Waikato's World 2009

It's that time of year again...show time! You might remember us going to this last year - and how we thought it was nice, but nothing exciting. Well we went again this year, mainly for 2 reasons:
1. So my parents could experience the local version of the 'Ekka'.
2. There is no entry fee this year - so you can go in and see all the animals, competitions etc. and only had to pay for rides.

We got to see horse judging , sheep dog competition, farrier competition, pigs, cows, goats (including South African Boerbokke), sheep and alpacas. There was also a small baby farm animals enclosure where we could go in and the kids could pat the animals. Ben was keen on this and patted a few sheep, goats, very hairy cows (obviously from somewhere in the highlands); Joanna is going through the 'afraid of going near any animals' stage (which Ben was going through this time last year), so she didn't pat anything, although she did like looking at all the animals.

The rides etc. were the same as last year - except you had to pay for them this year (as opposed to paying an entry fee and the rides being free like last year). So we let the kids have one turn on the Jumping Castle - which they thoroughly enjoyed (little kids are easy to please!).

Overall we enjoyed our Waikato's World experience much more this year than last. Mainly for a couple of reasons:
1. The weather - it was nice and sunny and warm this year, compared to last year where it was overcast, windy and cold.
2. Last year we were in the middle of a failed attempt at toilet training with Ben.
3. We had some idea of what to expect, so our own expectations were more aligned with what was experienced.

And Naomi has now been to her first annual show! (at the young age of 1 week and 2 days old)