08/12/2026
I have been trying to write this post for a couple of days, and honestly, I don't even know how to put everything I am feeling into words... 💜
You see the booth. You see the products, the samples, the goodie bags, the smiles and all the fun stuff. BUT, What you don't see is everything that happens behind the scenes to get there...
Fair week also happens to fall during one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year for my other business.
Every single year I get completely overwhelmed, ridiculously behind, exhausted, stressed out and ask myself, "WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!" 😂
3rd year, I should be a pro by now!? Lol.
A four day fair is so much more than four days...
There are days and weeks of planning, ordering, prepping, organizing, re-organizing, pricing, labeling, packing, loading, unloading, setting up, restocking, cleaning, organizing, figuring out checkout, fun treats for orders, making EXTRA fun goodie bags for online orders, fun tattoos for the kiddos, signs, water, ice, etc. And trying to think of every little thing before those doors ever open.. PAGES of checklists..✅️✅️✅️
Then the fair starts.🎢🎠🎡🐄🐖🎸🎶
And somehow, every single year, I remember why I do it...
It's the people.🫶🏻
I got to see people I haven't seen since high school!! People I have known on Facebook for years but had never actually met in real life.
There is just something special about finally getting to hug someone you've talked to through a screen forever.
I got to see regular customers, Healthy Habit Tribe family, my doctor who I absolutely adore because she is seriously one of the most down to earth humans, law enforcement, fair workers, volunteers, 4H and FFA families, old vendor friends and brand new vendor friends, etc!
I even got to meet stilt walkers and an amazing fire dancer named Jodie. ✨️🔥✨️ Radiance Works
And all of Douglas County now knows me as "Dr. Dre"🎧 because that's how I kept introducing myself. 😂😘
But underneath all of the fun, I got to have some really meaningful conversations too.💕
I got to listen to people's stories. I got to hear what people are struggling with. I got to talk about things happening in our county and our state with people who are trying to make things better for our future and our kids' futures.
I got to talk with fair workers and volunteers who were tired and sometimes getting treated pretty crappy by people, but they still had to put a smile on their face and keep doing their job.
Everybody is going through something....
Sometimes people don't need you to fix anything. Sometimes they just need someone to listen.🩵
And if I could hand somebody an ice cold Rehydrate, give them a little energy, help them feel better in that crazy heat, make them laugh or just give them a place to stop for a minute and talk, I was HAPPY to do it!! =)
I also realized again just how lucky I am to have the people behind me that I do! My TRIBE! My Healthy Habit Tribe 💜
My friends. My manager Whitney Durley. My fellow distributors. The people who texted to check on me. The people who encouraged me. The ones who support me without hesitation. The people who came specifically looking for my booth just to see me and give me a hug!
Special thanks to my kiddos, our friend Riley Conger & Cali Franklin, who helped me set up, brought me food, made me sit down, reminded me to drink my OWN dang Rehydrate and Spark 😂, covered my booth so I could finally go p*e, helped restock things and gave me a chance to actually breathe!💝
And my husband Ryan Williams,
He would work a long day driving log truck and STILL show up afterward to help me. Even if helping meant taking over long enough to make me sit my butt down and EAT something...🤣
He did good Jade Sonressa Parsons ^. I think they have a plan with sticky notes next year. 🤣
He was tired too.
But he showed up for me.
That means more than I probably say enough.
💙Kam & Willow💟
They WORKED.
They helped package things before the fair. They loaded. They unloaded. They hauled the wagon. They helped set up tables and my backdrop with me and my 100 changes if I didn't like the set up. 🤪 They stocked products, helped with bags and checkout, handed out Rehydrate cups, restocked products, asked kiddos if they wanted a tattoo and helped put them on and also were troopers!
🫶🏻
And throughout all of that, they would come back and give me loves during the day, which was helpful!
Because I had people helping me this year, I also got to actually leave my booth with my kids.
I got to go watch them on a couple rides, play a couple games. Walk around with them. Eat some fair food with them.💝
I haven't really gotten to experience the fair like that with my kids since Cam was 1.5 years old.
