The State Fair of Texas is a big deal.  And not just big as in Fair Day big.  But, Texas big.

Y’all.  We don’t just do Fair Day.  Texas IS Fair Day.  And we do it, Texas Style.

From the fried foods competitions, livestock shows, rides, games, and more.  It’s an exhausting experience that you literally take a day off of work for.  Big football games happen here – the UT vs. OU game happens here, too.  (One of the two days you never want to show up with your littles!)  Old rivalries are ignited and college kids come out of the woodworks on that day often painted in maroon or orange, beer in hand.

Most other days it’s great!  Texas schools get off one day a year to attend the State Fair.  Our school age kiddos get free admission and every year, we make a big deal out of it.  We go as soon as it opens if we can and stay until after the lights show.

We ran into a sweet friend while we were out there.  My little Silas just adores his little friend and they went on lots of rides together.  Great friends!

Food is amazing.  We had Texas shaped nachos and we even tried the fried food winner this year.   (Bacon Quest Funnel Burger)  

Honestly, it’s one of those things that doesn’t look great, but the mix of everything together was actually pretty good!  I had a hard time locating it, so if you’re going this year – check out the Food Court by Big Tex himself. It’s located in the Pizza place.  (I know, right?!)

The fair is never complete without stopping to take a peek at the animals.  The children’s petting zoo is one of my favs.  Alpacas and llamas are the best, but this year, I found some baby piglets that I wanted to take home!

I mean, stop.  Don’t they just look adorable?

But, this one was my favorite.  An albino peacock.  I love peacocks.  The colors, the tails, everything.  But this white beauty was something else.  Too bad he/she didn’t have her tail up so I could get a pic, but I could only imagine!

Lots of pics of the kids and their friends – and of course, we went in our A&M colors!  Have I mentioned how much I love our MCA family?  The Cormneys are probably one of my favorite families at MCA (Ely would tell you mostly because she loves Kid Expressions, but I just love how close the kids have gotten.

If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out this place, it’s so much fun for the kids.  Tim and his sweet wife, Olesja, have opened up this place for kids.  Think kid recreation place/party place, but way cooler.  They have a carpeted facility and each room features a unique theme:

• Books to read and puzzles to work on matching skills
• Train room where kids can work on creativity and imagination while working on fine motor skills to place tracks together and link large areas to play
• Science room where kids can look through microscopes, build engineering boards, play classic mini-sized arcade games, and more
• Toddler room, complete with extra padding for those little ones not yet walking with a chunky toddler train play area and slide area
• Musical room for kids to work on music skills, sing, dance, and play karaoke
• Art room for those creative kids who love to draw and paint (complete with aprons to keep your littles clean!)
• They also have lots of oversized legos, puzzles throughout the building, and even have a bounce house in the area, too.
• In addition to all of this, they have a party room where you can rent to have parties!

Not to mention, Tim and Olejsa do ‘Parents Night Out’ every 2 weeks.  This is a time where you can drop your kid off and they will watch your kiddo and feed them!  They also have arts and crafts days on some weekends where you can bring your little one to make crafts for special holidays.

Have I mentioned how much of a fan I am?  This place is over in McKinney off ElDorado Parkway, too.  If you haven’t gone yet, go!  And bring your spouse on a night for Parents Night Out and enjoy some time away from the kids!

One of the other things I love about the Fair is that it’s a great place to just see new things.  I loved this little umbrella rooftop.  It was created over in the Wine Garden.  What a fun way to block the sun!

Of course, no fair is complete without lots of family photos/selfies to prove how everyone enjoyed the day.  We’re teaching our little Silas how to take pics and I was pretty proud of this one he got of me and Daddy.

Of course, as a family, we’re still working on that ‘no-selfie-stick-try-to-cram-everyone-in-the-frame’ look. (grin)

And we LOVE the police presence at the Fair!  Thank you so much to all of our special men and women in blue who protect and serve. The Fair is chaotic, but we appreciate you helping to keep us safe and taking a brief moment for a photo op!  #backtheblue

But, more importantly…you always know the fair is a success when you take the train ride home and can capture these sweet photos.  One day, they will be too big to fit on my lap.  But, for now, I’ll take it.