The Michigan State Fair (Horsey luv!)

Well something worth blogging about has happened so I'm back. Yesterday my beautiful wife and I went to the Michigan State Fair. We took my foster Mom and my nephew Georgie with us.

Once we got there we realized that we had a conflict of interests on our hands. While Stacey and I wanted to go see the farm animals, little Georgie was all about the rides! He grumbled and complained as we by-passed the midway with it's rides and games to head for the livestock.

Mom & Georgie with their new pal Johnny Bravo.

The little guy seemed to enjoy the animals too but every time we left an exhibit he'd ask "NOW can we go to the rides?" It was kinda funny and annoying at the same time but hey, what do you want? He's only 8 years old.

Georgie at one of the animal exhibits.

Yes we did eventually take Georgie to the rides and he had a ball. Stacey and I got him a bracelet so he could ride anything he was tall enough for and that little boy definitely got our money's worth out of the thing! My Mom took Georgie to the midway and that was the last we saw of them for a couple of hours. My poor Mom was SO tired by the time we left yesterday.

Georgie FINALLY getting to ride at the midway.

Meanwhile Stacey and I were on a mission. Last year when we were at the fair, we met an older horse named Amanda who was definitely the most friendly animal there. We spent a lot of time there with her and this year we were hoping that she'd be back.

Amanda is a 22yr old, Old Style Morgan. Which is getting kinda old for a horse. Her breed is known for their easy going disposition and versatility. She's a bit on the smaller size in comparison to many of the other horses there. But last year she made us forget about all the other horses there with her affectionate personality.

After searching the stables for a while we did finally find her. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her until I walked up to her stall. Amanda turned her head towards my outstretched hand and then nuzzled me in the chest and I felt my eyes grow hot with tears!

Me getting horsey luv from my Amanda.

Yep! I was about to cry for the joy of seeing my horse! I didn't even know I'd liked her that much! But once I found her part of me wanted to tell my wife and Mom to go on without me, I wanted to stay with Amanda. She nuzzled my hand and I gave her some Timothy hay I'd stolen from another exhibit just for her. While she chomped up her treat I stroked her strong neck and talked to her.

My real Dad in West Virginia would know exactly how I felt I think. When he was a kid my Grandfather kept horses to work on his farm and Dad still talks fondly of some of them as if they were old friends. Maybe it's the hillbilly in me coming out eh?

Anyway we did eventually leave the stables and continue our touring of the fair. My Wife, Mom, and Nephew all seemed to have a great time. Stacey even entered a cupcake decorating contest while we were there! I personally thought she did the best job of anyone there but unfortunately none of the judges seemed to share in my bias. Oh well maybe next year their eyes will be opened to my wife's cupcake decorating prowess.

If this isn't an a first place cupcake then I don't know what is!

One of the cuter exhibits they had at the fair was the Miracle of Life. There you can see all kinds of baby animals, most only a few days old! While a few sections were a little gross because the have live births, most were fun and directed towards children. Even Georgie seemed to forget the midway for a little while.

Some hot blond chicks.

Surprisingly, to me anyways, my wife seemed to enjoy this exhibit less than I did. I know that Stacey enjoyed it to an extent but I found out the she's not very interested in little chicks all that much. She did seem to like the larger mammals though and found a VERY cute little piglet crying for his mommy. There are pictures of the cute little fella on her blog, here.

Momma sheep and her 3 day old baby.

Finally after being at the fair for over six hours we decided it was time to go. But before we did however, I talked everyone into going to the stables one last time so I could say goodbye to my beloved Amanda.

Both of my lady loves, Stacey and Amanda.