First Field Trip of the School Year

Our summer camping trip was going to be at Mark Twain Landing and fun at the water park. However, the water park was closed due to so many schools starting so early. I was really bummed because I wanted a camping trip full of fun. We didn't do a whole lot this summer due to the wedding, so I wanted a lot of fun for the kids. Mike then suggested the Missouri State Fair. We love the fair, but I wanted to camp. I was excited to find out they had over 500 campsites! Since we were going Monday through Thursday it was super easy to get a spot. $20/night, 3 hour drive, $90 in gas.......fun we had...priceless!!!!

While this is a lot of fun, there is still education going on, although Nico was sure to tell me he wasn't going to learn anything. 

The smile on Nico's face as he dove into the first ice cream of the trip. Funnel cakes are our favorite. We ate breakfast at the camper and then back to the camper around 3pm to cook up dinner. After that it was yummy snacks for the evening. It worked out perfect. The break for dinner was needed for us all. The beer was too expensive to buy there ;-) and the kids needed to rest their legs. Nico said his favorite part of the fair was the bunnies and rides.

One of the learning things was watching the baby pig drink from it's mama. Nico did me a favor and got down on the ground to take this picture for me. I think it is a great shot.

Can his smile get any bigger??? Luca loved this ride! The first time he went on it, his face was priceless. Luca said his favorite part of the fair is the rides.

Baaa, Ram, Ewe.....my favorite thing at the fair is the animals. I could walk around each barn and look at each pen.

Luca had not actually heard a pig 'oink' in real life. The pigs were great to watch and listen too. Ooops, was that another learning opportunity.

I absolutely loved this big bull. I think this picture will be photo edited and hung on a wall.

Poor Luca...he kept measuring up to see if he could ride. He could ride quite a few things, but the water ride was the one he wanted to go on the most. He could ride it with a parent, so I spent $5.00 and bought myself 5 tickets to ride it with him. (yes, this says 6 tickets. It was the roller coaster) I love how me measured himself....tippy toes!

Another favorite of mine is the old buildings. The Missouri State Fair started in 1901. The buildings have been replaced, but they are still beautiful. Many are now air conditioned and the shows have tops over them. The last time I went was in 2004. Improvements are made every year.

At the end of the evening, around 9 or 10pm, we would walk back to the camper and still be able to listen to the sounds of the fair until about midnight. Nico even asked if we could make this a yearly trip. Hmmm, did we achieve what we wanted to? I would have to say yes....fun and some learning too.