Happy Birthday to Me

The fair was good. Actually, watching the kids have a wonderful time was good, but, as I mentioned last post, the noise and chaos of the midway are really not my cup of tea. It seems that I was wrong in my calculation that my birthday girl status would inspire my family with an interest in, or, at least, a forbearance of, things agricultural. Aside from a too-brief detour to watch a pig race (which was truly excellent!), we stuck to the Rides. We bought the kids all-you-can-ride bracelets, and they had a terrific time. K. is freakishly tall for her age and wasn’t allowed to ride many of the little kid rides that appealed to her, but both kids enjoyed hours of fun on the largest collection of carnival rides I’ve ever seen, with no lines to speak of (the joy of going on a school day). I did sneak a peek into the cow barn at one point, but I kept thinking I heard T. yelling for me (like I could really tell his voice from all the other kids screaming “mom!”), so I raced back to help Ed keep our kids safe. Of course, as soon as I got back, T. dashed off while we were explaining to K. that she couldn’t ride the cars because she was too tall (which was ridiculous), and we couldn’t find him again. Nothing like a little bit of heart-stopping terror to round out a girl’s birthday, eh? It took a little while (less than ten minutes, really, but it felt like forever), and Ed had the fair security on alert, but we found him, happily getting off the twirling dragons. Thankfully, around 5:30 they began announcing that a severe thunderstorm was headed for the fair – take cover! – so we headed out.

We were looking for Chinese food, but, sadly, we didn’t bump into a Chinese restaurant. We did pass a Cracker Barrel, though, on the last town before home, so that was where we ate. It was fine, and, since it wasn’t a McDonalds, the kids pronounced it “a fancy restaurant.” Ed told our server it was my birthday (kick!), so I got a round of Happy Birthday from some of the staff, plus a really good Chocolate Crumble with ice cream.

K. helped me open my presents from my parents when we got home (one of her useful skills), and I now have a fabulous pile of new Books to read. K. and T. had hoped they would be chocolates, but I hoped they wouldn’t (and Ed bought Two Pounds of fudge at Cracker Barrel, so it’s not like we are lacking in chocolate around here). It was a very good day.

*My lovely stack was joined today by the very distinguished Sherlock Holmes, in his complete edition. Thank you Daddy!