The first day of the Fall Festival was definitely even better than I hoped it would be! Rowen came over to our house before school so she could drop her weekend bag off; we joined our classmates and Mrs. Warren for the regular start of school activities; and then all of the students and most of the teachers headed for the park.
It’s been a beautiful, sunny Fall day, but it was also cool this morning and evening; and jackets or sweaters were definitely needed to stay warm. The cool winds couldn’t put a chill on the fun, though, and Rowen and I had a blast all day. We knew that the rides would all be packed for a while after getting to the park, so we started out with a tour of the pavilions that were set up for the Festival contests and shows; played a few games; and had a snack before going on any rides.
I hadn’t really paid much attention to it last year, but even after waiting for the first rush to pass on the rides, there were still small lineups for the favorites; and that was because there were busloads of kids arriving all morning from the schools in a half-dozen of the closest to Witch Falls. There were quite a few younger kids too, and Rowen advised me that the Festival was a big deal for area daycare kids.
Having a few different rides to play on wasn’t the only differences from last year, and the best change was getting to spend an hour or so with Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, Grandma, and Grandpa when they came to the park after lunch. There were only a couple of rides that we could take Ethan and Ehlana on, but they were happy to go see a puppet show and then spend most of their time wandering through the exhibit pavilions.
They went home again in time for the afternoon feeding and a nap while Rowen and I stayed and played until meeting up with Mom, Dad, Aunt Leanne, Uncle Adam, and the twins for dinner at one of the food booths. Mom brought bottles along for Ethan and Ehlana, so we were all able to stay at the park; and were joined there by Violet, Dawn, and Jillian when they made it to town at around seven-thirty.
Dillon was working close at the Inn, so Violet played with us until he, Jake, and Stephanie met up with her after finishing work. Mom and Dad had taken Ethan and Ehlana home by then, and Aunt Leanne and Uncle Adam had moved on too; so Rowen and I continued to play with Dawn and Jillian until it was time to head home for the night.
The fun at the park was still going on, and we can hear the music from the teen dance and the rides and everything from my room even though we couldn’t see anything more than some light reflecting on the river and trees. My three sleepover buddies and I are okay with missing out on that dance, and I’m doing this and my email check while Dawn and Jillian are taking turns using the Jacuzzi and Rowen and Mandy are hanging out on the bed with me. We’re going to wrap up the night with a movie in the lounge; though I’m not sure that any of us will stay awake for another couple of hours.
Mom’s having a nap now, but that’s mostly because she wants to do a short lesson with Violet when she gets back from the park. They’ll only have time for a few of them this weekend; so she has to fit them in whenever they both have time. Speaking of time, I’m out of it for doing this; and our movie awaits. One amazing festival day down; two to go!