Moody Mania: Our Share of the Fair

Fried food, funnel cakes, & futons- oh, my! Last weekend Meagan and her crew came up for the SC State Fair. We had nothing short of a BLAST.

Growing up, each October my family would come to Columbia for the fair and stay at Nanny & Papa's.

My biggest setback at the time were these guys:

My fun filled, carefree day would always come screeching to a halt with these "measurement men," whose main mission in my mind was to shatter my hopes. On many a year, I wasn't tall enough to ride the roller coaster. I hated the height checks. And actually, I think I could have legally ridden in a car seat until I was in 8th grade.

On Friday night the gang rolled in town. My neighbors surely didn't know what hit them.

Noah was most excited about the candy basket, whose stash we had already devoured. It did, however, contain napkins and crushed red peppers from mine and Ryan's Papa John's dinner the previous evening. Maybe I should give those out for Halloween.

Oh, how I LOVE these kids : D

Our concert pianists of the evening.

Sometimes it's nice to sit and listen to other people play music!

Ryan will be relieved to know that I took care of the house in his absence. There were absolutely no gymnastic routines...

or heel clicking...

or handstands in the living room - HA!!!

Like my new lawn ornaments?

Next up was figuring out the sleeping arrangements. I have always ADORED sleepovers and a house full of people. Since we all love each other so much and cannot bear to be apart SEVEN of us slept in my bedroom.

And I wouldn't have had it any other way. Thank Heavens for air mattresses, big beds, and futons.

Hotel de Moody sleeping arrangements.

Wake up, Noah, we're going to the fair!!!

We certainly weren't going to lose track of Dawson in that shirt. You could have spotted him via helicopter.

LOVE them!!! SO PUMPED to have them here!!!

Meagan's family

Our first game of the day was initiated by the City of Columbia police and their metal detectors. Word to the wise: metal studs on boots cause the alarm to go off. Ahem, Meagan.

After dickering over ticket prices it was on to the rides!

Traveling faster than you can say "fried oreos."

I've always loved the himalaya rides. I've gotten to a point where I can ride in circles, but I can't spin around. And yes, there is a major difference!

If forced to ride this, for example, I would have to leave the premises immediately in the back of a flashing ambulance.

The two clones.

I can never, ever miss riding the swings. They're one of my favorites!

My head is up in the clouds, right where it belongs.

The superman ride is really cool, too!

Oh, the fun houses of joy, where there are obstacles and barriers around every corner; it's like they put my house on wheels.

Behold my favorite drink of all time- the super slushies. I discovered this place last year and have waited 365 days to go back and create another drink of sugary, iced goodness. They give you a cup, and you can mix the colors however you want. SPONTANEOUS SUGAR!!!!

I was born an "extremist", so when I really like something it usually equals obsession.

2011 slushie flash back:

Thanks for the advice, truck, but we already did with corn dogs, curly fries, funnel cakes, ice cream, and mini donuts, to name a few.

One of my other favorite rides is the chair lift AKA the lazy river of the sky!

These girls LOVE the log ride. We had a splash on it.

We also went to the petting zoo and met a real life Velveteen rabbit! Would you look at those ADORABLE ears???

And AHHH!!! Look at this puppy/rabbit combination! I CAN'T HANDLE THE CUTENESS!!!

Beware of feeding the animals hands that are "to small." Really?

Hands are to small as petting zoos are to stench. And not so accurate grammar.

A fun day at the fair equals the need for a good bath.

Don't you love my bath toys? Bride and groom ducks were put on my car after our wedding, and I still have them : )

Santa's wild days in college.

We topped off our weekend with a trip to Red Robin and the movies to see Hotel Transylvania.

Our movie experience was enhanced with miniature Reese's cups, gummy worms, and Skittles.

And in other news, this work week has been absolutely chaotic and mind numbing. I find it hard to form a sentence in the evenings. Here's hoping your week has been extremely less stressful than mine.