Good morning everyone!  Can you believe it’s already Monday again?  It’s crazy how quickly the weekends fly by!

So I already wrote about our “Bremen-Fest” experience on Friday. 

Bremen-Fest was fun, but that was just the beginning of our “fair-filled” weekend!  Because on Saturday, we got up early and headed to Louisville for the Kentucky State Fair!

My friend, Erin, is originally from the Louisville area.  So she grew up going to the fair.  We met up with Erin, her husband Sam, baby Maggie, and Erin’s parents and brother. 

Erin with her mom and 13 month old, Maggie.

Erin and her parents are experts at navigating the large fairgrounds.  So Brandon and I enjoyed letting them take the lead, while we followed closely behind.

We saw a ton of “cool” things at the fair …

… and I’m not just referring to the giant, dancing Frosty.

Some highlights from the day:

- Erin getting licked by a goat.

- Me getting to pet a rabbit that looked like a fuzzy slipper.

- Maggie almost choking a baby chick to its death (I blame the owner for this one … a 13 month old does not know the meaning of the word “gentle!”).

- Checking out the 1st place winners of the giant pumpkin and watermelon contests.

- Meeting the Colonel …

… Colonel Sanders, that is.

- Checking out the cake contests. (I really wanted to know how I could become a judge!)

- Seeing a harness on a bunny rabbit.

- Trying to figure out how anyone can judge a hay contest …

- Participating in activities that were intended for the 3 to 10 year-old crowd.

- Watching the baby ducks go up and down their tiny water slide.

Can anything be classified as cuter than baby ducks?

- Reminiscing about the Krispy Kreme Donut Burger we shared last year.  And gagging at the thought of a “Buffalo Chicken Krispy Kreme Sandwich.”

Speaking of food (if a Krispy Kreme hamburger can even be classified as such), here’s some pictures of what we did eat that day.

Erin recommended her lunch of choice … a combo meal of a corn dog, corn on the cob, and a drink.  All for a very reasonable price. 

Since Erin is the fair expert, I took her advice.  And of course, it was delicious.

Later in the afternoon, it was time for a snack.  Again, we followed Erin’s wise advice and headed here:

… the Pineapple Whip stand.

Now came the great debate.  Do you get more ice cream when you opt for the cone or the cup?

Erin’s belief is that you get more in a waffle cone than a cup.  Others believed that due to the cone’s narrow bottom, the opposite was true. 

So of course, we had to do a side-by-side comparison.

I gotta go with Erin on this one.  What do you think?

Regardless, the pineapple whip was delicious.  Cool and refreshing, with plenty of sweet pineapple flavor.

Soon after enjoying our frosty treats, we realized that it was time to head out.  Brandon and I wanted to try to stop in Dayton on the way home, so that we could hit a Saturday evening church service.

But life had other plans.  On the way out of Kentucky, we were met with traffic.  A lot of traffic.  Specifically, a sign said that there would be over a 2 hour delay.

So rather than sit in a car, moaning and groaning about how we were never going to get home, we opted for Plan B.

Get off at a random exit and try to find an alternative way home.

We saw a sign for a Panera, so we headed there to use their free Wi-Fi and look up directions.  But then we noticed something … we had actually driven into a really cool area!

So rather than worry about how to get home, we decided to make lemonade with the lemons life had handed us.   We did a little shopping, which included going to Borders and taking advantage of their “going out of business sale.”

I got this cookbook for 40% off!  So be prepared … lots of crockpot recipes will be coming your way in the upcoming weeks!!

After shopping, we headed to Dewey’s Pizza for dinner. 

We love this place.  There’s also a Dewey’s in Dayton, and we often go there after church.  It’s a neat atmosphere and their pizza is always delicious.

(Sausage for both of us … mushrooms for Brandon and banana peppers for me. )

And since we had already had a day filled with all of the essential food groups (sugar, fat, and dough), we decided to round the day out with a trip to Coldstone’s.

(Cake Batter ice cream with cake and brownie mixed in. )

 

With extremely full bellies, we headed home to Wapak.

And FYI, we made it to church on Sunday … followed by the grocery store to stock up on tons of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean protein for the week.  Just in case you think I eat like this every day.

Question for ya …

What’s your favorite Coldstone concoction??