That one gets me. 🥹❤️
Because yes, I want my kids to see us work hard.
I want them to understand that things cost money and you have to work for what you have!!
But I also want them to remember that their mom stopped working long enough to have fun WITH them!💜
I also have to say something about the 4H🍀 and FFA kids.🐖🐄🐑🐐🐇🐔🌸🪴
Parents, you are raising some AMAZING kiddos!🙌🏻
The manners. The respect. The work ethic. The appreciation. It doesn't go unnoticed!
I have kids who have been coming to my booth every year since I started doing the fair three years ago. They're basically my adopted fair kids now. 😂
They come back every day. They bring their parents to meet me. They tell me what they've been doing. I get to watch them grow another foot every year. Some have graduated and moved on, and then they come back to the fair and tell me what they're doing with their lives now.
I LOVE that.
And hearing other people tell me that MY kids were respectful, helpful and kind while they were away from my booth meant more to this mama than they probably realized. ❤️
Somewhere in the middle of these four crazy days, I also got reminded of WHY I started AdvoCare almost 12 years ago...🥰
I got to pull out my old before and after pictures. I got to share my story again.🥹👏🏻
And it reminded me how much this company has changed MY life.💝
The friendships I've made. The people I've met. The lives I've gotten to be a tiny part of. The confidence I've gained. The people who have become family. The opportunities it has given me.
I don't want people to think being "healthy" means being perfect.
I'm definitely not. 😂
I want to help people make SMALL, realistic, daily healthy habit changes!
Be a healthier mom. A healthier SOON TO BE grandma🩷. A healthier parent. A better role model.
Drink your water(with Rehydrate)🚰💦. Fuel your body⛽️. Move a little more.👣 Take care of yourself.
And for the love of everything, GO EAT THE CURLY FRIES AND FRIED BREAD AT THE FAIR. 🍟🍯🥨
Enjoy your life.
You don't need to punish yourself for it. You don't need to feel guilty. You don't need to be perfect.
Enjoy it, then get back to your healthy habits.
THAT is real life.🫶🏻
To every single person who came looking for my booth, bought something, placed an online order, got excited about their goodie bag, brought a friend back, shared something they loved, posted a picture, tagged me, told someone else about me or simply stopped to say hi...
♡THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!♡
You have no idea what that means to a small business owner. 🫶🏻
And thank you, Douglas County Fair🌲
I know putting on something this big is not easy.
There are SO many things happening behind the scenes that people never see. Employees, volunteers, law enforcement, security, vendors, 4H and FFA families and countless people giving their time and energy to make four days happen for our community.
As a small business owner, I understand that what looks simple from the outside usually isn't simple at all.... AT ALL...
There is time. Money. Fees. Insurance. Supplies. Overhead. Travel. Labor. Stress. Sacrifice.
There is ALWAYS more happening behind the scenes than people realize.
So here I am a couple of days later.
My feet are still screaming at me. 👣😭
My back still hurts.
I'm ridiculously behind on my other business.
I'm exhausted.💤 Thank the Heavens for Spark!⚡️🔋
And yes, I asked myself MANY times this past week why the heck I keep doing this......
Then I think about all the faces.🤩
The hugs.🫂
The conversations🫶🏻
The people who came looking for me.😘
The kids.🥰
The friendships.💜
The new connections.💝
The old connections.💟
The stories people trusted me enough to share.💙
The people I got to help.🩷
The memories I made with my own kids.💕
And the people who showed up for ME.💖
At the end of the day, I have to remind myself that it's all worth it.
Every exhausting, stressful, sweaty, sore footed bit of it. 😂❤️
My heart is very, very full.💓
So after all of my complaining, stressing and saying, "I don't know if I'm doing this again next year..."
Who am I kidding?
Dr. Dre will be back. 😂✌️💜😘
See you next year, Douglas County Fair.
Too many people to tag but if you saw me, comment in the comments!😘↘️⬇️↙️
