MONROE – Almost every morning, Allison, 5, wakes up with a smile.
On Tuesday, she had a bigger smile. Her mother, Kristen Elliott of Monroe, had a surprise for her: They were going to the Evergreen State Fair.
“I knew if I told her (on Monday), she wouldn’t sleep,” said Elliott, 39.
Allison dressed herself in her favorite color: pink T-shirt, pink socks and pink sneakers.
They arrived at the fair at 10 a.m. just as the gates opened.
By 11 a.m., Allison had put her long hair in a ponytail with a pink ribbon she bought at the fair and was tugging at her mother’s sleeves, anxious to move from one carnival ride to another.
Merry-go-round
With her mother’s help, Allison hopped on a horse amid boys and girls her own age, all wrapped in the excitement of the fair.
Her mother sat on the next horse, peeking at Allison’s happy face a few times. Allison looked back. The two exchanged smiles and shook their heads from side to side in unison to the music.
And there they went around and around, waving to spectators.
Marbles and a clown
Allison, who is 46 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds, walked through the street sandwiched with concession stands.
Amid the hustle and bustle, a stand displaying marbles caught her eye. She browsed the shelves and found a transparent one with what looked to be the planet Earth inside.
“Wow, look at this!” she said.
“Yeah, that’s neat,” her mother said.
Allison’s eyes moved to smaller marbles. Grabbing one after another, her small palm closed on five.
After letting her mother pay for the marbles, Allison ran into a clown.
Allison pointed her finger at him and hopped around, excited. Before the clown had a chance to entertain her with tricks, her mother let her move on. Allison looked back at the clown as she walked away.
Bumper boats
Allison starts kindergarten next week. She loves to sing and dance and is very athletic, Elliott said.
She’s grown fast. Last year, she couldn’t do many activities at the fair. This year, “she wants to go on a roller coaster, but I won’t go. I just get sick,” Elliott said.
Meanwhile, Allison rides on the bumper boats with other children. Allison went beyond fiddling with the steering wheel and paddled the water with her hand. Her T-shirt got a little wet.
Elliott used her cellphone to call her husband, Ian, a Microsoft software engineer. Elliott told him how Allison was enjoying the day.
“Hi, Mama,” Allison said as she came close to her mother in the boat.
Cotton candy
In less than three hours, Allison used up all her tickets for games and rides.
The fair was in full swing in the afternoon. Her mother was getting tired in the hot weather and got two corn dogs to have in the shade.
Allison quickly finished one and looked for dessert. “Can I have a cotton candy?”
Elliott pulled blue cotton candy out of her backpack.
“Yum!” Allison said, her mouth turning blue as she ate it.
“Did you get everything you wanted?” her mother asked.
“Yes,” Allison said with a nod.
Around 1:15 p.m., they left the fairground for home.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Editor’s note
Herald reporter Yoshiaki Nohara wanted to see the Evergreen State Fair through a child’s eyes. He tagged along with Allison Elliott, 5, and her mother, Kristen Elliott, of Monroe. Here’s how Allison spent her day at the fair.
Editor’s note
Herald reporter Yoshiaki Nohara wanted to see the Evergreen State Fair through a child’s eyes. He tagged along with Allison Elliott, 5, and her mother, Kristen Elliott, of Monroe. Here’s how Allison spent her day at the fair.
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