Kids at the Faire

We went down for the last few hours of the Muskogee Festival to help pick up and let the kids have a look around. Each child had been promised a trinket of their choice for being good this month for Grandma and Pa-Pa while we were away working. We had a nice time just being tourists, in spite of the smothering heat. My hands looked like sausages and my feet threatened to burst through my Cons.We were just in time to see Bob the Incredible Juggler's last show of the faire. He is a super-nice guy and we've been watching his show since our first Renfest visit in KC years ago (pre-Livvie!). The way he banters with the audience is priceless. We sat on one side, about halfway back from the stage, but the kids all wanted to sit closer. I told them they could, if they behaved and didn't run back and forth. They all sat there in the second row, looking like stair-steps, and were quiet and attentive the whole time. I was so proud. Even Ivy was riveted.

Then came the shameless commerce portion of the event, when each of the three older looked everywhere for the object of their dreams. Hollis purchased a snazzy pirate hat, Olivia procured herself a pink paper parasol, and Maggie now owns a blue dragon. You can probably see each of these items in the pictures. Toby and I stayed up late the night before making sure everyone was at least a bit decently dressed for the occasion. Corsets for little girls are no problem, but we also produced a fairly respectable pirate coat for the boy, I think. And check it out with those snow boots!When the faire was over, I pretty much sat about while everyone else picked up the booth and packed it all away into Michelle and Tyler's van and trailer. The kids even got into the action, carrying bits that were small enough for them to handle. We were right next to the pub stage, so before we left, Maggie and Ivy performed an impromptu dance number. (I don't know why this is blue and underlined, I can't get it to stop!)We had a really good time with the kids, and it's nice to just get out there and be a patron for a while, instead of being in the booth and helping customers all day. Oh, in this last picture you can see the cart Toby built to pull Ivy around in. He's justifiably proud of it. We're headed out the gate at the end of the day.