Fair Day!

Last month Mia and I went to the Texas State Fair! Texas does everything big and the state fair is no exception. There is always so much to do there! We went with my brother and sister in law on my nieces' fair day. Mia always has a blast when she gets to hang out with her cousins! 

Side note: I went to the fair with a $40 budget! Which if you've ever gone to the fair you know is unheard of...but I made it work! Here's the breakdown

• $15 for parking, which is CASH only! Don't make the same mistake I did and have to turn around and go find an ATM, such a rookie mistake! The real money saver would have been to use DART. 
• $4 for admission (on Wednesdays, you can bring 4 cans of food for the North Texas Food bank and get in for $4, win-win)
• $20 for food and drinks (I also brought a cooler with my own water and food for Mia)

So we didn't spend any money on games or rides, but there was a ton of free stuff to do that was fun for Mia and my nieces. Here were some of our favorite things we did.

The kid's midway- They had sandboxes for the kids to play in lined up next to Adirondack chairs for the parents to lounge in! Mia loved the sandboxes and we ended up buying her one after the fair for her to play with at home. The midway also had face painting, craft stations, a Ronald McDonald show, bubbles and a "tattoo" parlor. 

My baby niece

Play in the cars at the auto show- Is there anything better than sitting in a car like a big girl as a toddler? Mia was in heaven with her cousins sitting in the cars at the auto show! It was also nice to look at all the "mommy cars" that are available to compare them all in a one stop shop. 

Big Tex's Farmyard- Mia was in awe of the animals and kept asking, "what's that?" This girl loves animals, and loved seeing them up close. Big Tex's farmyard seemed more manageable than the Children's Health Barnyard, so we just went to the farmyard. Maybe next year we can venture over to the big barnyard! 

Little Hands on the Farm- I used to volunteer at Little Hands on the Farm when I was in high school and I remember thinking that I hope this is still around when I have kids! So I was so glad to take Mia there, it's such a fun and interactive place for children! It takes them through a day on the farm with chores and tasks that need to be done. Mia and my nieces loved it! 

Watering the grapevines

Feeding the sheep

We also went to a dog show, which Mia thought was hilarious, but was more interested in climbing up and down the stairs, so we did not stay long. My older nieces got smart and started to hitch rides in the strollers towards the end of the day, HA! 

We had a lot of fun at the fair and Mia was worn out at the end of the day! On another note, we are really excited and looking forward to Mia's first time trick-or-treating next week! Enjoy the last days of October!