A visit to the Ohio State Fair!

On the last day of the state fair, dear friends and their luminous children made my day by meeting me there. I love the fair and, in years past, while I was studying at OSU, my dear friend and I would make it a point to go see the butter cow. But it's been years since I've been to the fair so I made it my purpose to return this summer, even if it meant going by myself (not my husband's cup of tea).

The day was glory (the weather was so good this year that the fair broke attendance records nearing almost 1 million visitors!), and I took in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the fair, which was made even more special because I got to see it through the eyes of my friends' excited boys.

The butter cow (and her calf) are two of the main attractions at the Ohio State Fair, and they didn't disappoint this year. The entire display, which includes a sculpture of the state youth choir, all made of butter, takes about 2,000 pounds!

Even though one of my favorite places in Puerto Rico is the Horned Dorset Primavera, which my family used to stay in back when it first opened and was affordable (it is now way beyond everyone we know), I didn't know what a horned Dorset looked like. Well, I found them at the fair!

The boys enjoyed the petting zoo, where they got to feed African pygmy goats, and the merry-go-round, which I adored as a child and still love even though I don't get to ride the horses anymore.

The boys also loved the giant pumpkin display and the funicular, or lift, which took us back from the end of the fair to the start.

Even though I "showed restraint," as my husband would say, and only had cotton candy (none of the fried fair food that makes the experience famous), I had to take this aerial picture of the donut burgers being sold at the fair. I can deal with fried cheese and elephant ears but definitely not donuts and hamburger. Yuck.

All in all, it was a wonderful day and I was so grateful to my friends that they included me in the loving circle of their little family. The boys call me "titi Ivonne" and it reminds me of warmly remembered times when my beautiful nieces and nephews, now all teenagers and young adults, were little kids. They always made being an aunt such great fun.