Mississippi State Fair 2017

One of my favorite times of the year is fall.  We do not have seasons in Guatemala so I miss fall each and every year when we are not home.  I love the colors, the smells, the food, and mostly the activities.  One of those activities is the Mississippi State Fair that takes place every October.  When we first went to the mission field we would take our vacation time during the month of October.  I loved coming home in the fall!  We then had two babies and that changed everything.  It has been five years since we were home during the month of October.  Cruz was two and Ben was just six months the last time we were home in the fall.  That makes me a little sad when I think about it. 

I was very excited about getting to take them to the fair this year.  I did that last Friday afternoon with my mom. David was supposed to go with us but ended up staying home to continue getting us settled back in to the mission house. We had a blast and here are some photos showing a little of our fun.

Welcome to your Mississippi State Fair

they were ready to ride!

we all rode the big Ferris wheel 

views from the top

we fed the animals in the petting zoo

Who doesn't love the big slide?  Oh what fun it is!

we all loved the sky ride

One of their favorite parts of the day was visiting the butterfly exhibit inside the Mississippi Trade Mart Center.  We spent a long time there.  Everyone was given a stick with food on it to feed the butterflies.  You could catch them and get great up-close views.  The boys were fascinated. 

 such a fun memory!

They begged to ride the log ride.  It was blazing hot that day so letting them get wet ended up being a good idea.  They loved it!

 

This one makes me laugh.  

How exciting to get to ride a camel!  Thanks to Mimi they can now say they have done that.

The pig races are always a crowd pleaser.

The boys watching the pig races.  Cruz was chosen to participate but his pig did not win.

He was also chosen to be a part of the magic show.  

 Cruz participating in the magic show at the fair

one last photo before we drove back home

When you add in some fried green beans, fried mushrooms, catfish, nachos, taffy, homemade biscuits, fresh squeezed lemonade, and cotton candy it makes for a full day.  You just feel like a kid again when you visit the fair.  I have many fond memories of going to the fair with family and friends over the years.  I am so glad I get to pass on that tradition to my boys. It is just one of many things about being home this time of the year that makes me smile.  Hopefully in a few years we will get to do it again.