I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a fair or not. Here in the Midwest, fairs are kind of a big deal. It’s all the farmers and corn and cows and stuff.
Thus, I have very specific expectations in mind when a “fair” is involved. There needs to be a hint of funnel cakes mixed with farm animals in the air. Questionable Carnies lurking in the shadows. A poorly assembled, rusted out Ferris Wheel. So you can imagine my disappointment when I helped my friend Jo out with a local fun fair for her workplace.
When you add “fun” in front of “fair” it apparently takes all of the awesome things out of a fair and substitutes it with cute, sticky, and greedy children who are attempting to eat their body weight in snowcones – which we were supplying along with cotton candy.
Anyway, we rose early on Saturday morning and loaded up the box truck to head out to the fun fair.
P.S. Nothing makes you feel quite more like a pedophile than driving around in a big box truck with a snowcone and cotton candy machine in the back.
I don’t know when she’s gonna finally realize that I’ll never stop taking pictures of her.
As we were circling for about and hour trying to find the place, I may or may not have noticed a Big Kmart with a Little Caesars blow up man out front. This information came in handy when we reached our destination and realized we had an hour to kill. Don’t even think we didn’t polish off a large hot n’ ready at 10:30am, while sitting next to the men’s underwear section.
Not to say that we couldn’t finish the rest, but we did start feeling like pigs a little bit. The confused looks from the cashier weren’t helping.
Back at the Fun Fair, we became cotton candy and snowcone making afficianados.
We may or may not have eaten all of our mistakes.
Seriously, she just needs to stop trying to hide.
That is an expert at work, my friends.
I don’t know if you’ve ever made cotton candy. I don’ t know why you would have, unless you ARE a Carnie (in which case I apologize for previous statements) but it’s probably the grossest, stickiest, cobwebbyest job ever.
Then someone came by with free ice cream sandwiches. I was taught never to turn down free treats from strangers. The universe just didn’t want us to win that day.
By the end of the day, my cotton candy was so fluffy and perfect that the kids didn’t even want to go near any other forms of air-blown sugar.
Wondering where I went? I have returned to blogging over at my whole foods blog Celery and the City, where we live so clean it’s like your insides took a bath.
Wait, since when did you start warming up to kids? I’m not ready for this stage of Britteny: the engaged, kid loving, responsible one. It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.
Jo should just realize that she’s not going to escape being exposed in your blog. She of all people should know you better than that.
I imagine the two of you went and worked out for hours after consuming all of that healthy food. Or at least made a few dozen comments about how you should work out, which counts almost the same as actually doing it.
the latter.
and as for Jo, she’s a lost cause.
and eh, i don’t know if i’m completely warm to them. I’ve always loved other people’s kids. haha! just not quite sure about my own yet, but if they were that cute then i might have to reconsider.
Those are some cute babies and some fluffy looking cotton candy. Who knows this blog thing doesn’t work out you can always join the carnie life.
right??? it’s about the only thing i haven’t tried at this point
I laughed at the “cotton candy machine in the truck” liner. Almost as creepy as one of my friends who wanted to buy an old ice cream truck. But what was crazy about it was….it didn’t have that tinkling music from a music box. This thing was tricked out……had a gong. I kid you not….a gong….the kind that I guess you go to asian neighborhoods and smack that sucker….all the bachans and their kids come out and eat corn ice cream….oh theres my rant on creepiness…..lol!
corn ice cream …. BAHAHAHAHH!!!!
man, seriously though. Does anyone trust an ice cream man these days? It just screams pedophile.
pretty much any type of van or truck is just ruined now.
Oh I must protest!
http://www.biggayicecreamtruck.com/
I was there about two hours ago. Far from ruined, it may just be the happiest place on earth. The very flamboyant man who served me (and several blocks worth of people) amazing ice cream was wearing a shirt that said “I’m gay for unicorns”.
hahahah. oh gees.
maybe i’m just bitter cus i lived on a dead end street and we never had ice cream trucks
Those children are adorable! You are quite the portrait photographer. I do feel a little creepy even commenting on children’s photos these days because of all the sickos out there. But your photos are too good not to say so!
aw shucks. thanks gail!!!! yea i felt a lil creepy stalking them all day, but i was glad i did. got some good shots!
dude – you forgot to mention the smell of “fair vomit” that clings in the air. I’m disappointed in you, girl. there is ALWAYS some kind of vomit in a fair trash barrel. :p
lol. true story. people be throwing up after those cheap rides and 5 lbs of fried food coated in powdered sugar
oh my goodness they are cute! i LOVE other people’s children. it’s fabulous whether they’re crying or smiling, there is just something compellingly real about them and your photos capture EXACTLY what i’m talking about. well done 🙂 no sheep or chickens in sight though 🙁 that’s sad. I’m not sure they should be able to use the word “fair” in the event name if there are no farm animals. kind of a purist when it comes to stuff like that – very much aligned with your definition. xo Diane
haha, right? I love kids too, especially when they go home to someone else!
I’m a purist… it was the fundamental baptist school upbringing. what can i say.
OK. That last kid is absolutely adorable, and that’s coming from someone who at almost age 30 does not hear her biological clock ticking, but rather hears her BB gun loading to shut up the neighborhood brats.
