10:04a

my body is spent!
...but it's the "good tired" kind of feeling.
had the ABSOLUTE BEST time yesterday with my friends
and bf at the Alameda County Fair.
But most definitely what made my day was little max.
my goodness! seeing his smile just makes life worth living period.

there were about 8 of us friends total that spent the day together.
the main purpose of our day: to see my bf's photographs...the ones that
made it into the fair's photography exhibit, particularly the one that won a silver award.

we spent the beginning part of the day walking around, checking the place out.
this fair is actually much bigger than I thought it would be.
the things that caught our eye the most, though, were all the food stands. yum!
they had all the essentials: cotton candy, kettle corn, burgers, hot dogs, etc.
but the thing I really wanted to have that day was FUNNEL CAKE. haven't had it in years.

we ended up having lunch at Big Bubba's BBQ. I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich,
which was basically 4 chicken thighs piled high in a sandwich roll.
um, 'kinda overwhelming when you first see it. but i ate all of it, the chicken, that is.
I also ordered a corn on the cob. there was like oodles of butter dripping off of it.
I think that's what gave me a stomach ache later in the day.
no, wait, it actually felt more like an alien trying to claw its way out of my
stomach.
ya.
that's more like it, dammit.

but I would have done it all over again, cause when I saw that
big fat (not so silver) silver award ribbon hanging next
to my bf's photograph, I was proud like any
girlfriend should be.
We took a picture of him standing next to it.
I was about to do the same with his camera, but
hello? a "photographer's" camera is not exactly a
"point and click" kind of apparatus.
I pretty much just asked my friend to send me a copy of the one she took.

the best part of the day was at the petting zoo.
it was max's turn to play.
his momma introduced him to the goats by feeding
them while he stood next to her.
max just stood there and processed the experience
for a moment, looking a little scared, but not walking away.

later on, he decided to stick his finger on the little goat who stuck his head through
the metal bars that seperated us from him.
when the goat jerked, little max laughed with glee.
it totally broke the ice.
after that, max was all over them goats, tugging their
ears, sticking his finger on their wet noses
while us adults
sat back and laughed - not just at max, but at the goats too.
we were like, "hello little goat, our people eat you. especially our
ilocano brothers and sisters. they like you in kilawin and kaldereta".
(we're dumb like that.)

after play time at the petting zoo, max was out like a light
for his afternoon nap.
I told his mom how watching max play so happily
makes one want to have children. she replied,
"you know, it's really all worth it."

i couldn't agree more.
while i'm not a mother myself, i've certainly
played the role of older sister, older cousin, aunt etc.
for many of my friends and relatives.
and while I cannot say it is the same as being a mom,
I think the joy of seeing your younger siblings or cousins
or friends react to life, explore and grow is a pretty powerful thing.
helps you to enjoy the "little things" that to them are a wonder.
'helps you to appreciate life period.

so after that amazing experience at the petting zoo,
we treated ourselved to FUNNEL CAKE topped with
powdered sugar and strawberries.
needless to say the 7 of us that were left shared two cakes.
there was no way that one of us could finish a cake alone...
um, maybe about 10 years ago, but our 3 decade old
digestive systems just can't hang like that anymore.

under the sea
after the fair, two of our friends invited us to their house
for some pizza and pool time.
oh gawd was that pool just the answer
to our dehydrated and fried bodies.
the weather was almost 100 degree again, so
there was no way we'd pass up an offer like that.

they had all kinds of pool stuff: a basket ball hoop, basketball (of course),
water volleyball, these long skinny foam things that we used to float on...
completo talaga sila!
even little max had his own baby flotation thingy.

and the water was perfect.
our friends have solar panels that heat up the water.
apparently it was about 90 degrees. but i'm pretty sure it wasn't
that hot. otherwise, we would've turned into red lobsters.

floating in the water was perfect for my tired feet and ankles.
for once they didn't have to work.
then, I started swimming around.
i tried to keep moving that whole hour
so i could at least feel like my body did something physically
active for the day aside from
scarfing down fair food.

in any case, the sun beating down on me for 6 hours
at the fair coupled with our little swimfest
left me so butt-tired that I literally conked out
on my friends' couch while they watched TV.
I was out like a light.
my bf also had to shake me every once in a while
so that I wouldn't start my "symphony" of snores.

it was all worth it.