The Great Minnesota Get-Together

I would have never tackled such an adventure on my own without Jane's encouragement. During our bi-weekly override clean-up meeting she said she actually preferred taking her kids to the fair without her husband. Before she left work she left me a map of the fairgrounds, highlighted with some of the Kempenich's favorite fair stops. It was probably time, after 11 years, that we participate in the great Minnesota get-together.

We drove to Gloria Dei on Snelling and took the free fair shuttle bus to gate 7. After purchasing tickets for Collin and I, we strolled through the gates around 11 am, and promptly made our way to the CHS Miracle of Birth Center. The building was packed, with a huge crowd gathered around a sow delivering piglets, so we strolled around to the dairy cows in the back of the building and stumbled upon a cow delivering a calf. After answering the barrage of Aaron's birthing questions, we left the barn and sat down to have a bite to eat at a foot long stand.

After lunch, we continued down Judson Ave., swinging through the cattle barn, the swine barn, and finally the sheep and poultry barn. As we walked through the cattle barn, cows were being primped for competition; we witnessed a cow getting it's tail backcombed and sprayed with hairspray after also getting it's "nails" spray painted. The kids won some prizes in the cattle barn by spinning the wheel of fortune and answering questions about dairy cows; Aaron a dum dum sucker, Collin an ice cream scoop, and Nolan, the grand prize, a stocking cap.

Collin's favorite stop was the poultry barn, where we walked between isles of roosters calling, "cock-a-doodle, doooooo" and contemplated whether or not the ones with the puffy heads had eyes.

After the animals, we quickly swung through the DNR building and took a peek in the fish pond before heading to the dairy barn to view the butter heads and purchase malts. While enjoying our ice cream, we sat along the curb and watched the beginning of the daily parade. Then we headed up Underwood Street to the Little Farm Hands exhibit, stopping for a break in front of the Horticulture building to make way for the returning parade.

Nolan, Aaron, and Collin don their aprons and buckets, and get ready to work on the farm.
Aaron pedals a tractor.
Nolan, Aaron, and Collin, planting seed corn at the Little Farm Hands exhibit.
There were a couple more stops on our list, but by the time the boys had bought their apples from the store after selling their goods for a dollar at the farmer's market in the Little Farm Hands exhibit, all three of them were asking me if it was time to go home. We began the walk back to gate 7, stopping for caramel corn for Aaron and donuts for Collin, while Nolan napped peacefully in the stroller.

On our way back to our parked car, standing in the aisle of the chartered Lorenz bus, Collin turned to a woman and had the following exchange:

"You know what I got at the Fair?...a stomach ache. I 16 mini donuts that cost $4, isn't that a great deal?...and my mom only had one bite!"

We were home by 5:30, in time to quickly have dinner before running off to Collin's BAA soccer pictures at 6:00 at the Kennedy High School cafeteria followed by Aaron's preschool open house at St. Stephen's.