Spring Fest 2012

We actually made it to Spring Fest this year.  Hooray!  (Last year I was far too pregnant.)  We only stayed a little over an hour and only hit about a 1/3 of everything to see, but you know what?  We were fine with that; with 4 small kids in tow it's always a bit of a gamble going anywhere.

This was Tess's first year.  She enjoyed chillin' in the stroller and taking in all the sights. 

Spencer in the Boilermaker Barnyard.  The kids were impressed with just how big those cows were!  Fun fact: cows can smell things up to 6 miles away.  Lance and I couldn't figure out why this incredible sense of smell is necessary for a cow, other than maybe they need a 6 mile head start to get away from any cow predators.

We waited in line to pet the calf, but Cole chickened out and refused to do it.

Spencer braved it, though.  (It was a pretty viscous looking calf.  Grrrrr...)

We didn't make it to the Bug Bowl this year.  We figured Cole would not do well in that situation, and we had seen it enough times to not feel too picked on in missing it.  But we did peruse the extensive pinned insect collection.  My favorite part was the "Humbug" collection - a bunch nightmarish bugs pinned on a board with four real bugs.  It was actually pretty difficult to figure out the real bugs!

I kept thinking about some entomologists having great fun creating these Frankenstein bugs.  They did a great job, too - they looked very realistic!  Here are some of my favorites, posted especially for my entomologist father. 

Love the arms on this guy.

How'd you like to find this arachnid in your basement?  AUUUGUUGGGHHHH!!!!

I shall name him Spike.

I'd always wear my shoes if I lived in an area with this bug and I'd never take them off.  EVER.

How'd you like this little guy to land on you at a picnic?

Wanna arm wrestle?

This one looks like some sort of devilish fishing hook.

We of course had to stop in the tent with the free balloons.  There was also free mealworm fried rice, which was actually pretty tasty.  I was the only one brave enough to try it.  I was also the only one brave enough to hold a rather large cockroach - Spencer and Josh wouldn't even get close.  Hey, I am the daughter of an entomologist, after all.

Soon after this picture was taken it started to rain, giving us a good reason to call it a morning.

P.S.  For whatever reason, the baby ducks and chicks weren't there this year.  I was SO sad!  That's always my favorite part!