Fall Festival

Dear Em,
I love fall festivals. I love the sights & the sounds & the smells & the food. I especially love the food, all warm & appley. A few years ago, I feel like we filled every fall weekend with some kind of festival or fair. It sounds like fun, but by the end we were all festivaled out...& we were kinda broke. Festivals can get expensive. We've mostly stayed away from fall festivals since then. But when your school was having one this past weekend, & we didn't have anything on our calendar, we decided to embrace fall festivals once again...especially because this one was free.

We let Daddy stay home & play video games while we had a girls day with your best friend S & her mommy. You girls were buzzing with fall festival anticipation in the car on the way. It was very loud anticipation, with singing & giggling & sometimes screaming. You couldn't wait to get out of the car & start having fun, & there was tons of fun that day.

There was a climbing wall.

Little S went up pretty high. You got only a couple feet off the ground before asking to come down (except that I made you stay up for a few more minutes while I took photos), but it was pretty good for your very first climbing wall.

There was face painting.

We were just able to squeeze you guys in, because the woman doing the face painting had to leave early. You didn't get a full-face painting, but you were thrilled to have matching hello kitties.

There were hayrides.

We were bumped into your best friend from school (another little S), & you were thrilled to have her join you & S.

There were new hats.

It got really cold, really fast & I started to feel guilty about dressing you in just a fleece coat with nothing to cover your ears. So, we bought a new hat which is really working out because it doesn't mess up your hair styles when you wear it. Unfortunately, the whole "free" part of the festival is not exactly accurate because we bought a hat, the climbing wall wasn't free, & we bought some hot cocoa (also to help with the cold factor), but at least we didn't break the bank. Plus, you were pretty thrilled to have matching hats with your best friend from school.

There were crafts.

There was also a playground, & I'm surprised that I didn't get a picture of you playing on it because I think you & S spent most of the festival making crafts & playing on the playground. I was thrilled to let you do it & watch you from a safe distance while S's Mommy & I chatted. It was just really nice for us to all enjoy the fresh air...until I was so cold I couldn't feel my hands anymore. Then we had to head home.

S & her Mommy came over our house for dinner & dress-up & a wonderful concert performed by you & S. You headed up to bed with sleepy eyes that night. I asked you what your three favorite things were that night, & you thought about it for a moment. Your eyes sparkled as you began your list. "The festival...S...playing with S at home. Oh no, Mommy, I have more than three things. Can I pick more things.?" I smiled, "Of course." "S (the other little S, your best friend from school)...Mommy...Miss Julie...playing in the leaves with Mommy & Daddy...& walking into the forrest (the woods behind our house) with Daddy."

To you, it was the best day ever. There were no expensive rides or expensive food, but you had everything you could have ever wanted: your two best friends, your family, & a playground.

I think I may be seeing the magic of fall festivals again.

I love you so,

Mommy