More Fair 2012 Photos

Okay, these are going to be in no particular order.

On our first morning at the 2012 Iowa State Fair, we had some good fair-going weather. It was cool - somewhere in the mid- to upper-60s. It was cloudy (but we still slathered on the sunscreen, because those rays can still do damage on a cloudy day). And there was a slight breeze.

So like I mentioned in a previous post, after we'd found out that Livie hadn't won a prize, we decided to hit the fun stuff right away to make up for it. The first thing we did after seeing the piglets was the Giant Slide!

She'd wanted to go with Daddy, first, and then she'd go one more time with me. While I was at the bottom waiting for them, I snapped a photo. In this photo, you can see them on that green stripe.

No photos of my turn going down the slide with Livie. By the time she and I had reached the top, I realized I'd stuck my little camera in my pocket. Too late to give it to Andrew to snap a photo. 

What was next on the list? Barksdale's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies! These cookies are SO GOOD (maybe even better than my grandmother's). They are warm from the oven, chewy and soft, chocolate chips all gooey and melty. You can get them in a cup or in a bucket! We opted for the cup, which had just enough for the three of us to share.

I realized too late that she didn't want her photo taken.

Mmmm, cookies!

And what goes perfectly with cookies? Milk! I always have to stop at the Dairy Barn to get a big cup of ice cold milk. I think it must be 2% because it is so creamy and good. Livie even said it was the best milk she ever tasted. Maybe it was just because we were at the Fair and were eating our favorite cookies. 

A little bit later, after finding a place to wash the melted chocolate off Livie's hands, we headed to the cattle barn. We're fans of cows, because they give us milk (and milk is used in tasty things like cheese and ice cream). And they say "Mooooo."

Livie was excited for the opportunity to pet a calf. SO CUTE. 

 
Normally, when we have the chance to visit the Fair a few times after the first couple days, we are usually able to milk a cow. Since we won't be able to go during this last weekend, we unfortunately didn't get a chance to do that this year. Hopefully next year.

But we were able to visit another Iowa State Fair highlight - the Butter Cow! This is the Butter Cow's 101st Anniversary; there has been a Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair since 1911! Each year, the Butter Cow sculptor does a different breed of cow, as well as a "companion sculpture" in butter.

This year, the companion sculptures were Snow White, the Seven Dwarfs, and the Evil Queen. They are always in the Agriculture Building, in an enclosed, refrigerated case (obviously), with glass on one side (obviously) so visitors can view the amazing sculptures.

(They're not the best photos, because my little camera couldn't handle the lighting very well, and also due to the glass' reflective quality).

The Queen and the Mirror on the Wall, and Snow White were on a rotating platform, slowly turning so we could see both, one at a time (and also, probably, to wisely use the available space).

The Evil Queen and the Mirror!

Snow White in the forest! (Sorry for all the glare.)

 

The Seven Dwarfs! (And a glimpse of the famous one!)

There she is - the Butter Cow! (Again, sorry for the glare.)

And here's a photo I always have to take each year - the photo next to the floating globe, just outside the Agriculture Building. It's on some sort of water spout, so it floats around, rotating.

Later on in the day, just before we headed back to the house, I was able to snap a photo of the Grandstand. This is where all the Fair's big concerts are held, nightly. Also, there's a dirt track around the stage area (for horse racing or car racing, I guess. I once was able to ride my horse on the track, and even hand-galloped around it, imagining myself racing in front of cheering crowds. But that's a story for another day. ).  That structure you see in the photo is where the stadium seating is.

Taking a Few More Days Off - It's Fair Time!!

Today, immediately after Livie's swim lesson, we're heading back to the Des Moines area (getting lunch on the way, as it's a 2.5 hour drive).

It's Iowa State Fair time!! Woo hoo! We can't wait to spend some time at the Fair! To quote the musical/movie State Fair (Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical about none other than the Iowa State Fair), "Our state fair is a great state fair!"

For one thing, Livie entered the kids' coloring contest and we're all really, REALLY excited to see if there's a prize involved (we have to check the displayed art work in person to see if she's won anything). Please keep your fingers crossed that there's a ribbon pinned to her work!!

And we're also excited to see the world-famous Butter Cow, along with the real livestock (plenty of cows, poultry, horses, pigs, and other animals).

Plus we're excited about going on the giant slide, getting a couple corn dogs, a funnel cake (to share), maybe a deep fried candy bar (or something else equally unhealthy that one should really only eat at Fair time - or else you'd risk indigestion along with weight gain).

There are so many fun things to do at the Iowa State Fair! So I won't be posting these next few days, but I will be taking photos to post when I get back. And believe me - I'll have a ton of photos to post when we get back.

Wish Livie luck in the kids' art contest!!

 The 1945 State Fair (Rodgers & Hammerstein) Main Title music. I'll be thinking of this song as we buy our tickets and enter the gate:

And a clip from the 1945 version of State Fair :

 

(We get this movie - the 1945 version, and NOT the later version (!!) - every year at this time and watch it a day or two before heading to the Fair. It's one of my favorite "old" movies! Livie likes it, too.)

