more! We watched a bear show, pig races, saw all sorts of livestock (which Abe LOVED, especially the dairy cows), and ate lots of [unfortunately] unhealthy and overpriced food. Here is a brief photo diary of our trip:

The WI fair is known for their cream puffs: as you wait in line to order, you can watch them being made, fresh each day. They are humongous and so yummy! I took quite a bit of the cream off of mine though.

Filling the cream puffs:




Ryan attacking his colossal cream puff:




More dairy! This was the highlight for all of us--the flavored milk! The line was ridiculously long, but it was worth it. At just 25 cents per cup, we tried all 5 flavors: banana, cherry-vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, and root beer. I was skeptical about the root beer, but it was quite tasty! The strawberry was our favorite. Abe with his 5 kinds of milk:




Watching the pig races-they asked all the children to jump and cheer to see if they would be chosen to be assigned a pig. If their pig won, they got a stuffed pig and a few other small prizes. Through 15 pigs, Abe cheered with all his might, waving his hands, clapping, stomping, jumping, and yelling out--it was so cute! I think all the other kids doing it must have helped Abe be comfortable enough to do it too. Alas, he wasn't picked, but, he still had fun and enjoyed watching the pigs run.




Abe loved the farm barn--playing in the corn (much cleaner than sand!):




The bear show:




Abe and Mommy in the tractor:




We also shared a pork chop sandwich, fried cheese curds (I LOVED these!), and a diet coke! It was such a fun time!

Lastly, we went to a picnic last night for the Physicians for the Arts. It was a bit awkward at first, since no one knew each other, but it turned out to be fun. Ryan got to know some of his classmates, Abe had a great time on the playground, and at the end of the night, we met a wonderful Christian couple whom I think might become a friendship for us! There was a sweet camaraderie and comfort with them. There's another picnic tomorrow night, so hopefully we can meet more people there.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading!