The Great Minnesota Get-Together!

Yesterday after Church, we decided to take this little sweetie on her first Minnesota adventure!

She got excited about it, can't you tell??

So where did we take little Ava??

To the Minnesota State Fair of course!!

The state fair is a big deal here and because the weather has been nice and cool, we thought it was the perfect time to take her!!  

So, we joined thousands of our closest friends for a day at the fair!

The Minnesota fair or "the great Minnesota get-together" as it's called here, is the second largest in the country, second only to Texas!  There were so many people yesterday, it was challenging to get around.  But, we learned quickly how great it was to have a stroller.  They definitely part crowds! 

Of course we had to tell Ava the real reason we love going to the fair, the food!

We started out our day with a great treat....carmel apple in a bowl with cinnamon ice-cream!! Yum!  We also had some other fair treats, like shaved ice, cheese curds, chocolate-dipped nut rolls, walleye-fries, an elk burger, kettle corn, and of course...mini-donuts!!  It was fabulous :) When at the fair, it is essential that you throw all caution and reason to the wind so that you can just INDULGE and ENJOY it!!  

Miss Ava was such a great fair-goer!  She just grinned and smiled and looked all around the whole time.  

We didn't go alone however, we went with some of my family! Here she is with her second cousin Annie, who was celebrating her birthday yesterday!

And these are some of Annie's friends, and more of my family.  Believe me, it was a sweet deal for Ava!  She spent lots of time in other people's arms :) These girls were more than willing to carry her around!

I took some pictures of some "only in Minnesota" things at the fair!

Everything, and I mean everything, that is able to be on a stick, is in fact on a stick at the fair!  For those of you who are southerners, "hot dish" is another term for casserole here.  How they put that on a stick is beyond me, but it appears they did!

This is my cousin Robyn and her husband George, and the biggest bag of kettle corn you have ever seen!  But oh it was good :) We ate in the "north woods" and then caught the "timber team" show!

And Ava smiled at everyone she saw!

Is that hat not the cutest thing you have ever seen??  Rebecca Jo, one of my blog friends, made it for her before she was born.  I have been waiting for cool enough weather to put it on her. 

 It was seriously just adorable!!  We love it Rebecca!!

They did some cool things, but it was oh so cheesy!  Next time they should strive for more tricks and less jokes :)

She didn't care though, she liked all the action!

Family Portrait :) 

Again, only in Minnesota do you need jackets and blankets and hats, in AUGUST!!  Once the sun went down, it got very chilly!  But, secretly, I LOVED it!  This is my favorite kind of weather!

Dad, the following pictures are for you!  

After 38 years at John Deere, my Dad is retiring in just a few more weeks!

Not really sure what this was all about??  Maybe powered by a John Deere engine??

While the girls went on the giant slide behind us, we took the standard, dorky fair pictures!

I wonder how many years it will take for Ava to be embarrassed by us??

Even though we disrupted her schedule and kept her up late, Ava was a trooper on her first fair experience!  Good enough to make us excited about next year!

Last time we went to the fair, it was just the two of us, but this time it was the three of us!  

I'm sure you can guess which time was more fun!!