An Eagerly Awaited Package

As you all know, Livie earned 2nd Place in the "Anything Goes" Division of the 2011 Iowa State Fair coloring contest! Click here to see her artwork and award displayed in the Animal Learning Center. It was displayed with all the other artwork all throughout the Fair's 10-day run, 11-21 August 2011.

Once the Fair ended, the artwork (along with ribbons, including yellow "Participant" ribbons for those who didn't get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) were sent back to the artists.

Today, Liv's package arrived in the mail. We were all excited when we saw the envelope with the "Iowa State Fair" return address!!

And of course, Liv eagerly held her ribbon and artwork and posed for a photo:

After posing, she proudly hung her ribbon on a knob of her dresser in her bedroom. One of these days, I'll have to take the ribbon and artwork to the art store at the University of Iowa to see if they can frame them (together in one frame, I'm thinkin').

We are very proud of Liv!! We're sure this is the first of many ribbons to come!

"Next year, I wanna try and get the blue ribbon!" 

This Year's Iowa State Fair Entries

Last year, Livie entered the Iowa State Fair's kids' coloring contest for the first time. (Click here and also here for the stories.)

There are typically two categories for kids 3-10 years-old: a.) the age group (3-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-10), where they use only markers, paints, colored pencils, or crayons when coloring the year's pictures, and b.) the "Anything Goes," where they're free to use anything from glitter, to any other art-and-crafts type things. Parents can help guide their children's work, but all work must be done by the children.

Last year, Livie just did the age group, using crayons to color her picture.

This year, we decided to enter both the age group (5-6 year-olds) and the "Anything Goes." I helped her by giving her ideas on what she could do to glitz-up her "anything goes" entry, and she did the work.

Here are her entries:

Here's the 5-6 year-old age group entry.

Here's the "Anything Goes" entry.

Here's the "Anything Goes" entry up close.

Again, the "Anything Goes," so you can see the "confetti," glitter, and jewels.

And both entries, side by side. Liv says the gray curly-cues by the nose "show that the cow is sniffing the cake."

This year's artwork celebrates the famous Iowa State Fair Butter Cow. This year is the Butter Cow's 100th birthday, hence, the birthday theme.

We are looking forward to seeing how she does in these Fair contests. I hope she wins something. She and I agree that her "Anything Goes" entry is her best work (of the two pieces of art she's submitting).

And, of course, we're looking forward to going to the Fair to do all the fun things, like seeing the Butter Cow, going on the giant green & yellow slide, again, eating all the junk food (the corn dogs, funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, cotton candy), and seeing the sights (like the livestock), and all the other fun stuff. But it's not 'til August 11-21, so we've got a while to wait.

Reminiscing about the 2010 Iowa State Fair, Part I

Here are some pictorial highlights from our trips to the 2010 Iowa State Fair.

Liv and I headed out alone on Friday August 13th. Here's the view when we first walked through the gate:

We stopped at the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center first. This is where the coloring-contest artwork was displayed. The three pictures off to the very right were the 3-4 year old category's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners (looking, in my opinion like the artists had a lot of adult help). Unfortunately, Liv didn't get a ribbon (I didn't help her color - I let her do it all by herself). Hers is the one on the top right corner of the big group of entries.

Click on the link - Liv's entering an Iowa State Fair Contest! - to see a better view of her artwork, which I scanned before I sent it in.

Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind. There were plenty of baby animals in the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center to get her mind off the contest results. Here she is, all excited to see the new ducklings.

Here are some sheep and lambs.

Off we go to see other sights, like this big marble globe, which floats and spins around on some water (which is why North America is currently upside down in this photo).

Here's the famous Butter Cow, made of approximately 600 pounds of butter on a wood and metal frame.

It's hard to get a good photo of it when it's behind glass. 

And here's the Green Eggs and Ham butter sculpture to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Seuss' famous book.

I took Liv to the horse barn and the new AIR CONDITIONED indoor arena to see riders warming up for a western class.

As we headed out of the horse barn, we noticed the weather was starting to change.

We ended up getting caught in a thunderstorm, complete with thunder and lightning. We took cover in a cow barn to wait for a safe time to run back to the car. 

In the meantime, here are some photos of some cows we liked. 

This one was Liv's favorite cow (and mine, too). She's got a pretty coat. I don't know what kind of cow she is.

These are Milking Shorthorn cows.

These are Guernsey cows.

This is a whole lotta bull!

Liv wanted me to take a photo of the cow-colored trash can!

And before we left for the day, she asked if we could go see the piglets.

These three were hungry. The rest of the litter is sleeping.

I'll post Part II of Liv's 2010 Iowa State Fair pictorial tour later this week.

In the meantime, check out which activity I got to check off my bucket list by reading my "I Get to Check Something Off my Bucket List" post.