Or End of the Year (part 2)
We continued our streak of 15 years of going to the Minnesota State Fair. We haven't missed one since Michael was born. He won't let us. It is getting to be more of a challenge navigating the crowds with all the kids but it is so much fun and the kids adore going.
Caelia loves the cars. She is too small to drive by herself, so Daddy took her and Michael took Lera. I don't think that Lera was so certain about having Michael driving though.
Masha was too small to ride even with an adult but she cheered for them.
Lera was much happier in the horticulture building and became friends with the honey bear. Actually, we had to pick her up and carry her away because she loved the bear so much.
Grandpa, Uncle Ryan and Christopher came with us this year. This is a really big help. It means that we don't all have to do every activity and it makes eating a bit easier. The State Fair food is incredible! Lots of things on a stick, lots of really fattening, fried, sweet, sugary stuff that is best shared by lots of people so that you don't go into a food coma.
They got to see Sharky from the Mall of America Aquarium. They love him and once again we had to tug Lera away.
They hung out and rested a bit at the Peanuts statues.
Caelia adores the rides. So does Masha evidently. Lera used to be very excited to ride, now she isn't enthusiastic but loves them once they start moving.
Can you believe this picture is of Randy and Caelia on the swings? No way Mama is taking her on this thing.
All of the kids like the games. Michael and Caelia make a great team and Caelia takes her shooting very seriously!
Masha rode in the stroller a lot. She has a lot of difficulty walking and tires easily. Lera tires too, so she shares the ride with Masha on occasion. I can tell when it's time to head to the car when Caelia wants to ride too. They actually all fit in this stroller in a pinch.
It was harder this year because Caeli has been diagnosed with anhydrous. This means that she does not effectively regulate her body temperature by sweating. She does sweat just not enough to cool her off and this summer was incredibly hot. Fortunately, we have handicapped parking placards so we parked close and were able to return to the car when the girls got too hot. This is what tired little girls look like resting in the air conditioning in the car.
