Jackson on a Stick

It's that time of the year again, time for the Great Minnesota Get-Together! We took Jackson on his inaugural visit yesterday and he did surprisingly well. A little freaked out by all of the people at first, perhaps, but he seemed to have a fun time.

Of course, the State Fair visit is all about eating, really, as his Daddy is illustrating in this photo. Jackson is quickly learning the ropes but he had to practice on his toys first. The eating summary is as follows:

* Deep-fried Twinkie (Dan only, there is no way you could get me to eat one of those...)
* Cinnamon Lefse (My "Twinkie" - I love it!)
* Deep-fried pickles (Grama & Grampa bought them and we had to help them out...yum!)
* Mini-Donuts from the booth outside the Grandstand, as always
* Roasted Corn-on-the-cob
* An ice cream cone
* A Kiwanis chocolate malt
* Cheese-on-a-stick
* French fries

Not too bad of a list, considering that there are so many worse options available. And we were there for seven hours so when you spread it out over all that time...well...we'll still have fruit and carrots today to make up for it I guess.

Jackson had a grand ol' time with his grandparents, as we always do at the Fair. It's become an unofficial tradition to go "Fair-ing" with them. That's sort of how this all started anyway. Sit a spell and listen to a story:

Dan's and my first date was at the Fair way back in '02, but we didn't know it was a date at the time. I was volunteering for the Green Party booth in the Grandstand and asked him to come out and meet me afterwards for an hour or two - tops. I didn't like the Fair much then* but Dan was a relatively new Minnesotan who had never been to the Fair. (We had just come off of the two-week community ed. backpacking trip to Glacier National Park and that famous 18-hour conversation on the train-ride home that started it all...)

Anyway...he did. Come to the Fair, that is. My parents were there (they're always at the Fair) and when Dan came to meet me at the booth, I said "okay, let's call my parents to meet up." He was a little...uh...surprised. I mean, he didn't know it was a date any more than I did, but he still didn't expect to meet my parents. But Dan's willing to try just about anything and said okay. So we hiked over to Heritage Square to find them.

Dan was talking to my Mom and some of their best friends, the Stevens, when a hand reached into his mini-donut bag from out of nowhere. Yes Dear Readers, that's right. My Dad. What a way to meet your future father-in-law. No "how do you do?" No "Hello, I'm Tom." Just a mini-donut thief. Luckily, Dan has a good sense of humor and a good sense of "go with the flow." I figured, if he could handle my Dad...well...maybe I should keep him around for a while.

The rest is Fair history.

(And just think Jackson - next year, you get to have a mini-donut too!)
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*Yes, I love the Fair now. Love it with all of my heart. Is it because my parents used to take us every year and it's imprinted on my being? Is it because my husband and I have such fond memories of Fair-days together? Is it because the knitting is so inspiring and the quilts are so amazing? Is it because the deep-fried pickles are such a good treat that you can only have them once a year, at a gathering like this?

Yes. It is.