Udderly Excited about the Fair

Last year about this time we were getting ready to celebrate the Year of Soybeans at the great Indiana State Fair.

And Bennie the Bean was showing up everywhere, even at an Indianapolis Indians game!

While these guys (the giant soybean statues, not the three monkeys in front) will still be at the Fair this year in the new BeangoLand, it's time to moooo-ve on and celebrate the Year of Dairy Cows!

Want to know just how long you have to wait to get your dairy on? Visit the Year of Dairy Cows page here and see the countdown!

I can't wait to see all the great stuff that the Indiana dairy farmers have planned for us this year.

Rumor has it that there are some great new foods being offered this year. The Signature Food contest is happening now over at WFMS - be sure to head over and vote for your favorite treat.

The new Lemon Chiller at the Dairy Bar is definitely going on my "must try list."

I think the Indiana State Fair is still a great deal for individuals and families with a lot of free activities once you are inside the gates. Want an even better deal? Check out this blog post on some discount (even free) admission days at the fair!

There are even some free ticket giveaways out there!

Head over to Indiana's Family of Farmers Facebook page and check out some great State Fair giveaways from some Indiana blogging ladies. They are offering admission tickets AND coupons for the Dairy Bar. Score!

As I have said on her before, my work takes me to the Indiana State Fair almost every day of the 17-day run. It's a long stretch but I love it. I love it more in the beginning, but I do love it.

I'm thinking that I need to paint my nails like this to get me in the mood for the Year of Dairy Cows and the great Indiana State Fair!

Source: loveit.com via Megan on Pinterest

What do you think?

Disclaimer: I don't work for the dairy industry OR the Indiana State Fair. I am active in Indiana's Family of Farmers and do work for Indiana soybean farmers. However, all opinions on this blog are my own. Period.

Afternoon with the Three Stooges

Well, they aren't the original Stooges but it's close...

These three crazy guys are my nephews.

They are brothers. They are loud. They are messy. They are silly.

I love them to pieces.

I recently spent a few hours at our great Indiana State Fair with them and their mama (my older sister).

I'm a big believer in enjoying all of the great programming that the fair offers for FREE or close to free.

The boys LOVE the DNR building with the fish pond, park rangers and the target shooting. Conservation officers man a great demo on gun safety for the young and old. These two gun crazy boys (can't all boys turn ANYTHING into a gun?) enjoyed it.

 I had a very nice lady ask me of these two were twins...the one in front is 6 and the one in back is 4!

We also checked out the poultry barn which has a great area in the front that showcases the different breeds of rabbits and poultry. Here's a Flemish Giant, I think.

NOTE: Probably not the best food safety to have the kid eating a sucker while his elbow is very close to rabbit poo...oh well, we hit the hand wash station soon after this, I promise.

One activity that my sister did fork out some cash for is an elephant ride for the boys and a couple of their friends who joined us at the fair. The four in the back are my crew...notice someone missing?

My sister bought all three boys a ticket and when the red-head got to the top of the stairs he chickened out. This is not unusual for the kids...he's a bit of a scaredy-cat.

The funny part of the story was that we were giving him a hard time for not writing and making his mom buy a ticket when the nice man selling the tickets graciously gave my sister her money back for the unused ticket.

After my nephew saw his brothers and friends enjoying themselves on top of the elephant, he convinced his mom to buy yet another ticket for him to ride the elephant.

This time he didn't get within 10 feet of the STAIRS before he chickened out. My sister cajoled. She tried to push him towards the stairs but he was NOT having it.

Luckily, the nice man refunded my sister her money for a second time.

Just another day with my very own three stooges!

Random Posting State Fair Style

I may have mentioned it a time or two here but if I haven't...then let me say it again...I've been consumed with the Year of Soybeans at the Indiana State Fair this summer.

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It's been a great experience and there's still five days to go! So if you live in Indiana (or close by), come on out and see me!

However, I've been a bit scattered in my everyday life lately so I haven't been posting as often as I'd like and there is so much I've been wanting to say on here...so let's go.

It's another round of RANDOM POSTING!!

1.  I woke up this morning and immediately reached for a green shirt and then realized that I did NOT have to wear a green shirt today. Let me explain a bit...as part of the Year of Soybeans, we have these great "Bean Team" T-shirts that we wear at the fair. They are green. 

We also have a very cute "Bean There, Done That" T-shirt that is for sale in the fair gift shop. Guess what? It's GREEN too!

Don't get me wrong, I love green but when you wear the same shirt day after day, it gets old. Guess I now know what it would be like to wear a uniform to work!

2.  I've been growing my hair out for a while now. For the last two weeks, I thought I had been using conditioner when I actually had been using shampoo. Yes, I would shampoo my hair and then pick up another container of shampoo thinking it was conditioner and shampoo my hair again. NEVER realizing that conditioner doesn't suds up like shampoo. YIKES, no wonder my hair has been so ratty after my shower!

3.  Do you ever fill guilty when you don't go to your regular morning coffee place? I do, but then I eat my donut and drink my iced coffee with cream and mocha and I get over it. I'll go back to my peppermint mocha tomorrow.

4.  I've discovered something over the last 12 days...I'm not cut out for manual labor.  Earlier today, I counted no fewer than 12 bruises on my arms and legs from moving boxes from one end of the fairgrounds to the other. Crazy! I think I need some of these...

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Thanks for joining me for another round of random posting!

Riding Shotgun

Who hasn't called their dad at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday and asked him for a bucket of soybeans?

You have NEVER done that, really?

Hmm...I have to admit that I've done it more than once and he ALWAYS comes through for me. 

That's just the kind of dad that he is. 

He even put up signs in his soybean fields JUST because I asked him to.

He's the best! He even loaded the bucket of soybeans into my car last night.

Doesn't everyone have a bucket of soybeans riding shotgun in their front seat?

You've NEVER had a bucket of soybeans in your car, huh? Go figure!

Want to see these incredible beans in person? You can!

Year of Soybeans at the Indiana State Fair starts on Friday and you can find the soybeans in the bucket above at the Incredible Soybean Exhibit in the Pioneer Our Land Pavilion! Check out the Indiana State Fair page for more details about SOYBEANS at the Fair.

Want to win some tickets to the Fair? Check out Indiana's Family of Farmers blog and Bennie the Bean's FB page (starting Wednesday) or his Twitter page (@BennietheBean).

I'm thinking about seeing if the bag of sweet corn in my garage wants to take a ride tomorrow...

Fun with Bennie the Bean

 Bennie the Bean in a cornfield

Want to have some fun with your kids this summer?

It's the Year of Soybeans at the Indiana State Fair and to celebrate Indiana soybean farmers are hosting a fun photo contest this summer.

Check out Bennie the Bean on Facebook and download your own "Flat Bennie." Then take him with you to your favorite summer destination, snap a photo with him and upload it on the contest site! The first contest runs until June 27 and then the fun starts! You get your family and friends to vote on your photo to win.

The prize is an iPad and tickets to the fair! There is even a second contest that starts in July!

I took Bennie with me and the nephews when we went to the Indianapolis Zoo recently.

Can you tell by the last photo that someone was a bit grumpy?

To learn more about soybeans, visit the Indiana State Fair's Year of Soybeans page or Indiana Soybean Alliance's website.

Linking up to Pinke Post.

For full disclosure, I work for Indiana soybean farmers and the Year of Soybeans is a project that I'm working to plan so I'm really excited about it and want to share it with everyone I know. That's why I did this post. If you have questions about soybeans and how they are grown in Indiana, let me know and I'll be glad to answer them (or get you an answer from someone who know more than I do).