Aunt Sue came out to visit the first weekend in September. It was the perfect opportunity to introduce her to the Puyallup Fair. Katie picked her up at the airport and then we met at the fairgrounds. Unfortunately, Mark and Seth had to work.
We first humored Dallin (and Katie) by stopping at the fire fighters booth. This year they had a mini-engine on display. We thought it was because the regular engines were out fight the raging forest fires all around us, but instead we learned that they transitioned to the mini engine because it's easier to maneuver around the crowded fair grounds. Pretty cool.
All the kids loved checking out the fire engine and the equipment, except Jordyn, who thought the firefighters were terrifying. Nellie was most interested in getting a tattoo like the big kids.
We ate sack lunches while watching the fishing exhibit (possibly not the best olfactory choice), and as soon as the kids finished eating, they hopped up to try their own luck with the fishing poles.
Everyone successfully caught a fish.
Graham was hilarious. After he caught his fish, his helper took it off the line and asked if Graham wanted to touch it. "Yes," Graham replied, but when the helper brought the fish close to him, Graham shrieked and jumped off his stool. The fish also went flying. The patient helper scooped the fish up, and asked the same question. Receiving the same affirmative reply, he again reached the fish towards Graham. Again, Graham leaped back. This time the fish stayed safe, but Graham asked, "Where are the gloves so I can touch it?"
The Pacific Northwest building is one of our favorite fair destinations. Sue was excited to try her hand at archery along with the kids. Turns out she was asked to join an archery team when she was in college. Somehow I'm not surprised...
We still get a kick out of the Mt. Rainier crevice photo backdrop.
At first glance, the pictures do look slightly terrifying!
We continued our circuit around the fair and managed to hit most of our standard activities and exhibits. The piglets were just one day old! We almost lost Graham and Piper leaving this area, because they were so enthralled they didn't notice the rest of us walking away.
It took Nellie a while to warm up to the petting zoo animals, but she eventually mustered the courage to touch a few of the smaller animals.
We stopped to watch a Wild West Comedy Show. That might have been a mistake. The constant shooting and explosions were LOUD and surprising. Most of the little kids were scared, but Jordyn was terrified. She only wanted Aubree to hold her, so Aubree kept her hands tight around Jordyn's little ears.
After the show, the kids were able to work off some of their keyed up emotions by trying their hands at old-time chores at the Pioneer Farms exhibit. Graham and Piper are pretty impressive little rug beaters.
Thane was fascinated by the woodworking and the tales of boys his age having regular carpentry chores.
Nellie was obsessed with the water pump. Every time we'd try to move her to a different activity, she'd break away and run right back to the pump.
The tractor driving wasn't quite as exciting for the kids as usual.
Aubree was proud to be able to be Nellie's helper on her first trip through the course.
Sue hopped in to help Graham, who was having a lot of trouble maneuvering his way.
We stopped briefly in the Super Hero area. We happened to come right at a transition period, so the kids were able to see both Robin and Cat Woman.
All the kids got their faces (or arms) painted. Nellie was so pleased with her butterfly!
Thane insisted he wanted to try mutton busting again. Surprisingly, Piper said she wanted to try as well. So, we signed them both up.
I was videoing her ride, and her crash at the end was so startling I instinctively stopped the recording, but thankfully she was fine.
Tiny, five-year old Piper ended up winning first place!
The rodeo was being held that night, so all the day's mutton busting winners were invited to compete again during the rodeo. Our family had other commitments that evening, but Katie and Sue decided to stay for the big event (they were provided tickets). Piper won 2nd place at the rodeo, and got a huge belt buckle for her efforts.
On the very last day of the fair, ALL the first place winners from every mutton busting competition over the 3 weeks was invited back for the championship ride. Piper went back one last time to compete against 40 of the very best kid riders. She won 2nd place! Her trophy was taller than she is! Wowzers! What a star!
While we couldn't stay all the way till the rodeo, we were able to stay a little bit longer with Sue and Katie before we had to leave. That short time made it clear that it was wise for us to go. Nellie had missed her nap (of course), and started to lose it. Out went her hair ties. Off went her shoes. Out came the tantrums. Ah well, she'd been pleasant most of the time, and we had a GREAT day at the fair.
On Saturday, we met up with Sue and Katie again to go hiking to Twin Falls, up near the Snoqualmie Pass.
The weather was threatening rain, but we mostly were able to hike dry and comfortable.
I had a hard time getting all the kids and the gorgeous waterfall in the photo.
It was easier with fewer people. Have I mentioned before what a beautiful area in which we live?
Bryce noticed this really neat tree growing out of a fallen tree. Nature is spectacular, and I love that he had eyes to see.
That evening, Sue took us out to the now traditional Mod Pizza. Despite a big water spill, it was a pretty uneventful meal.
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