Baby Boy and Little Man

This was a totally unplanned outing...Jon's friend called us up and invited us. We immediately said yes, and then realized this wasn't a free (or cheap) thing. At $7 per person to get in, $20 for 20 tickets and more money for other rides, food, games, etc...this wasn't our typical Sunday afternoon. But...it made us realize that sometimes you need to spend some money to have some fun. (I stress sometimes...it's easy to go crazy and then go into debt!) But, in that afternoon I watched my kids get older before my eyes...though thankfully my baby boy still showed he was a little bit of a baby. (though not for long)

First was the petting zoo...turkey, zebra, camel, goats...the kids loved that. Then came the first ride. Bumblebees that spin around in a circle and go up and down. Laurel and Ellie went together, then Luke threw a fit. So I said he could go with Jon...but suddenly I turn around and Luke is strapped into the bee with the girls. I started to panic...I know...ME...she who never panics. (not never, but it is rare) I started to snap at Jon...then the feeling went out of my legs...and all I could do was watch and think about trauma statistics as my children went spinning by. Then the ride stopped...the kids were happy...the feeling came back to my legs. And Luke was relegated to younger rides. Whew. (In retrospect this ride was pretty slow...but if you had asked me while it was spinning I would have told you it was a death trap) After that the big girls headed for the kiddie roller coaster and the "big" boy went with daddy to the kiddie motorcycle ride. (which he LOVED)

Then came the shark slide. This was an additional $1 a piece...such a rip off...but the kids wanted to slide. So we paid our $2 and sent them up. We asked Laurel to climb up behind Luke to help him out, but somewhere along the way she got distracted. Down came Laurel...no Luke. We waited and waited. No Luke. We paid another dollar for Laurel to go back up. Down came Laurel but no Luke. I asked her why she didn't get her brother...she said she was showing him how to slide. (I guess I should have been more specific) Thankfully the man didn't make Jon pay a dollar, and up he went. Suddenly down came Luke, backwards on his belly. I assumed Jon had convinced him...but no Jon came down the slide. Hmmm. Finally Jon came, and it turns out that in standing there all by himself my frightened little baby (who never cried) mustered up the courage to go down that slide. He's my little baby and little man all rolled into one right now. It's amazing to watch him grow. He never mentioned that he was scared...I guess maybe he was just figuring it all out. And Jon said the climb up was insane, he couldn't imagine how his little legs made it.


Then there was the crown jewel in the festival. The pink dolphin. Laurel has talked about Jessie's pink dolphin for YEARS, and asked for it for every holiday. But where do you get an inflatable pink dolphin? The Country Fair. Thankfully they don't actually make you win it (though she thinks she did...so that's cool). You pay your money, the kid plays and they get the prize of their choice. Luke got a Scooby Doo and Laurel got the famous-inflatable-Jessie-pink-dolphin. Both kids tucked them in last night. Sometimes it's ok to spend a little money. (look at those smiles!)