Monday, August 22, 2011

Lane County Fair 2011

My brother, Tim, and his wife, Candace, came over from Central Oregon to spend the weekend with us. We haven't had a chance to really spend any time with them since they moved out there, so it was nice to get some quality time with them.

We went to the Lane County Fair on Saturday afternoon after they got here and although it was hot, in the high 80's, we had a great time. Sam was tuckered out by the end of the day and uncle Tim had to carry him to the car where he almost fell asleep on the ride home.

While we were waiting for the BMX stunt show to start, we had fun walking through all the animal barns and seeing cows, goats, pigs and baby pigs, horses, etc. We got ice cream then went and looked at some of the outdoor vendors. They had a kids play area where they had a cow milking simulation (I only got a video that ended up being 48 MB, so I will need to post that separately) and a coffee filter flower craft. We walked through some more of the animals and then heard some other families saying the BMX show was about to start.

We washed our hands and were walking out to the BMX show when Sam "dropped" for a lack of a better word to describe it. My brother said he went down on his knees and then just went flat down from there. I had been holding his hand, but with the wetness from just washing them, I couldn't get a grip to keep him from going down like I have before when he has tripped. It dawned on me later that he really didn't try to catch himself by grabbing onto my hand either, like he normally would....

He ended up landing flat on his face on the pavement. When I got him up, his mouth was all bloody and he was screaming uncontrollably. We happened to just be right by the First Aid station so I carried him over there to see what assistance they could offer. Unfortunately the guy that helped us was kinda shy or something, cuz he really didn't help or check Sam out like I thought he would or should have. He just stood back and asked questions about if Sam had passed out, if he was drinking water, etc. He did finally find some wet wipes to clean the blood off Sam's face and clean his hands up. I ended up investigating Sam's lip more closely when he didn't and found that he had lacerated the back of his upper lip, but his teeth were not loose and other than some other superficial scrapes, he seemed to be doing fine.

Sam was really subdued through the whole process at the First Aid station that I was a little concerned but didn't know if it was just the "stranger" shy that he gets when there is a new person around... the strange first aid guy this time. Anywho... we tried to give him water from his water bottle, but with the fat lip he had it was hard for him to drink. So we got a cup from the water station outside the First Aid building and got him some water which he downed cup after cup. I guess we were not doing a very good job of making sure he was hydrated since the only thing we had had to eat or drink since we got there was ice cream. The more I think about what happened, I think he may have swooned, fainted, or at least had his legs buckle from the extended heat exposure. Sooo....

After about 8 oz of water or so, he was getting his energy back and we walked over to a shady spot where we could watch the rest of the BMX show... he seemed really interested in it, so I put him up on my shoulders so he could see over the crowd that was in front of us; he started cheering with his hands held up over his head, pumping, when they would do a good trick. It was pretty cute and Tim caught him on his phone camera...



Anywho... we sat down after the BMX show and Sam wanted to lay down in my lap and relax, so we sat there for about 10 minutes while we decided what to do next and went to go look through the vendors in the indoor area which was air conditioned. Of course we found stuff to buy and ended up with a hand painted framed wall sign art of Sam's name.


But we did good since we decided to pass on the hanging chair, the cups with saltwater filled plastic cubes you freeze and shake in the cup to make a slushy out of regular beverages, and another race track to expand the one Sam already has. Oh and the worm composter kit which was actually pretty impressive.


Anywho... it was getting late so we decided to figure out what to do for dinner, since it was getting to be about 4:30 by then. Aimee went to grab some teriyaki chicken from a vendor down the way and Sam and I got chicken fingers, fries and a lemonade at the booth Tim and Candace got their hamburger and onion rings. After searching around we finally found a table in the shade and ate.


That is when Sam got his energy and finnnaallllyyy said he had to go potty and then went in the port-a-potty with minimal coercion; he really doesn't like public toilets for some reason and was a little freaked by the open pit design of the port-a-potty.


We then proceeded to wait in line for the Old Fashioned picture booth, where people were actually being quite rude... it was kinda crazy and I wish we would have just walked away and come back 30 minutes later, cuz it wasn't busy when we walked back by about that much later. We got an awesome picture through, it was perfect, except that Sam got a bigger gun than I did. Oh well.


Anywho... it was a fun time had by all. We got home and had a relaxing evening and Sam got cozy enough with Candace to snuggle with her bare legs and feet like he does with Aimee, and actually any other woman he gets comfortable with.

My silly little man; at least he isn't doing it to uncle Tim.

It was a fun time with my brother and sister-in-law. I look forward to trekking out to their part of the state this winter for some cold weather fun; we didn't get to go where there was ample snow last year, so we need to make sure Sam get some use out of his snow suit, from last year, while it still fits.


1 comment:

creative side said...

I enjoy reading YOUR writing so much John. You tell good stories. Sorry about Sam passing out and cutting his lip. It sounds like he is staying dry quite well.