ND State Fair

We left mom's Saturday morning and drove to Minot via Grand Forks. Trent had never been through that part of North Dakota so we opted to go that way instead of through Bismark, but he did ask me exactly where we were headed when he saw the mileage for Winnipeg on a road sign outside Grand Forks.

The Thorstensen clan was all camping at the state fair and we inserted ourselves in the middle of their party. Some of them had partied a little harder than other (Sponge, you know who you are) and spent a lot of time in their campers, but we got to see Uncle Mike in the horse pull and visit with Kiel, Shelly, Jill, Kayleen, and their families. Trent got to visit the livestock barns and take in some cattle shows to compare a northern state fair to the southern ones he is used to, Ryder went to his first country concert (Luke Bryan) and I had a perfect excuse not to shower for 2 days. All in all, it was a good time. I enjoy my cousins so much and I laugh more with them than I do any other time. I hate that they are so far away.

And much, MUCH thanks to Kayleen for giving up her bed to us!

Ready for the trip, spatula in hand!

Princess Emma is so grown up - she will always be my girl!

Silly Jilly hooked us up with super VIP parking when all the lots were full - we are pony pullers now!

Miss Lola 

Ryder trying to stay hydrated

Carly with a Kool-Aid mustache

Tucker and Ty swatting flies

My little sister

Uncle Mike and Grady after the pony pull

Ryder and Daddy watching the steer show

6 horse hitch class - Uncle Mike up front holding them and Grady is on the wagon!

Ryder and Trent at the Luke Bryan concert. There is a video on FB of them dancing, I cannot figure out how to get it on here as I took it with my phone and not the video camera.

I have been known to put up a stink about being drug to livestock shows and county fairs in Oklahoma yet ironically it was Trent who was ready to move on from this one to the next stop on our vacation. Mostly I think it was because we had no running water in 2 days and he is a little cleaner than I am and he was more than ready for a shower. 

So we pointed our wagon south for the first time and headed to Dad's.