The Festival

...in the park is just what you'd expect - lights, rides, deep fried food and kids running in every direction. It was in fact her first time on a ride, and after careful consideration - we decided it was worth buying over-priced ride tickets to let her see how she like the whole thing - and wouldn't ya know, it was the most excited and happy I think we've ever seen her.

The first ride, the safest looking of the bunch - a handful of colorful cars underneath a striped canopy filled with blinking bulbs, the smile on her face couldn't have been wider, the laughes, just complete joy.  So much so that we rode this one 3 times :)

 And maybe a little more questionable, this was her first try at a roller coaster.  Joy, not nearly that of the car ride.  Her face as the dragon rounded the corner and bopped over the hills was that of possible puking. Luckily this was a short and sweet ride and she escaped unscathed and ready to head on to the next spot.

One of our last stops was the Silly House that I walked through, pretty much holding her the entire time.  Far too treacherous for a toddler, but of course the ticket man wasn't going to say so :)  But again, lesson learned and next time we'll just stick with the carousel and beepy cars.  It was, dare I say, sort of a magical evening in the park.  The happiness on her face and excitement was more than enough proof that these are what summer days should be like and that I hope we create again and again for her.