Visit to Indy

Earlier in the summer, we put a date on everyone's calendar to visit our friends in Indianapolis this weekend.  We know how quickly summer calendars fill up and since it will be more difficult for us to travel once the baby is born, we figured we would make sure the visit could actually happen!  Brian took a vacation day on Friday and we left our house at 7 am so that we would get to Indy by noon Indiana time.  We had found out just a few days before that the Indiana State Fair was opening on Friday.  The State Fair is sentimental for Brian and me, because on August 14th, seven years ago, after a visit to the fair, Brian proposed to me.  We have some funny memories from that day, so it was fun to go back again for the first time since then.

We had packed a lunch ahead of time so we could save a little money and eat a little healthier, especially since I knew that I wanted to get an elephant ear (my most favorite fair food!).  We parked on the north side of the fairgrounds and worked our way around clockwise.  Our first stop was the Farm Bureau building where we learned about an activity for the kids to do while walking around the fair (this turned into an activity for Brian and I instead).  They called it "The Wonder Trail".  They gave you a map with various stations you had to visit (marked by a large magnifying glass) and you would have to write down the answer to each question from the station.  If you completed 8 out of the 10 stations, you could return the map to the Farm Bureau building for a prize.  I realize we were getting the prize for free, but all it ended up being was a pen, for all that walking and filling it out!  Good grief!

We made our way through several really neat exhibits (I wish we had had more time to really go through them thoroughly), livestock barns, and educational displays.  Hailey got to ride a pony, milk a real cow, and ride a few fair rides...bumblebees, balloons, cars, and a caterpillar roller coaster.  The roller coaster really surprised Brian and me, because she has not liked them in the past.  We were even more surprised that she picked it over the carousel for her last ride!  She must be moving up!  She loved it and wanted to ride it again.  Right after finishing up the last of the exhibits we wanted to see, a thunderstorm rolled in.  We hung out under a couple tents while it poured (we moved from one to another during the lighter periods of rain) and then finally when it looked like it was letting up some, we headed out to our car.  It was still raining enough that we were pretty soaked by the time we got to the car.  Hailey and I had a great time while following behind Brian as he weaved us through the maze of cars.  She would tip her head back and stick out her tongue trying to catch the raindrops all while laughing because I was laughing at her.  It was a great reminder that finding fun in times of inconvenience is much better than worrying about the inconvenience!

We then drove up to our friends' house to figure out dinner plans.  Jon (who is a chef) had an event that night, so we went to Applebee's with Paige and the boys.  On Saturday, Brian and Jon got up early to go fishing while Paige and I got the kids ready for the day.  Right after lunch, we took the kids over to a Splash Pad to let them play in the water for about an hour.  It was a very hot and humid day!  We then let them rest a little before meeting up with our other friends, Steve and Jen (and their kids!).  Steve and Jen live on the southeast side of Indy and were kind enough to make the drive up to Jon and Paige's (on the northwest side), so we could all get together at the same time!  The plan was to meet at an indoor park and order some pizza.  It turned out that the indoor park was closing just an hour after we arrived, so we changed plans.  We let the kids play there for an hour, ordered the pizza, and then went back to Jon and Paige's to play out in the backyard.  Brian, Jon, and Steve all like to fish, so out came the fishing poles!  Both the guys and kids took turns fishing while Paige, Jen, and I chatted and kept track of the non-fishers.  If I remember correctly, about 5 or 6 fish were caught.  Hailey even caught a 12-inch large-mouth bass on her "princess pole".  She was very excited!

On Sunday, Brian and Jon once again got up early to go fishing while Paige and I got the kids around.  Once the guys returned from fishing, Jon cooked up some delicious breakfast.  After breakfast, we went back outside to let the kids do some more fishing.  The kids weren't catching anything with their fake worm baits, so Jon got some peas to try instead.  He said he remembered using corn as a child and the fish loved it, so he'd give peas a try this time.  Well, it worked and pretty soon over 10 blue gill had been caught!  It was time for us to head home, so we got everything packed in the car, said our goodbyes, and off we went!  We were on the road for about 45 minutes when we saw a big, dark storm ahead of us.  We probably ended up driving right through the middle of it...strong winds, heavy rains, lightning, and thunder...an awesome summer storm.  Everyone had their emergency flashers going and many people had just pulled to the side of the road to let the storm pass, because at times, you just could not see in front of your car.  It was raining and blowing so hard.  It took us a good 15 minutes to drive through it.  We stopped for a quick bathroom break after getting north of the storm and McDonald's had a TV in the sitting area with the weather on.  It said the storm had been producing 60 mph winds...we could attest to that!  We didn't have any other rain storms until we were 5 minutes from our house and storms were moving through our area.  It was a fun weekend!

This was Little Hands on the Farm in the Pioneer area.  Hailey learned all about being a farmer.  She sported a hat and apron and carried a bucket.  She had to first pick up grain to feed the cows and pigs (bags of corn and soybeans) and then deposit them in the feeding troughs.  Next, she gathered an egg from the chicken coup, planted an onion seed, harvested the onion, milked a cow, and then picked up an apple and a piece of wool.  She then had to deliver the goods to the merchant who gave her a "dollar" for her goods.  She then was able to use that dollar to buy a little container of real applesauce.  It was a very cute idea!

Riding a pony, seeing the boarded racing horses (bottom right), and watching the "saddled horse" show warm-ups.

Fair rides!

They had a Germany exhibit that we spent a short period of time in (not enough time!), but Hailey got in a little visit with St. Nicholas...the German Santa Claus.

The sculpture in the right corner is one of Seward Johnson's scale pieces from his "Beyond the Frame" series.  It's 20 feet tall and inspired by an Auguste Renoir painting titled "Dance in the Country".  The couple appears to be at a country barn dance.  Behind the sculpture was the 4-H exhibit hall where all the State Fair entries were displayed.  After being in 4-H for 7 years in my younger years, I know what an honor it is to have your project picked to go to the State Fair.  My brother did Insects as a project one year, so it was fun to see what others had put together.  The one on the bottom right received a "Special Merit" ribbon for his display (I again crossed out the last name for privacy), which indicates that the judges thought his project receives special recognition.

Milking a real cow!

Having fun at the Splash Pad!  In the middle right photo, she was showing me all the water she got on her face.

Swinging, fishing, playing hide and seek, etc.  Bottom left picture is of Hailey (4), Corrick (3), and Chaille (2).

 Mother and daughter, Jen and Chaille, watch the fishing.

Brian and his two best friends, Steve and Jon.

Hailey catches a 12 inch large mouth bass!

 The whole group (L to R): Silas (6), Steve, Nolan (3), Avery (8), Chaille (2), Jen, Corrick (3), Paige, Aviston (5), Jon, Brian, Hailey (4), and Lindsey + baby. 

Driving through the storm...no that's not fog on the windshield, that's blowing wind and rain.  You see cars pulled off to the far right shoulder of the two lane highway.

 Here's what it looked like after we got north of it!