county fair goodness

It was so great to go see my family this past weekend and go to the county fair. It is so much better than our local fair, which I would expect because our region isn't exactly agricultural like it was 50 years ago. But the Fresno Fair is pretty much the same every year. They have a few different exhibits, but there are always the old standbys: the youth art hall, the Ag exhibits, the farm animals and auctions, horse racing, home arts, and, of course, the as-seen-on-tv halls. Here are some highlights, view the entire album here.

Here's my brother succumbing to the silver-tongued devils at the as-seen-on-tv halls.

Kate, me, Steven, Jason (he's only 13!), and Zoe at the racetrack. We didn't bet on any horses; we spent our money on margaritas. With extra shots. ;-)

This is in the Home Arts building. Look at that popcorn. That's a cake! How did that not get a prize?

These were in the "ugly cakes" category. In the upper right hand corner, you'll see the edge of a cake that literally looked like a pile of shit. There was another cake in the shape of a nose with a zit and boogers coming out. I think both of those were grosser than the brain one, which won first prize.

Here's Zoe sitting in front of a giant, ribbon-winning pumpkin. She's there for cuteness as well as perspective.

These beans were in the Ag hall. Not sure why these are here instead of in the Home Arts hall. In fact, there are several things that I wish I knew the rules for judging. Like the place setting competitions. Why did one setting get a first prize when a better appearing setting didn't get anything? Kate and I really wanted to see the rules for the place settings. We were so busy trying to figure out the rules that I forgot to take pictures.

For example: what makes a second place box of garlic different from a first place box of garlic??

This says all you need to know at the fair: on display that the funnel cake vendor.