Let's Go To The Ex!!!! (Pt. 1)

While it certainly felt like the boys’ first exposure to the glories of “The Ex”, our day-long adventure was, in fact, their second encounter with the sprawling spectacle. Last year, when they were only 9 months old, they slept through most of the grand tour. This time—the 132^nd year (the CNE's, not theirs)--it was a much more spirited affair—once again accompanied by Grandma and Grandpa, Carter and Nathaniel got the nap subject out of the way while en route, and woke just in time for the sensory assault of . Not that they minded…

Mom and Dad indulged in their usual CNE ritual—butterfly chips, and then followed the masses. It occurred to me that carnival prizes have radically improved since I was a kid, and that within a few years, my pitching arm, dart-hand, and rifle-accuracy had better improve immensely, else we’ll be spending a small fortune buying those oversized stuffed animals from the pricey gift tents…

Carter and Nathaniel were quite taken by the “might machines” on display, esp. the ferris wheel and roller coaster. Oh, the wonderful photos I’ll be posting here one day when Lidia takes the boys on these various death-drops while I remain sanely on the ground, clicking away…

The boys got to see many of their favorite farm critters--horses, cows, piglets, sheep, roosters, even a turkey or two--unfortunately, the cat show wouldn't be held until the next weekend.

A well-timed bubba break gave the adults a chance to chow down in style in The Food Building, which was wonderfully under-populated at the early hour...