iowa state fair — Giving Up on Perfect

Our state fair is a great state fair
Don’t miss it don’t even be late
It’s dollars to doughnuts at our state fair
It’s the best state fair…in our state!

For the past dozen or so years, I’ve been hearing how great Iowa is. Everything about it, if you believe my friends, is superior to the rest of our fine country. My friends Chelley and Triple live there, and for several years now, my brother has lived there, too. We visit often and even occasionally toss around the idea of moving north ourselves.

And yet, I had never been to their famed and beloved state fair.

That all changed last weekend when Annalyn and I took a little road trip. We hooked up with Triple, her husband and their two girls and hit the fair on Friday afternoon. It poured BUCKETS on our drive up, but thankfully it was all clear in Des Moines. Unless you count the humidity, which I do. Mainly because it caused me to drip with sweat.

That’s not an exaggeration. At one point, Annalyn said, “Mommy, what’s that? You get me wet?” Uh, yeah, kid, because you took my last Kleenex, and I have nothing left to mop it up with.

Despite the sweat factor, we had a lot of fun. We only had a few hours before my brother, sister-in-law and I were going to the concert – and Triple was taking Annalyn home for a slumber party. First we hit the cow barn (where Annalyn decided very quickly that animals were STILL scary), then we made our way to the avenue of breeds (where Annalyn decided that the very large, ugly pig who snorted at her was trying to EAT her).

After we’d had enough of the animals – and the smell – we headed to the famous butter cow. By that time, Chelley, James and Lauren had joined us – good timing, since the butter cow lives in the same building as many foods on a stick and delicious honey lemonade.

Next, we walked (MILES) past the world’s biggest slide, dozens of food carts and a BBQ restaurant, and finally, we found what James and Lauren swore was the best place to get a corn dog.

They were right. It’s not as if I ever think to myself, “Hey, I really have a hankering for a corn dog.” Nope. I don’t. But if I’m going to eat a corn dog, that’s the kind I want: piping hot, crispy on the outside and way bigger than the other dogs we saw.

The eating wasn’t finished. Nope, we headed to Bauder’s booth for ice cream bars then. I didn’t think I’d like it – peppermint ice cream in between layers of crushed Oreos and fudge sounded like it might taste like peppermint. Happily, it tasted less like a candy cane and more like a peppermint patty. It was goooood!

After the kids went home with Triple, James, Lauren and I found the baby animal building (which was air-conditioned, by the way!) and the Little Farm for kids. No, we didn’t look weird at all. Walking through the Little Farm with no kids of our own. Nope. Not us.

And then the concert. Which I already told you about. All in all, the Iowa State Fair was great fun – and I’m already planning a longer trip for next year.

Have you ever been to your state’s fair? [In other words, do you love that special blend of aromas that is cigarette smoke, fried foods and animal filth?] What’s your favorite food on a stick?

This post will be linked to Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.

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I wasn’t able to get a good shot of the stage, but how pretty was the sky behind it?!

One of my goals for this year was to have a monthly date with Mark. It has happened more months than last year, but I can’t say we’ve got a perfect record. For August, I thought I’d go all out and buy concert tickets.

I did. Bought them. Spent a pretty penny on them. And then Mark couldn’t get off work.

Good planning, right? It wasn’t Mark’s fault, but that didn’t stop me from being crazy irritated about the whole thing. Thankfully, my brother and sister-in-law were still able to go with me. And, at the last minute, I sold Mark’s ticket to a 16-year-old girl who totally scammed the ticket scalper trying to charge twice the measly $20 I asked.

Though my legs were sore two days later from standing and tapping my feet for hours, seeing Kris Allen and Keith Urban on Friday night – even without my husband – was SO MUCH FUN!

I’m not a huge fan of Keith Urban, but I do like a lot of his songs. And he is amazingly talented. Also, there IS the whole thing about a guy with a guitar. You know what I mean, right?

Kris Allen, though not nearly as showy or outgoing as Keith Urban, was AWESOME. I loved him on American Idol, and I wish he would have performed longer. I totally got music chills more than once when he was on – and when Keith Urban brought him back on stage to sing The Boys of Summer together, I was probably more excited than I should have been.

[But let it be known: I will never be happy to have a sweat-soaked towel thrown in my direction, nor do I need to risk trampling and death by bodyguard to touch the hem of a rock star's robe shirt. Yes, I'm talking to YOU, weird Keith Urban fans.]

Our seats were really far from the stage, I spent the five hours prior to the concert literally dripping with sweat (thank you, Iowa humidity), and – have I mentioned? – Mark wasn’t there. But still. The concert was FANTASTIC. It was definitely the biggest concert I’ve ever been to (in terms of people attending and in the performers), and both guys – and their bands – were brilliant. Super talented and entertaining.

And maybe just a little cute.

Because I can’t do anywhere or do anything without writing a blog post in my head, the second the concert was over I started thinking of the other concerts I’ve been to – and wondering if I could come up with a top ten. Turns out, I could.

Newsboys: My first concert ever, in my freshman year of college. I remember a road trip, a virtually empty auditorium, a lot of fun music that I didn’t know (at the time), and losing my car. Needless to say, it was a good time!
Hot Apple Pie / Shannon Brown: This was at a 4th of July festival, and we went because Sandi liked the band. I think I’d maybe heard one of their songs, but it turned out to be a great concert. We had so much fun and ended up jostling our way from the bleachers to the front rows. I still don’t know their music, but I sure liked it that night.
Big & Rich: One Friday night, I was driving home from work and heard the DJ mention the Music Mafia. Big & Rich – and a few of their friends – were randomly in town and putting on a FREE concert. I called a few friends and ended up dragging Mark, Smitty, my brother and future sister-in-law down to the hot, crowded club. After suffering through way too many opening acts, we were finally rewarded with a short performance by Big & Rich – as well as a round of drinks, courtesy of the band.

Yollapalooza: It was the summer that my friend Elizabeth got divorced. Her husband had left her, she was still in the middle of the muck, and she wanted to go to the country music festival in town. So, at the last minute, we paid (way too much) for tickets, iced up as many bottles of water as we could carry and claimed our seats. We heard Billy Currington, Miranda Lambert, Phil Vassar, Chris Cagle, and – our favorite – Jason Aldean. We sang, we sweated, we danced, we drank (water! We drank water!) – and for a few hours, we forgot the mess and just had fun.

Dierks Bentley: Ohhhh, this was a good one! And FREE! And…another concert that Mark missed. (Boo.) But Smitty and I had a GREAT time watching Dierks. We were pretty close to the stage, even if we were standing next to a trash can. I’ve been hoping he’d come back for another free concert that Mark could go to, but it hasn’t worked out yet. Maybe next summer…
Reckless Kelly: For my 30th birthday, Mark, Smitty and I went to a concert – in the most random, hard-to-find bar for a band I’d never heard of. And it was a blast!
Harry Connick Jr.: I met Harry. I heard him sing. I shook his hand. I basically said, “I carried a watermelon.” ‘Nuff said?
Retroactive: Okay, so this might (MIGHT?) be a stretch for a list of concerts. But a few months ago, Smitty, our friend Mindy and I went downtown to see an 80s cover band. We laughed so hard we cried – more than once! And while it might not have technically been a concert, there were musicians and instruments and big speakers. And costumes. Did I mention the costumes?
Straight No Chaser: No offense to Keith Urban or Harry Connick, Jr., or any of the other wonderful musicians I’ve seen perform, but this was by far my favorite concert EVER. I was highly entertained and impressed the ENTIRE time these guys were on stage. Loved. It.
Kris Allen & Keith Urban: I think I covered this one.