The word of the day is DOG.

Because of football, I go to the State Fair every year. When schedules and budget allow, the whole family pays the fair a visit. This year, Katie requested a fair day for her birthday, so after church on Sunday, our family plus two of Katie's friends headed to Big D.

Our fair is famous for all the fried food, like chicken fried bacon.

See? Deep fried EVERYTHING!

Upon arrival we wandered through the creative arts pavilion.

At one end of that building is the traditional butter sculpture. This year's creation paid homage to the Red River Rivalry.

From there we wandered across the street to one of the livestock barns to check out some cool chicks.


One highlight of the day was the dog show.

No, not the fancy kind of dog show: This was an acrobatic display of canine cunning!



We especially liked the races.

After tolerating the arts and crafts, chickens and dogs, the kids were ready for the midway.

We've always been fans of the funhouses...
or "Fun Haus," if you will.


The kids (and sometimes Brett) tried out several and had a blast.




Of course, no trip to the fair would be complete without a visit to the Fletcher's Corny Dog stand.

Love, love, love those dogs!

Yep! Yet another funhouse.

A swing through the car show gave us a chance to try on some new cars for size. The Ford robot was pretty snazzy, too.




As the day neared its end, we were worn out! Fortunately we ran into some "Footsie Wootsie" machines to soothe our barking dogs. (Which makes me wonder: Think I could buy one of those for our living room?) (And did you notice this is a dog-centric post?)

The traffic and parking were terrible, and the crowds in some areas were pretty thick. But all in all, it was a great day for a great fair. How could it not be a great day when it ended with a deep-fried frozen margarita?