all's fair at the county fair

the FAIR is back in town!

welp, like i said last year...nothing ever changes much at the good old El Dorado County Fair. the flimsy cups of beer, the face painting booths, the dude from Foreigner performing on the main stage, the smell of pigs and puke and cotton candy all squeamishly permeating the dense summer eve...check, check, and check again.

and i will admit to you guys, i actually love it.

this year was better cause i went earlier in the day to hang out with these cuties:

kim and i were best friends all through the teenage years, and the FAIR was our big summer adventure. don't tell, but we'd fake the stamp on our hands to get in free. oh and chug wine coolers in the carl's jr. bathroom before heading through the gates. that's danger right there folks.

now look at her! the sweetest little mama to the sweetest little baby.

addie came to meet us too. we had fun walking around checking everything out like in the old days.

addie was very concerned about which air brushed tee shirt to get for art. she ended up ordering him the "julyssa" design with the words "pollock pines" in glittery hot pink. awesome.

we each had a beer and played with this delightful little girl. she's learning to walk. everyone that sees her comments on how adorable she is. she really is the best baby, and she's making addie and i want one BAD.

by the way i got that little southwestern print skirt at the flea market and i'm loving it.

the fair is the perfect place for greasy snacks! we shared delicious sweet potato fries.

kim and sydney headed home around 7:30 p.m. and then we had a switcherroo.

a bunch of our other friends were waiting in line to come in right while we were walking kim to her car.

darin and phil enjoyed watching a crazy musician called Sourdough Slim:

while the girls imbibed a bit and sported their freebie corona necklaces:

i wish this one didn't come out blurry...me and my sissies.

zack had to give poor little slyvan a pep talk. he REALLY wanted to ask addie to ride the ferris wheel but couldn't work up the nerve.

finally he did, and we headed off for our sunset ride.

how cute is rachel's outfit, by the way?!

finally up in the air!

so excited! but a teensy bit nervous too.

happy and content now!

soooo, things get a lot crazier at the county fair once the sun goes down.

gangstas and cops and skinheads, oh you name it.

i used to see a lot of people from high school but not so much now that i'm older; i think they come with their kids during the day instead.

but the friends and i were kind of digging the crazy night energy and there were about twelve of us together so we had some fun.

i got to pet a kookabura at the exotic animal area.

my mom always sang this haunting little song when i was little:

"kookabura sits in the old gum tree,

merry merry king of the bush is he...

laugh kookabura, laugh kookabura,

gay your life must be."

so i love them in a mysterious old way. we couldn't get him to laugh, but we did see him eat a mouse. isn't he gorgeous?

and of course, we went to see our beloved goats.

it was almost their bedtime. i like how these guys were making a pile, like in Where the Wild Things Are.

darin loves the chickens.

our beloved Gravitron was broken down, so we all rode a ride called the Himalaya together.

it had smoke and maniacal flashing lights and pumping techno music. PERFECT.

all four of those seats in front of us are our friends.

we were hooting and hollering like no tomorrow.

exhilerated.

more late night greasy snacks, these were fried salted rings of potatoes darin and rachel shared.

darin under the half moon.

my classic fair shot; this year's update of my little etsy profile pic.

oh how i love fairs, carnivals, and the like!

and one last note: HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!

what are you doing on the longest day of the year?