{Texas State Fair // 2019}

As Hall family tradition holds, we went to the Texas State Fair this past Sunday! We like going on Sunday mornings because they are far less crowded than on a Saturday! And we like to get there as soon as they open so that it's not as hot. But who am I kidding? This is Texas and we were sweating just walking from the truck to the gates. Anyhow, here is our 2019 Texas State Fair trip...

{Texas State Fair 2018}

The Texas State Fair is one of our traditions in the Hall family. We do it mostly for Mason because that kid is a true thrill seeker and really loves the rides! We have started going on Sunday mornings right when they open as we find that is the time they are the least crowded. We go straight for the rides and let Mason ride before lines get unbearably long. Then we play games, eat, see Big Tex, look at the car barns, go through the Texas building and call it a day! This has been our routine for years and it works for us. This year was no different. We had a complete blast!!

{Weekend Wrap-up // Lauren Daigle, a day off, taking shelter, Texas State Fair}

Happy Wednesday! What a week it has been so far. I couldn't muster up enough energy on Sunday after the fair to write a post. Then Monday was the AT&T Armageddon that swept across Texas. If you didn't hear, lightning struck facility a bit north of us and caught fire. We were without Internet for over 13 hours. It was a nightmare. I mean, if I didn't work at home full time I wouldn't have minded it. But, it was stressful not being able to do my job. And we live in somewhat of a black hole and with the weather we had almost zero cell service at home. It was a long 13 hours. Anyhow, Tuesday was spent playing catch-up on all the things. So, a weekend wrap-up on Wednesday it is.

{Bucketlist Update // Texas State Fair 2015}

On Sunday, September 27th we went to the Texas State Fair and had a blast! {And? I totally forgot to blog about it. Like slipped my mind completely. Oops!} We went with Nate's parents, his brother Ty and Ty's girlfriend Michelle. Traditionally, we always go together. This year we went a little earlier in the season and the weather was warmer than when we usually go. But, it was tolerable.




We were expecting it to be super crowded because it was opening weekend, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't. Other than the Ferris Wheel, we walked right up to every ride that Mason wanted to ride. Often times Mason was the only one on the ride. He didn't seem to mind, though.

We started out with the Ferris Wheel because that line gets long quick. That was the one thing Mason wanted to do that day, so we decided making it first would be best. We only had to wait about 30 minutes, but that was only because the ride didn't start until 10 and they had to even out the carts/wheel. It was my first time to ride The Texas Star. And probably the last. In case you're not familiar...the Texas Star is the tallest ferris wheel in North America. It's 212 feet high, has 44 gondolas and can hold up to 264 people at once. I didn't like the way the carts rocked back and forth. Mason was a little scared, too! He was afraid of the doors opening. We went around twice. And twice was enough. I was SO done.


After the ferris wheel we went to the aquarium where you could pet stingrays. Mason was all about that. So for 15 bucks we got to pet a few sting rays {that were actually manta rays}. I think Mason enjoyed it though, so it was worth it.


Only Mason, Nathan and I went in the aquarium so when we were done we met back up with the group. We went through the greenery pavilion {not sure what it's really called} to see the trains and the pumpkin carver. He's so awesome! Then a few of our group rode the carousel.


Next we let Mason ride about 10 or so rides. He totally bypassed all of the kid rides he rode in the years before and went for the bigger and faster ones. And he kept wanting to ride by himself rather than one of us going with him. Mr. Independent! ha. For the rides that he needed an adult to go with him Michelle {his uncles girlfriend} so kindly rode with him!



After rides we headed for Fletcher's corny dogs. A state fair must. Then it was off to see Big Tex and check out the new rides in the auto area. Mason got to make a vinyl sticker to put on his Dodge powerwheels. That was pretty neat. It's a silhouette of him holding a sign that says Dodge. I can't wait to see it on his truck. {which we still need to do}



Then we scooted on over to the Texas pavillion. We always love going in there. Mason got a free ice cream cone...and made a complete mess with it and some Texas teas were bought and we were on our way. Mason, Ty and Michelle went through the petting zoo before we took Mason to play games. We promised him that he could play games, but it had to be the last thing we did before leaving. Because, Mom & Dad always get stuck carrying all of his things he wins at the games. We've learned our lesson {may have taken us a few years, but hey!!}. Mason racked up on the games!!

More pictures mostly from my phone:


After games we headed back to the truck and went to eat Mexican food at our favorite place! It was a great day.

2015 Fall Bucketlist Update {those that have been done have been updated with the link to the post}:

+ make s'mores or the s'mores dip
+ make a fall wreath
+ decorate the porch
+ make fall crafts 
+ take Mason on a nature scavenger hunt
+ go geocaching around our town
+ buy pumpkins
+ decorate & carve pumpkins
+ have a Halloween movie night {most likely Hocus Pocus} with themed foods
+ find Mase Halloween pajamas
+ go to Mainstay Farms/Pumpkin patch
+ make a thankful jar with Mason
+ take Fall pictures
+ have a playdate with friends
+ go to the zoo
+ go camping in a tent
+ go to Round Top, TX for Texas Antiques weekend
+ stay in a cabin somewhere
+ follow a Fall photo project
+ go on a hayride
+ go to the Texas State Fair
+ visit the Farmer's Market
+ take Mason trick or treating
+ Boo a friend
+ roast marshmallows
+ bake Halloween cookies
+ buy a few 'fall' wardrobe staples
+ go to a football game
+ nacho bar for a football game watching night

Have you ever been to the Texas State Fair? What's your favorite part about it? Mason is totally the rides and the games and ours is the food!

