The local fire department has a carnival every year and it has become a tradition for us to attend. They opened up on Wednesday, but we had church so we didn’t get to go. We had planned to go on Thursday evening, but Tim got home too late, so that didn’t work either. We briefly considered doing it last night, but since it was running alongside the huge Friday night farmers’ market, we realized it was going to be packed.

Going to the carnival is expensive. We buy the wrist bands so the kids can ride as many rides as they can. Last year Baby E was too young, so we got by with just Tim and the big kids riding, but that wasn’t going to cut it this year. So, if we were going to spend that much money for us all to ride, then we wanted to get our money’s worth. We found out the carnival would be opening at 3pm today, so that’s when we got there. And the kids rode and rode and rode until they were too exhausted and hungry to ride anymore. We were there for nearly 4 hours, so it was definitely worth it to wait until today. There were very few people there, and the first several hours there were not even any lines. A few of their cousins showed up, which made for an even more entertaining day!

C loved the roller coaster, which no joke we went on at least ten times. Big E and Baby E loved the Spiderman ride, which was less of a ride and more of an obstacle course. They did the carousel, the scrambler, the ferris wheel and so much more. Our only mishap was when Baby E tried to get off the Spiderman ride which ended on a bouncy floor. Somehow he went head first over it and landed on his head on the gravel ground. He has quite the bruise and scrape to show for it this evening, but eventually he cheered up and rode some more.

When we were finished riding, we ended our evening with a trip to the local ice cream shop. It’s been a long time since we have spent that much uninterrupted time together, as a family, doing something fun. We were covered in dirt and grime by the time we got home, so we grabbed quick showers and then ate a fast dinner. The kids fell asleep in record time! I think we will too (and probably wake up pretty sore) but with some wonderful family memories!!