A fair affair...

This year marked our fourth consecutive pilgrimage to the Utah State Fair.

Should I be embarrassed to admit such a fact?

Probably.

We kicked off the momentous occasion with brunch in the Wheatleys backyard.

Oh how we miss our Salt Lake friends.

 That Justin.

Always making my babies cry.

I tried out this recipe for cinnamon roll cake, courtesy of Mrs. Harding (thanks Angie!).

The stuff is ridiculously dangerous and about 10,000 easier than making actual cinnamon rolls.

 After stuffing ourselves with good eats, we headed to the fairgrounds.

This being our fourth year, we knew exactly where to go and what to see.

Highlights included:

 The Lemonhead booth.

Free candy + giant poster with strange fruit people = a rootin' tootin' good time.

The synchronized spits roasting unidentified body parts from unidentified animals.

Except for Wilbur up there.

Lola saw it and squealed, "Oh, cuuuuute piggy!"

 The poor sea lions being forced to allow obese men in stained wife beaters touch them.

This was not really a highlight, it was more like a call for PETA.

 The backdrops.

Oh glory, the backdrops.

My poor child is scarred for life.

The discovery of the "Big Yellow Joint."

Is it sad that somehow I find Arrested Development references everywhere I go?

 The rickety ferris wheel and lurker Justin.

Now you see him, now you don't.

The geese dressed as people.

Still not quite sure about this one.

Neither was James.

The animals were a big hit with the kids, and I didn't see a "Barbecue Starts Here" sign this year, so I was pretty happy.

I'd rather not know where my food comes from, thank you very much.

Good thing I don't eat red meat.

 We saw a big mama pig nursing her piglets, which pulled at my maternal heartstrings.

I tried to ignore the "Utah Pork Producers" sign behind the sweetness.

We opted not to spend our precious pennies on the nasty fried food this year, which was probably a wise decision since Reece always gets deathly ill, no matter how good that deep-fried, double-chocolate brownie may appear.

The main event for us is always the giant yellow slide.

I was afraid Lola would be traumatized, but she LOVED it.

I was the one screaming bloody murder the whole way down.

She just yelped a few "Owwws" when we went over the bumps.

Though the mullet watching and tattoo oogling was certainly a hoot, the best part was spending the day with some of our closest friends.

 Well, that, and taking gross kissing pictures on giant tractors.

At least Lola looked cute.