{Texas State Fair // 2014}

The weekend before last we went to the Texas State Fair. It's a family tradition for us to all go together with Nate's family. We went on Sunday morning when they first opened to try to avoid some of the long lines. We always park in the back, close to the rides. We let Mason ride all of the kid rides first while we scope out where the new fried food stands are. Priorities!

 
Mason rode 5-7 rides and then we headed over to play games. We were trying to find a game that Mason could win on his own, and we did. But then Nate started playing a game to try to win Mason a giant Sonic the Hedgehog. It only took $30 bucks, but he won! I think that was the most expensive stuffed animal we've ever bought! But the look on Mason's face was priceless! 









After games we made our way to the indoor green-house area. They have trains that circle the center of the building and Mason always likes to see those. They also have a guy carving out huge pumpkins...but it was so crowded we couldn't make our way over to it.



While walking back from the greenhouse we spotted a Fletcher corn-dog stand. Always a must when we're there! Fletcher corn-dogs are a Texas State Fair staple! And always so delicious! We ate our corn-dogs on the go while we trucked over to the Texas Bluebonnet Stand. It was one of the award winning fried foods this year and it was by far our favorite! Below is a description from their website - 


Deep Fried Texas Bluebonnet by Isaac Rousso
The Deep Fried Texas Bluebonnet is a blueberry muffin, scone-style batter that is stuffed with cream cheese, blueberries and sweet morsels of white chocolate. It is baked and deep fried to a perfect golden brown. This mountain of flavor is topped off with whipped cream, chopped white chocolate morsels, powdered sugar, blueberries, and a delicious blueberry glaze.
 via

So dang good!! We found some tables in the middle of all of the food stands, so we parked it and tried a few things. We were right by the #dallasbig sign so of course we had to get pictures...





Nate grabbed us a churro and a drink while others opted for fried milk and cookies. The churro was great, the fried milk and cookies not so much. Later we tried the funnel cake ale - it was actually good. I don't normally like beer...but this one had a great aftertaste! Nate also tried the fried cuban sandwich and others tried the fried gulf shrimp boil. The foods are always interesting!!

After stuffing our faces we headed over to see big Tex; another Texas State Fair Staple. We were among the other 5000 people trying to get a picture! ha.



Next up was the cars!! We always love checking out the new cars & trucks coming out!! Mason likes to "drive" them, too! This area was pretty crowded, but we managed to see what we wanted to see. 







Then we started making our way back towards the parking lot...using up our tickets as we went. Which meant more food! Oh and my MIL and I checked out the Cupcake Winery truck! 


Such a fun day and so many great memories made. 




Have you ever been to the Texas State Fair? What's your favorite part about it? The rides? The food? The shows?

 

{Texas Tuesday - Texas State Fair}

Hey y'all!! Happy Texas Tuesday!!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.masonsmama.com/" title="Masons Mama"><img src="http://i45.tinypic.com/709jsy.jpg" alt="Masons Mama" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

What is Texas Tuesday? A chance for you to show off the awesomeness that is TEXAS!! You can blog about anything; restaurants, vacation spots, venues, concerts, your hometown, shops, fashion, sports, etc. The linkup is not limited to Texans, we just ask that the post is about Texas. 

We don't make following any of the hosts a requirement, but we do ask that you include our button and at least post about a Texas related topic. Any links that are not related to the link up will be deleted. (button code is in grab box below the image above)

We've invited Texas bloggers to co host with us weekly.  If you're interested in being a co host for our link up please email Amanda at princessofthepanhandle(at)gmail(dot)com and she will get you on the calendar. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

This past Sunday we ventured out to the Texas State Fair. 
It did not disappoint!!

{PS - I didn't take my big girl camera because of the rain. Didn't want to chance it. So all I have are iPhone pics}

We got there when they opened and took Mason straight to the Midway! We wanted to let him ride before things got busy. And ride, he did! He rode almost every single kid ride there and loved every minute of it!!

We took the sky-tram thing over to where Big Tex was and saw him. He wasn't as bad as he looked in some pictures. We of course introduced Mason to a Fletcher's Corny Dog! The rain was picking up so we found a car pavilion to go in and get out of the weather. We looked at some of the cars, but Mason was bored! ha.

We stopped for a food/drink break after that. Mason had some ice cream and we enjoyed some lemonade. And then made our way over to the petting zoo area. On the way we heard the Rankin Twins playing, so we stopped to listen for a bit.

We walked through the Ag building and then took Mason to the Petting Zoo. And followed up with a trip to the John Deere tent and called it a day!

It was a lot of fun. 

Mason kept calling it the "Steak" Fair.

Nathan and I tried the fried frito pie and it was delicious. My brother in law had the fried Thanksgiving Dinner and the Chicken Fried Meatloaf and the Fried Millionaire Pie and loved all of it!!

And now we detox from all things fried.......

Have you been to the Fair? Do you plan to?