AR State Fair

The Arkansas State Fair was last week, and I took the girls one day when Michael was on call. I was able to navigate the crowds with three preschoolers alone, but unfortunately I couldn't let the kids ride the carousel (the one ride they specifically asked about before we even arrived at the fair) because Bella wasn't tall enough to ride without an adult and Kati wasn't tall enough to ride at all.

One of the highlights of the fair for the girls was feeding carrots to the goats in the children's petting zoo.

Gabi's favorite part was milking the "cow" and the other hands-on activities (grinding wheat into flour, "driving" a tractor, and collecting "eggs" from the chicken coop). Gramma Jane, I thought of you and how you hated collecting eggs because the hens were mean. This exhibit had a contraption where the hens were sitting on slanted nests such that the eggs roll onto a conveyor belt and you turn the belt to collect the eggs.

We saw a Hereford whiteface, a black Angus, and a black baldie next to each other - so I got to teach the girls what I learned from Granddad about the black baldie being a Hereford-Angus cross. I think the farmer sitting with the cows was impressed that I knew all that and could identify the breeds... but then I showed my ignorance by asking what the difference between a steer and a bull was. (If you're curious: a steer is fixed, but a bull can breed.)