Texas State Fair

Last month we visited the Texas State Fair. This had been on our bucket list since we moved here. We decided to go on a Monday when the kids had parent-teacher conferences. We thought the crowds would be smaller on a weekday. Well, almost every school district in the area has parent-teacher conference on that same Monday. Most people who have lived here longer than six months also refer to it as State Fair Day because that's when EVERYBODY takes their kids to the state fair. Of course, we didn't know that until we pulled into the massive parking lot at the same time as what seemed like the other two million annual visitors.

Despite the massive crowds, we still had a great time. The Texas State Fair is famous for it's food (fried food that is) and there is lots and lots of it. You can't just buy food with cash. You have to use coupons for the food and rides. Candice had visited the fair the previous week with relatives who were in town. Her brother-in-law was wondering who in the world would ever get the $150 coupon package. He obviously does not know Aaron.

Since we had more coupons than should be humanly possible, we set out to spend them. We started out with foot long corn dogs. I LOVE corn dogs!! I have no explanation for it. I know deep down inside they are nothing more than fat-on-a-stick but they are sooo tasty!

The girls enjoyed them as well.

While these foot-long beauties are fun for pictures, I would personally recommend you save your coupons for Fletcher's Corny Dogs. They are far better tasting. Amazing actually and I know my corn dogs.

The boys joined on on the fun with fried cookie dough and fried pepperoni pizza. Both of which are quite delicious if you like deep fried junk food.

And don't forget the pickles. For those of you who may not know, pickles are a staple food here in Texas.

What is the big deal with the food? It is a big deal. A few years back, the state fair board created the the Big Tex Choice Awards.  Particpating fair vendors submit new creations to a panel of judges each year. These judges give awards for the Best Taste and Most Creative. Even being a finalist for the awards guarantees long lines during the fair. According to the fair's website, BigTex.com, the contest is considered a friendly food fight among fair concessionaires. The vendor who often wins an award actually quit his day job because he can make more money selling fried food during the month of the fair than he did working at his computer job year round.

How do they do it? They take any type of food, I mean ANY type of food, dip it in batter, and fry it. Simple as that. Here are a just a few samples of what we had to eat...

My personal favorite was the pecan pie. We also had fried jumbalaya, fried snickers, and Ethan even had fried chicken skins. He said it was nasty but YOLO (You Only Live Once).

There are other famous things at the Texas State Fair, including Big Tex who celebrated his 60th birthday this year. I will admit he is a bit creepy but, it was fun to hear his Texas drawl as he said, "Howdy, y'all!".

On a sad note just a week after we went to the fair Big Tex caught on fire. I think it would have been even creepier to watch him go up in flames.

It was a sad day in Texas to loose Big Tex. The mayor of Dallas promised that Big Tex will be rebuilt.  Fairgoers set up a make shift memorial for him in order to say goodbye.

On a happier note, the fair inspired dreams of driving fancy cars,

.... a sick stereo system,

 ....the Heisman trophy.

In a few years this could even be a reality. That's a nightmarish thought right there! These four girls cruisin' Dallas in about ten years...scary!

Aaron and I rode the famous Texas Star ferris wheel with the girls.

We could see over the Cotton Bowl (The tickets were sold out long before we moved to Texas so we didn't  get to go to the UT vs. OU game. After the result of the game, that was a probably a good thing.)

We could also see the Dallas skyline from the top of the ferris wheel.

As always the girls were ready and posed for photos at every chance.

I even snuck in a few photos of my boys.

I'd call that a successful day!