Yesterday, I took Dylan and Blake to the Tunbridge World’s Fair in nearby Tunbridge, Vermont. There are many fairs and harvest festivals in New England in the fall and I thought that it would be a fun way to spend the afternoon with the boys. It was so cute to see the excited look on his face as we went towards the gate and he began to see the fairgrounds.
Once we got inside, Dylan told me that he wanted to play games first. We played a couple of kid – friendly games and he won a few little prizes. I was happy that we did not see the goldfish game, where real, live goldfish sit around in little bowls waiting to be won by whomever tosses a ping pong ball into their bowl. I did not even see any other kids walking around with goldfish in plastic bags of water so perhaps (to the relief of goldfish everywhere) that game has been discontinued. My husband and I had discussed the matter of the goldfish game ahead of time and had agreed that a goldfish from the fair was not a good idea because they do not tend to live very long and we did not want Dylan to get his heart broken by the loss of a pet just yet.
Next, we checked out the rides. Dylan could have gone on the rides all day long, especially the trailer truck convoy. At first I wondered if he liked it because he just looked so serious as he “drove” his truck around the track. Then I remembered that he does sometimes approach certain types of play with a rather businesslike focus. I knew for certain that he really liked the ride because as soon as he came out of the gate, he wanted to get in line for it again.
After a few rides, I suggested that we go and look at the animals in the barn. Dylan was excited to see the animals because he loves animals, especially farm animals. As we wandered through the barns of cows, oxen, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, and rabbits I wondered how long it would be before we have a few animals of our own. There were a few friendly animals whose handlers were allowing children to pet them, and Dylan really loved that. Of course, in typical Dylan fashion, he wished that he could hold every animal and take it home.
Once we had seen the animals and washed our hands, it was time for some fair food. Dylan chose a burger and fries, and we sat down and enjoyed them. After we ate, I told him that it was time for us to go. He took my hand and we went out the gate to our car. As I buckled him into his car seat, he gave me a big hug and told me that he really liked the fair. I squeezed him tight and told him that I was already looking forward to going again next year. By the time we got home, he was fast asleep.