All Out For The County Fair

It is beautiful Iowa Sunday evening, after a perfect summer day. The temperatures were in the low 80s, humidity was low, and the sky was a perfect, clear blue. Unfortunately, Sarah woke up with a nasty stomach bug. Asher and I left her to rest this morning, and headed out to the Dallas County Fair. Asher was really excited, because one of his favorite train books, "Engine Engine Number 9", ends with the train arriving at the county fair. The whole way there, he was shouting "Downty Fayer!" When we got to the fairgrounds, we basically had the whole place to ourselves. We went around to each of the animals several times. Asher loved the pigs, cows, roosters, and sheep, but the goats were his favorite. He also absolutely loved the tractors, and insisted in sitting on all of the smaller ones (the ones without locked cabs). He is already enough of an Iowa boy to know the different brands of tractors, and can always tell a John Deere! We had a lazy afternoon around the house, watching the Chicago Cubs game and the airplane races on TV and taking naps. Then with little warning, after bathtime, Asher passed a major potty training milestone! That's right, a #2 in the potty! He was absolutely thrilled about it. I was too. I was surprised how proud I was! Sarah and Asher are asleep right now. I am listening to the local TV news, featuring the highest level of Olympic hype I have heard since Salt Lake in 2002. Des Moines has two big-time Olympic hopefuls; Shawn Johnson in gymastics and Lolo Jones in track. There will be a big pep-rally-style sendoff for both of them tomorrow. They are already planning on replacing the traditional butter cow at the Iowa State Fair with a butter sculpture of Shawn Johnson. People are getting excited about the state fair already, too, even though it is still almost a month away. The state fair really is amazing, though. The crowds and the sheer size of the fair are incredible. Last year, we moved here during the State Fair, and we went while living in a motel. It was a real Iowa experience! We are planning on probably going twice this year. Most likely, we will take a day off work to spend a full day at the fair. We also have tickets to see Garrison Keillor and the cast of Prairie Home Companion at the fair. That will be cool!