Farmer girls

As fall traditions go, the Queens County Fair has been on my checklist since our first outing there when Elisa was just two. I remember feeling like it was a relaxed time for all three of us, and we didn't see even half the stuff they had to offer. Returning a year later, I was amused to watch Elisa and her friend Leonardo jump into the "vroom vroom" cars as they called them and spin circles around laughing giddily the whole time. And then this year it was time to make our way back. It had been three years since our last visit and we weren't going away to the beach in NC this month. So off to the farm last weekend for a nice family outing while Nacho made it home for 48 hours. We even enlisted Carmen and Leonardo again to make it a complete reprisal of our roles from 2011. And it mostly went as planned. The girls were racing to see the ponies when we arrived, and Carolina had no reservations about jumping on one for her first ride ever. Of course, she asked for a "pink one" at first, which I attribute to playing with My Little Ponies a bit too much. But after consoling her with a regular brown one, she was fine....thankfully.  Elisa was pretty ramped up as well and barely wanted to check out the petting zoo (an additional $4 per person, including me!) before running off to the cars. I on the other hand was trying to slow everyone down, to savor the moment and the cost of each additional item. What I don't remember from our previous trips was how much it all added up to! I guess with another kid in tow and the petting zoo fee being tacked on, things were getting pricey fast. Not that it wasn't worth it, but with $9 per adult and $5 per child just to set foot on the farm and $8 on pony rides and $12 on the f&*king petting zoo, I'd blown through all of my cash within the first 45 minutes and we hadn't even started the rides yet. Uh oh...

I think my tractor is bigger than yours

But then, that's the price of all this family fun, right? I mean, it doesn't come cheap and we were enjoying ourselves so I just had to take a deep breath and indulge. It's not everyday that we get to take the girls out for these kind of all-day bonanzas and with Nacho gone so much this past month, it felt like we had a lot of catching up to do.  But money is an issue with all the upheaval in our life right now--Nacho's new job, less pay, and no real indication of when he'll have a full schedule.  It's just the way it is and my income is supplementing things but not reliably so.  So yeah, we're kind of hanging on and trying to use our resources wisely which is hard to do when kids equate fun with unlimited treats and tickets and rides.  Later, we managed to snag some beers and brats (okay, mine was a kielbasa) for lunch which the girls let their ice cream and pizza settle. The German polka songs were as blaring as ever and we actually all breathed a sigh of relief when the live band took a break. At least the recorded music was a bit softer. Then it was time to catch the pig racing and who wouldn't want to see that? Leonardo was afraid we were going to miss it, but no, in fact, we had plenty of time to see them set up and watch the pigs race a few times. Ducks too. And then it was time to pack it in. While Nacho and Carolina drove Carmen and Leonardo back to the nearby train station, I took Elisa over to the carnival one more time to finish off the three tickets still burning a hole in my pocket. See, it pays to be the one who hangs with mom. The line for funnel cakes was looking long, so when Elisa spied the giant bag of cotton candy, I relented. We grabbed it and headed out to meet up with Papa and sister who might also want a taste. And on the way home we were all tired, but happy. And that was a marked change from the previous years. I'm pretty sure both visits we had to drag Elisa kicking and screaming back to the car where she then passed out.  I guess things even out in the end. And in the big book of memories that we are making, I know I won't remember the cost. Because it was worth it. How often do I get to see my city girls embracing life on the farm? Not nearly enough.