Fall Festivals in Iowa

Iowans really seem to enjoy fall festivals. In addition to all of the Hawkeyes Homecoming festivities, we attended 2 fairs this past weekend and had great fun. By "we" I mean me, Olivia, Ethan, grandma, and grandpa. Joe was in Seattle for a radiology conference. He presented a poster and placed 3rd (and yes, there were more than 4 posters there. I already asked him that). Thank goodness for all of the help from my parents, as being a single mom for 5 days did not sound like fun to me.

Olivia and Ethan sitting pretty. Olivia is back in a phase of wanting to hold Ethan a lot. Luckily she never attempts this without an adult (so far!). It is good that she is nothing but loving towards Ethan, but sometimes too much so! For instance, Olivia was diagnosed with her VERY FIRST ear infection (it broke our 38 month streak) and now I just know that Ethan will come down with something as well. I've heard that ear infections are not contagious, but I have a hard time believing that he'll not get something! Oh, well, I prefer her being a great big sister rather than the alternative!

Olivia, Ethan, and I at Wilson's Apple Orchard, getting ready for the tractor ride. This was great fun as the tractor toured the entire orchard and traveled through 2 streams which Olivia thought was great. However, there were no apples on the trees! In April, Iowa had a bad freeze that killed 80% of the apple blossoms, so it was rare to see any apples in the trees. Olivia didn't seem to mind, though.

Grandma and Olivia enjoying the BEST homemade apple turnover after the tractor ride.

Grandpa and Ethan. It seems to be a rite of passage for every child to have a ride on shoulders.

Grandpa and Olivia making works of art in the basement. If you look closely you can see the pink flower sticker on grandpa's head. You just never know what he'll do for a laugh!

The first fair we went to was the Kalona Fall Festival. Kalona is about 20 miles away, and it is an Amish community. We toured the Amish buildings, went to the quilt and textile museum, and had some fantastic food. The apple fritters and homemade pretzels made the entire trip worthwhile. Olivia had a great time riding on the little train that toured the town, riding a pony for the first time, eating lots of cotton candy, and playing in a tub of corn.

Olivia on her pony, Daphne. I honestly didn't think that she would sit on the pony, but she loved the ride.

Ethan, Olivia, and I enjoying the fair food.

Olivia playing in the tub of corn. She had a great time, spending about 30 minutes in there. It was not easy to convince her to leave!

While the background may look about the same, this is at the Amana Colonies Oktoberfest fair. The Amana Colonies is actually 7 towns that used to be a German commune from the 1800s to 1932. German influence is everywhere in the area - especially with the food. Homemade brats, kraut, weiner schnitzel, strudel, you name it. It is not very kid friendly, but I had a great time looking through the shops. We spent about 2 hours here, and maybe saw half of the town, so I am looking forward to making another trip there.

Grandma, Olivia, grandpa, and Ethan enjoying a funnel cake before leaving.

Olivia and Ethan outside of an antique shop. Olivia actually did very well not touching anything.