Lakefair was always a big part of my childhood summers. It didn't just signify fun and food, but also always happened the weekend closest to my birthday. So, Lakefair to me, also was like a wonderful celebration of my birthday. Those of you with summer birthdays may have a little idea of what I'm talking about here. For the most part, kids with summer birthdays don't have "school celebrations" with cupcakes and such. If you do, it is some random date that is meaningless and teachers stop doing that after about first grade. So, Lakefair felt like a birthday celebration to me.
Now, I'm an adult. Going on the Zipper even once (much less 10 times in a row as I did as a teen) would make me miserable. It's so much easier to skip the fair and save the money. Yet, I want my kids to know the joy I felt going to Lakefair. In past years we've done it a little bit. We've met some friends around noon on opening day and done some rides. My dh, who works nearby, came down on his lunch hour and rode a couple with the kids and watched them enjoy the kiddie rides last year.
This year, though, we really did the fair. On Wednesday, I met some friends there and we got ride cards. In theory, each of my kids should have had seven rides. I learned quickly that Baby Bear was not actually tall enough for any of them except one, so the big kids actually enjoyed more than seven each. Brother and Sister, had a blast. They loved the rides. Here are just a couple.
Brother on the airplane ride.
Sister and I on a ride called Cliff Hanger. This is the only ride I did this year. It was really cool, but I'm not as young as I once was. The entire time I was picture my little girl flying off and trying to figure out how I'd save her. (=
Here we are up in the air. Whoopee! Brother wasn't tall enough to go on it.
Brother on a roller coaster.
Here's the ride Baby Bear was able to ride. It went way up in the air and he wasn't really strapped in tight enough. He ended up screaming the whole time and got out of his restraints. Next year he'll be able to ride more.
Brother and Sister on another roller coaster.
Brother and Sister going into the fun house.
Sister and a friend on the scrambler. She loved this ride! Brother wasn't tall enough for it.
Sister and her friend on the Tornado! Another ride Brother was too short to ride.
Sister went on Simbad by herself since Brother was too short. It is a crazy ride. She loved it!
Look at her with her hands up!
Then, Thursday evening, we met Daddy after work and got Daddy and the big kids wrist bands so they could do as many rides as they wanted. The kids couldn't wait to show Daddy all the fun rides they'd done the day before and try some new ones. Their favorite was Starship (which is the same as Gravatron for those of you who are my age).
Then they did the Bumper Cars. Let's hope their driving wont really be that bad. They insisted on doing this ride several times.
Next, they went on the Scrambler. Brother could go on it with an adult. He was so excited.
Look at his face! Priceless!
Then, we split up for a bit while Daddy and Sister waited in line for some of those rides that Brother was too short for like Cliff Hanger and Simbad. I took Brother and Baby Bear over to the littler kid section. Brother had a blast going on everything.
What did Baby Bear do? A lot of this...playing in the water.
Jumping off the cord protectors.
My favorite shot, riding on Daddy's shoulders.
Sister and Daddy joined us in the kids section and the two big kids went on more rides together like these swings, the giant slide, the fun house more times, and so forth. 
We had hot dogs, curly fries, and cotton candy for dinner. It was 9:30 before we knew it and past 10 by the time we got home. What a crazy, fun, long, wonderful time we had at the fair. The kids are already talking about what they're going to ride next year.
Brother on the airplane ride.Sister and I on a ride called Cliff Hanger. This is the only ride I did this year. It was really cool, but I'm not as young as I once was. The entire time I was picture my little girl flying off and trying to figure out how I'd save her. (=Here we are up in the air. Whoopee! Brother wasn't tall enough to go on it.Brother on a roller coaster.Here's the ride Baby Bear was able to ride. It went way up in the air and he wasn't really strapped in tight enough. He ended up screaming the whole time and got out of his restraints. Next year he'll be able to ride more.Brother and Sister on another roller coaster.Brother and Sister going into the fun house.Sister and a friend on the scrambler. She loved this ride! Brother wasn't tall enough for it.Sister and her friend on the Tornado! Another ride Brother was too short to ride.Sister went on Simbad by herself since Brother was too short. It is a crazy ride. She loved it!Look at her with her hands up!Then, Thursday evening, we met Daddy after work and got Daddy and the big kids wrist bands so they could do as many rides as they wanted. The kids couldn't wait to show Daddy all the fun rides they'd done the day before and try some new ones. Their favorite was Starship (which is the same as Gravatron for those of you who are my age).
Then they did the Bumper Cars. Let's hope their driving wont really be that bad. They insisted on doing this ride several times.
Next, they went on the Scrambler. Brother could go on it with an adult. He was so excited.Look at his face! Priceless!Then, we split up for a bit while Daddy and Sister waited in line for some of those rides that Brother was too short for like Cliff Hanger and Simbad. I took Brother and Baby Bear over to the littler kid section. Brother had a blast going on everything.What did Baby Bear do? A lot of this...playing in the water.
Jumping off the cord protectors.My favorite shot, riding on Daddy's shoulders. Sister and Daddy joined us in the kids section and the two big kids went on more rides together like these swings, the giant slide, the fun house more times, and so forth. We had hot dogs, curly fries, and cotton candy for dinner. It was 9:30 before we knew it and past 10 by the time we got home. What a crazy, fun, long, wonderful time we had at the fair. The kids are already talking about what they're going to ride next year.
We had a wonderful day despite the clouds.
