Fairs & Festivals

The temperatures have started to drop, and the chill and the changing leaves signal that autumn is here to stay. We are embracing all the events of this fall season. On Friday after work, we went to the Carolina Classic Fair in Winston. It has become an annual tradition for the Kennedys to spend one evening at the fair, and this year, Grammy and Grandpa came along. Grammy had never been to the fair before, and Grandpa had been just the one time with us last year. With careful planning after the work day, we consolidated into one car and arrived to the fair around 4:30PM. We first strolled through the booths by the police and fire departments, where Emmy and Eli got to make bracelets and do a fun obstacle course. Then we headed to find food. Pizza, hot dogs, chicken pitas, and French fries, not a single healthy thing! With our bellies full, we walked through the barns and the petting zoo. There were so many animals to see and touch: goats, cows, sheep, and even a kangaroo and camel. We ended our evening with huge, hand-rolled donuts and the Demolition Derby. Eli was loving it at first, until one car (the one that had a ginormous teddy bear in the passenger seat) got rolled onto its side. He was very concerned about the teddy bear, and there were fast tears. (It may also have had a little something to do with it being after his bedtime and after a long day of school.) He recovered, but even so, we made our exit a little after 8PM. What a fun evening!    

On Saturday, we started our morning at the ballfield. Eli and his team played at 9:30AM, and it was a crisp 50 degrees at the start of the game. Eli had several great hits, and he showed his usual focus and hustle, earning him the game ball. Yay, Eli! After an early lunch at Bojangles with Grammy and Grandpa, we returned for Emmy's game at noon. The other team didn't have enough players to fill the field, so the game turned into a scrimmage, which was still fun for the girls. After a quick change out of uniforms, we went to East Bend to the Live Out Loud Fall Festival at the Shore House. Boomer has been volunteering with this organization for several years, and Emmy was thrilled to help him at the drink & cookie station. The smores were a big hit too! By this point, I lost track of how many treats my children have had this weekend!

After church today, Eli was invited to a birthday party for his classmate Blaire. The party was at Kaleideum, and Eli had a blast on the huge outdoor treehouse and in the water room. Emmy got to go to Kaleideum on Friday with Grammy and her cousins, so it worked out that Eli got a chance to go too. The three older cousins are in between two Teacher Workdays for the end of the 1st Quarter, with one more day off tomorrow. While Megan and I work, Grammy has been so great to entertain the three amigos. 

After the birthday party, Eli and I came home and picked up Emmy and Boomer. Then we headed back out again for family pictures at 4th of July Park. We realized that it has been four years since we last had professional photos of the ten of us. With all the kids changing quite a bit since then, it was time for updated photos. I can't wait to see how they turned out. After our one-hour session, we all went out to dinner at East Coast Wings for a belated birthday celebration for Boomer. He finally got the wings he had been craving. Even though it was delayed, we sure had fun celebrating our favorite guy!