They Built It, So We Went

Our very own Federal Way as host to this year's World Championship of Sand Sculpting. How could anyone possibly pass that up? World! This is huge! I sent emails out to anyone I knew to let them know about the big event...so if they are reading this and never went, their loss. It was such a sight to see. I have to say I had my doubts about the location ( the old Target and Toys R Us parking lots that have sat vacant for years), the number of items on exhibit and how popular it would be. Turns out, the location was a great use of space, there were so many sculptures, and the day we went was very busy. These artist have such a talent. Remember trying to use a bucket and shovel to make what look like a mounded castle construction? I remember mine always had a moat, I used twigs and rocks for decoration, and not very brilliant on my part...tended to built it close to the water...so when the tide came in...well there it went. There were 2 sculptures in shape of sand castles, true sand castles. They came equipped with arches, water cascading from their moats, peasant dwellings and elaborate detailing in the brick work. There was another sculpture that was a couple of buildings/ face and when you got at just the right angle, the two appeared to merge as if one. Another one that looked like a person in bondage was so detailed on the tie down straps that you felt like you wanted to walk up, release the mechanism, and free them from whatever they were bond to. OOh another good one was the one representing Washington. Typical Space Needle in the center but the artist did a fantastic job showing all this great state has to offer in ways of its evergreens, wildlife, mountains, and parks. The pics will have to be posted later. There is another good story for that. See we packed the digital camera, but forgot to replace the SD card that we had removed and forgot to recharge the battery. So Keith ran over to Top Foods and purchased a instant camera that we will have to take in for developing, scan into the computer, and then post later.

Free Your Glee Time

Who doesn't love the Fair? All the rides, exhibits, food, music, and everyone bustling about. The smell....absolutely awesome...a mix of grilled burger and onions, sweet scones, and "good farm" smell (hay, but not peed on type- ha). We were so excited about taking Seth this year since this meant Petting Zoo. He liked the sheep (for some reason kids find it less scary to pet the rear then the head), wanted nothing to do with the goats, wasn't too impressed by the bunny (but did like my twitchy nose impression of one), pretty much ignored the birds, laughed when he got to meet Elwood (my girlfriend Robin's daughter Hilary was showing him at Fair), and L.O.V.E.D the baby chicks. We think he loved the chicks so much since that is his favorite bedtime story that Daddy reads him "Fluffy Chick". We were able to check out a couple of exhibits - where people show off their collections, crafts, and art/photo. We were particularly excited about our niece Mikayla's Ostrich piece that she had on display. The women at the help booth had no problem remembering exactly where it was located when I had to beg for their help in locating. Oh, and you know how you can vote for your favorite piece? Yep, you got our 2 votes Mikayla!
Every year, Keith and I celebrate our Anniversary by attending the fair. We fell into this little ritual soon after we started dating. We were at the Puyallup Fair, jumped into one of those 4 pics on a sheet photo booths, and well...it began. Each year we would alternate between the black and white and colored photos. We try diligently to remember that we need to come up with different facial expressions prior to the event, but the pics always seem to come out with a serious/funny/where are we looking...oh there/and cutesy. Well 2 years ago I held a sign that said "plus one", last year we had 4month old Seth posing with sunglasses, and this year...well here's a funny story. So, we're walking around the entire fairgrounds, Seth has managed to skip his morning nap and it's really starting to show with anger management issues, and we're thinking we'd better get that photo. Yep, he completely zonked out about 5 min before we took the photo. It was hilarious. I kept trying to hold up his 19lb body so that he could be seen in pic, but he was slumping like a sack of potatoes. So it got truly funny as I am desperately trying to keep up with Keith on trying different fascial expressions, trying to prop Seth up, and the photo shots are being taken quicker then I can try to manage. Compound that with the fact that the Fair no longer has the classic photo booth - one that you would just look straight on into the camera, offered a reflection to check your hair, and the seat would adjust to accommodate your needs (like us shorter folks). Not this booth- it's only color, a non-adjustable bench, and the camera (as I so tried to remind myself but kept looking down) was located above the screen in front of you. Needless to say, the whole event made the pic for this year even more memorable.