We made our annual trip to the Arkansas State Fair a couple weeks ago and the most astonishing thing happened: Abby had a great time. I realize that sounds snarky, but it’s not intended that way. It was truly astonishing that she had a great time. Our previous four trips to the fair ranged from Abby having sorta of a good time for awhile to Abby being miserable. She’s got a reputation for not enjoying things that other kids enjoy. But on this magical night in October, she had a ball from start to finish. She even rode the swingy swinging twirling thing pictured above. Twice, She was having so much riding and game playing that we didn’t make it to see the animals or the Hall of Industry or the freak show.

The fair is a target-rich environment for photographing things you don’t see every day, but it’s hard to shoot good stuff and enjoy Abby enjoying herself.