County Fair Adventures

     So this past weekend was our favorite fair. It's chock full of fun. We paced ourselves and even had a little break and let the boys go nuts in all of the leaves that had scattered the park. It has everything, livestock barns, crafts, 4H competitions performers, tractor pulls, fair rides and sooo much more. Eric got to go for the first time in three years. This is a big time tradition in our family. The one thing that attracts us more than anything is fair food. Moderation is okay right? Once a year to me is moderation to enjoy all of it's greasy goodness.
      We could not make a decision on what we wanted. Soup in a bread bowl, Buffalo Burger, BBQ brisket, Burgers, hot dogs, fried everything, chili, bbq chicken, really huge turkey drumsticks.  It came down to Italian sausage sub for Eric and a buffalo burger for me, hot dog for Gabe and cheeseburger for Sebastian.  We passed the giant eclairs and our decisions were mostly because we didn't want to be too full for later. 
     We stayed till the very end of the day for the dessert auction. Now this is one thing we have never been to.  Everyone who is interested gathers around the vegetable competition barn and out of the small door at the end the auctioneer walks outside with a microphone.  All money collected is donated to the local food pantry so it all goes to a good cause. All entries and winners are auctioned off.  There are bread, pies, cookies, cakes, tarts, homemade granola it is truly amazing. There are junior and adult cake decorating competitions the entries looked like something from a cake competition you would see on Food Network.
     At this point in the day the boys had had it, they were exhausted! Eric was salivating and I was just curious. The first thing we bid on and won were homemade donuts. These were gone two days later. You really get into the fun of bidding, even if you don't win you start to develop a strategy. Bid for a dollar less than you think your limit is. Simply put the auctioneer always gets you before you say Uh oh I didn't mean to bid. Too late and he knows it!  The boys started coming out of their fair coma when they saw orange cakes that looked like Halloween graveyards and a one that had a fondant fisherman sitting on a bridge fishing in a pond.  We then won a homemade multi-grain bread that looked incredible. Since the auction I'm the only won who's been eating it.
     Then came the cookies. well Eric is REALLY into peanut butter. I can't ever buy a small jar because it'll be gone in one sitting with a spoon.  Out comes peanut butter and jelly picnic cookies. The cookie itself looks like a slice of bread but the peanut butter and jelly are baked in between the "slices". Eric salivated so badly his hand went up before the bidding even started. By this time we had begun a box of goodies the donuts, bread and now the cookies. I was enjoying myself having fun till all of a sudden the love of my life was placed on the auction block. A rather large Swiss chocolate cream pie with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shaving. My heart palpitated and I was a goner.  Needless to say I won this pie and my empty plate is sitting right next to me as I type this. Eric told me on the way home, that my eyes had bugged out my jaw hit the floor and he knew it was over from there. There was no way I was going home without that pie!
     The pie was a blue ribbon winner at the fair and in my stomach!!