We went to the fall fair on the weekend. It is a 2 hour drive to a tiny little community. We camped at the fair grounds, in a tent. My girl and I squished in with my 2 sisters, and my niece. My mom and dad came too, and they camped in their camper van.

We had a wonderful time. We watched the barrel racing (my fav), the cattle penning (a sort of cutting drill), and the mutton bustin (hilarious... where young kids around 4 ride a sheep!!). My girl didn't like the mutton bustin'... didn't like it when the kids fell off!! She loved the cattle penning though.

She also loved walking through the barns, looking at the animals. There was a giant mama pig with 9 little baby piglets... they were sooooo cute. Climbing all over the mama while she slept.

My dad entered a bottle of white and a bottle of red wine into the homemade wine comp... and won 1st prize for both! There was music, art, dancing, fair rides, pioneer displays, games... and FAIR FOOD.

The fair food. That used to be a favourite for me. Poutine. Pulled pork. Perogies and sausage loaded with sour cream and bacon. Ice cream. Mini donuts. Candy pop corn. Yum yum yum.

I didn't really go in with much of a plan. I packed food for breakfast and dinner, and thought I would allow myself to eat lunch (x2) at the fair. The first day, I had pulled pork on a bun with potato salad. The potato salad with a vinegar base (not creamy), so I dont' think it was too bad... I ate about 1/4 cup of it... and the pork on a bun, well, I ate 1/2 the bun and about 1/2 the pork. Not bad at all!!! That evening, we went to listen to music, and I bought mini donuts to share with my friends... I had 2. A great way to satisfy the craving without over doing it!

Then on Sunday... I walked all around, trying to chose what to eat... nothing appealed to me at all. So I ended up getting popcorn that was 170 cals for 3 cups... ate about that amount, and took the rest home for later (still haven't reopened the bag.. might be time to chuck it).

Wow.

I am impressed with myself! I came home, didn't gain a pound, got lots of walking in. Had fun. Didn't feel deprived at ALL because I CHOSE what to do, and i was happy with my choices. Hm, how good does that feel?

Plus, the whole weekend felt so vintage and retro, and I just adored it. When we were kids (I was between 5 and maybe 10?), we used to submit our animals to the very same fair, and we used to camp out there on the fair weekends. Well,the fair hasn't changed ONE bit in the 20 years since I had been. It was really neat having my daughter experience a bit of my childhood, and enjoy it through her eyes.



PJ bike riding at the campsite - well accessorized of course!