As for fairs, they are the Olympics of people watching. They make me feel normal and pretty…
hahaha. oh abby.
dear abby.
bet you’re not sick of that joke yet are you??
um, i’m with you in that my biological clock is invisible.
Your pictures are amazing. I’m envious of your talent.
I’m also envious of the cotton candy. Yum!
aw thanks so much natasha!!
the cotton candy was disgusting if it makes you feel better
Ummm… where did they stash the ugly kids?
Seriously?
Back of the truck?
(Awesome pictures.)
that’s what i’m saying…
no ugly kids to be found. fun fair = cute kid fair
“P.S. Nothing makes you feel quite more like a pedophile than driving around in a big box truck with a snowcone and cotton candy machine in the back.”
Bwhahahahahahahahahaha! OMG…I LOVE YOU! That cracked me up!!!
And I gotta tell ya…I don’t think I’ve EVER seen cotton candy made so perfectly as yours. You GO, girl!
And that free ice cream sandwich looked heavenly. That’s one of favorite ways to have ice cream.
And the photos of these children? Absolutely freakin’ AWESOME! I adore being around children, so I would have been snappin’ photos with you.
So talented you are!
X
thanks so much ron!!! yea i couldn’t help myself. I was there to take pictures as well, so i didn’t feel like a total Creeper.
Dude, i could pound down a box of ice cream sandwiches any day. and yes, be very jealous of my cotton candy making skills. they impressed even myself
There’s something about cotton candy that kinda’ scares me. Just a bit.
I think I somehow associate it with Oompa Loompas. Who scare me. Just a bit.
Awesome shots, though (as always), B.D… I really like that retro feel. Even enough to make me feel like I’ve gotten over the whole Oompa Loompa thing.
🙂
right?? i think anything associated with a fair is scary.
haha, and thanks. yes the retro/cp feel is my fav!
Can I just say that I am SO in awe of anyone who can operate a cotton candy machine? It’s one of my life-long dreams. . . I’m sure it isn’t actually as neat as it looks, but that stuff is so damn MAGICAL! C’mon! Sugarclouds? Yes, please. Count me IN!
P.S. I think you already know that I adore pictures of cute kids 😉
you? pictures of children??
weird combination.
Cotton candy tends to give me the heebies, but I guess I’d try it if YOU made it.
Also – those kids make me want to *almost* reconsider my “no children” rule…
dude, you want my cotton candy. and yea, they almost made me reconsider too
OMG that pic of the kid with the sucker is great. I hope you got a release from her parents because that one will be stock photography gold.
bear i almost wanted to skip your comment accidentally again just to spite you.
and hmmm, stock photography. never though of that.
You can’t quit me.
Anything you can do, i can do better.
it’s just that you can’t quit ME.
Ooh pizza and cotton candy. I think I’m in love. Seriously.
Have never made cotton candy, now I must do it! Gonna find a 4h fair or something. Awesome. Off to google…
no, you don’t ever want to make cotton candy. you will have pink cobwebs everywhere for days.
Those are some great photos! I like how you make them look very soft, but still sharp. Does that make sense? I hope so!
Damn now I want cotton candy…
yes! it totally makes sense!!! yes, it took a while to fine tune that editing.
Did you ever face the fact that you were dealing in feeding obesity to this generation? Better to have been pedophiles than Willie Wonka’s in today’s society. I can’t bear to look at the cuteness any longer myself. Phenomenal photography!
Thanks Granny! and yes, I know the cuteness can be overwhelming!
Great pictures! This looks like so much fun. And, thanks to you and the Pizza Hut commercial that aired as I was reading this post, I now need pizza so bad I might die. 🙂
Just found your blog via Domestiphobia – enjoying reading so far!
thanks so much for stopping by Catherine!
dude, i love me some pizza hut.
There are no mistakes in cotton candy other than cotton candy is a mistake.
hahah! wait,
what?
Omg! You live in the mid-south! Where do you live? You don’t have tell if you want… Just wanted to know cause I live in the mid-south, too.
nope. midwest!!! wish it was the South though
aww… It would so awesome if someone I knew that was famous over the internet lived near me. 🙁
No, you don’t wanna live down here! It’s boring as hell down here…
Your bling looks so much more awesome in neon blue. Can you dye it cotton candy?
hahaha. I know right? I feel like Kate Middleton with that blue bling
Wait…you shared the cotton candy and snow cones with kids? I don’t understand….
hahah! feeling generous
I too would have gone for the pizza at 10:30 in the morning. Love the photos. Sent you an email. Thinking Sunday may be a bit early for the horse show for you. 7:30 and 9 am ride times. Ugh! Oh well, maybe the next one.
i know, right? nothing wrong with that.
LOL….
The children are adorable.
But….lol…. I’m glad you posted that picture of the pizza….lol….
I seriously had no idea what you had meant by big hot one (or whatever it was)
so funny….
Thanks for the laughs
Hot n Ready???? You don’t have little caesars pizza?!?!?!
Hello; My family has been operating traveling carnivals for three generations. All of us kids were where you were that day. we made mistakes and had fun and if we are lucky our parents have photos or video of it. just imagine the cute embarrassing photos there would be out there if smart phones were around when i was a kid. but your post made me laugh. I hope to read more. thanks and keep smiling and laughing, max