With summer finally here and the Decatur County 4-H Fair back in town, 12-year-old Robert Wright has trouble finding time to do all of the fun things that the events bring.

On Tuesday, Robert and his friends Kyle Hammond, 12, and Corey Hitch, 13, arrived early at the fair. To kill a little time before the rides started up, they entered the 4-H building for a sneak peek at the animals.

Though getting to the fair has been a priority for Robert, it still has not detracted from some of his other favorite activities, which include skateboarding and playing video games with his friends.

Robert spends much of his time at the local skate park. But when the park is too crowded, Robert and his friends head elsewhere.

“We skate around the square sometimes,” he said.

Robert became interested in skateboarding when he was only 9 years old, largely as a result of his friends’ interest in the sport.

“I borrowed a skate board for awhile and started liking it,” Robert explained.

However, the skateboard is not the only device with wheels that intrigues Robert.

At his father’s, Robert often rides on 4-wheelers, dirt bikes and even horses.

When not spending time exercising outdoors, Robert likes to stay inside and play video games. The game that has captured his and his friends’ attention the most as of late is the best-selling and uber-popular Guitar Hero. The three have spent hours honing their guitar skills, though Robert concedes that his friend Kyle is the Guitar Hero guru.

Though Kyle may dominate his friends at Guitar Hero, Robert takes solace in the fact that his friends think of him as the best skater among them.

“We try to skate together as much as possible,” Robert explained.

But at the fair, there is not much in the way of skating terrain. The boys planned to hang up their skateboards for a few hours and hit the rides.

“We’ll ride some rides as soon as they get going,” Robert said.

Kyle noted that his favorite ride at the Decatur County Fair was The Storm, but Robert and Corey were not as excited about it as he was. The two boys said that that particular ride made them sick.