Four at the fair

Here's to another year at the fair. I'm growing fonder of it as each year goes by. We seem to have established what we like to accomplish when we go, as if we're on a mission to conquer our fair favorites. The first item on our agenda when we went last week was to take photo booth pictures because Valor was readying himself for a nap. We managed to get the pictures in before he knocked out for the rest of the time we were at the fair. Then we visited the farm; Serene loves animals and spent the last year of her life learning the names of animals and the noises they make. She was fascinated, albeit a tad nervous, to see them up close and personal at first. She warmed up and left the petting zoo waving to the sheep and saying, "Bye sheep! Baa." She also had a ball picking fruit and running around the farm-to-store simulation for kids. We ended the night by partaking in fair food. I still think it's overpriced and unhealthy, but worth the splurge once a year. We enjoyed a bloomin' onion, farmhouse burgers (a bacon-spam-teriyaki-beef burger for Alex and a turkey-smoked gouda burger for me), and funnel cake. They were all so tasty!

Most special of all, we ambled about as a family of four this year, with an almost two-year-old Serene and an almost five-month-old Valor. Since the fair has become an annual tradition, I get to reflect on how God has graciously grown our family every year at this time. At this time last year, Serene was almost a year old and we had just found out we were five weeks pregnant with Valor. I was observing all the families with two young children (and their double strollers!) and imagining how we'd be at the fair the following year with another sweet babe in tow. At this time two years ago, I was 36 weeks pregnant with Serene. I didn't post the pictures we snapped of my belly that day because I was sweaty and feeling gross. At this time three years ago, we were celebrating our first year as married folks. At this time four years ago, we were engaged. At this time five years ago, we were on a group date. So much has changed in just five years. God is so good to us though we are undeserving. How fun it shall be to see where we will be in future years at the fair!