Carnival

I mentioned here that last weekend, the kids did a great job of keeping me busy and getting my mind off of things.  I wanted to do something fun for them on Saturday, so my sister and I planned to take them to a local fall festival where they could play, go on a hayride, and pick pumpkins.  When we left the house, it was over 75 degrees, muggy, and hot.  When we arrived at the festival (and I mean, literally, as we pulled into the parking lot), a dark, black cloud hovered over us, the wind began to blow, and the temperatures dropped between 10-15 degrees.  We hadn't planned for the sudden change, and so without jackets, we had to turn around and head home.  They were both very bummed - Jack, because he saw what fun he was about to have, and Hannah - because she'd been in her car seat for far too long. 

By the time we got back home, Hannah was sleepy.  She went straight down for a nap.  Jack and I changed and grabbed our coats and then we headed to a local carnival that Aunt Ryan had suggested.  It was so much fun!  Jack's first carnival was a huge success, and if you can't take my word for it, here's the evidence:

I love that expression on his face as he rode his first roller coaster!  Every time they came down that hill, he made exactly the same face:)

Of course, we wouldn't miss a carousel ride for the world.

See?  There's that face again!

This was actually his very first carnival ride, and I was nervous because we couldn't go with him.  I wasn't sure how he'd do, but clearly - there were no issues.

I'm in love with those eyes...

Here's me - enjoying my millionth rotation on the carousel, or so it seemed.

This is the three of us on the Ferris wheel.  As we were nearing the top, Ryan and I started to chat about how long it had been since we'd been on a Ferris wheel.  Apparently, it's been a long time.  As a child, it's all fun and thrills - as an adult, all I could think about was keeping one hand on Jack at all times and one hand on the bar holding me in.  Frightening, actually.  If my memory serves me correctly, this photo was taken with each one of us holding onto one side of my phone after begging Jack to hold very, very still.  You can tell by the smile on his face that Jack didn't exactly share our fears:)

My little man surprised me when he asked to climb the rock wall.  I was sure that he would change his mind when they started to suit him up, but not so much.

It was such a fun afternoon.  Not only did we get to ride the rides, but we played a few carnival games, won a few prizes, and enjoyed some fresh-squeezed lemonade and funnel cake.  My kind of day...I can't wait to go again next year!