The Indiana State Fair

As I mentioned in my previous post, Lewis and I drove up to Indianapolis on Monday morning to join Emily, Juniper, Otis, my mom, my dad, my brother, Dietgard, Mathilda (her daughter), and Emery (her son) at the Indiana State Fair. We were over an hour late to meet everyone, but we jumped right in when we got there, starting with the tractors:

 :)

They were everywhere, and I knew Lewis would have a fun day.

We walked through the pioneer village, followed by the animal barns. We saw sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cows:

 Lewis wasn't as much into seeing real pigs, but he wouldn't move from this concrete one. :)

 The Three Amigos, watching the horse show :)

 We found a horse they could pet

And then the girls and Lewis took to petting and snuggling sweet Otis:

 :)

In the cattle barn, we went into the baby cow petting area (I'm sure that's not the technical name for it). ;) Lew was particularly fond of this black/white one (aka Holstein, if I'm reading the sign correctly):

 Sweet baby cow

We ate lunch and decided to head back towards the pioneer village. From the moment we arrived at the fair, Lewis saw these tractor shuttles and asked to ride one, so off we went:

 One happy buddy

 Brief pit stop to check out the forklift

 I thought this mid-jump was funny/fitting, since he was literally hopping from one tractor to the next

 He became fixated on this little, old tractor and wouldn't leave it.

 He had his first sprinkle cone, which was a bit of a fail. 

He tried eating the sprinkles with his fingers, and, within minutes, the whole thing had melted down over his hand. Thankfully Uncle Dave was willing to take one for the team and eat a 2nd cone. 

 Juni, willingly holding hands with Lew?!?

That doesn't happen often. :)

 One of the few times Lewis sat still all day--he was very patient in waiting for his turn to ride a pony

  Thank you, Copper. :) 

 Mmm...milk!

He went through a farmers' market area with Mom and Juniper, and he came out drinking a carton of milk. I think she said he sold fruits and vegetables at the market and got $1 to spend on a drink--it sounded like a neat exhibit (I was resting in the shade).

 Thanks for the carrots, Gramma!

 Either right before or right after this picture, Lewis ate one of the carrots intended for the goats. I'm sure they weren't meant for human consumption. :/

One last stop for some faux fishing

Finally, saying our goodbyes, for now:

Bye-bye, Sweet Otie Man :)

And, of course--no better way to say goodbye to Juniper, than by tackling her to the ground (by accident). :)

We'll see you again soon, Bergstroms! Only next time, we'll have a BABY in tow (oh my!).