So Liv and I took in the final Lincoln state fair yesterday afternoon. (It is moving to Grand Island, NE, next year.) Livia requested her photo be taken in the shot above, so of course I obliged! She was posing and twirling; I loved it. We were excited to be at the fair. I was excited about the following photo.

Mmmm. Funnel cakes with powdered sugar. My body was very displeased with me afterwards, but they were good going down.

We saw a giraffe among other creatures in the exotic animal tent. Liv still recalls with laughter the time Papa tried to feed the ostrich and dropped the animal feed in surprise (two years ago, I wasn’t there but Liv’s recollection makes me laugh)—and we fed the ostrich this time with better results. Still, one gets a bit nervous feeding an ostrich. That bird had some power.

We moved on to the birthing pavilion and got to hold a baby chick. Nothing makes Livia happier than handling animal babies. I had to drag her from the tent. She would’ve held the baby goats and lambs if they had let her.

Sometimes I’m surprised by who I see through my camera lens. Anyone recognize these folks?

We went on Liv’s first ever carnival ride—her choice. The spinning strawberries were just my pace, too. Apparently, you lose your capacity for amusement park rides when you hit 30. I’m glad I rode them all as a kid because I sure as heck don’t want to anymore!

The skies grew darker and the temps dropped as we were leaving the fair. I laughed out loud as I snapped Livia on this bench, hunched over with fingers in her mouth, as there are many times I’ve wished I could do the same thing when I was cold and tired. Five years olds are delightfully free from inhibition (remind me I said that when she’s wailing away in Target).

Sayanora, State Fair!