Festival mania

I don't know about where you live, but here in our neck of the woods, it was a fabulous weekend. A picture perfect late summer/ early fall weekend. With festivals to boot.

Growing up, my parents were festival goers. I remember attending just about every ethnic festival in our city. I'm pretty sure my love for other cultures and foods is a direct result of the festival hopping we did growing up.

Mostly I remember sweating my butt off in the blazing hot sun as we stood in long lines for food I didn't like (at the time) and listening to weird music... but the depth of my cultural appreciation took years to refine... what can I say?
Well, Steve and I didn't exactly make it to any culturally enriching festivals this weekend. But we did make it to our neighborhood street fair, where Olivia got her face painted. We waited for more than a half hour for this butterfly face.

I'm pretty sure Olivia would say it was worth the wait. I had to make a Kroger run right after the face paint was dry and boy did she milk all the attention from the old ladies oooing and ahhhhing over the butterfly beauty. Gimme a break. It was rather freaky if you ask me, but I'm not a 3 year old girl (or an 80 year old granny for that matter.)
Later that evening our friends Erin and Nick came over. While all we did was grill our hamburgers and let the kids run loose in the yard, Nick proved to be a one man festival. My kids LOVED playing with Nick and Erin and it was so fun to watch our friends love our kids.

Sunday was day 2 of festival mania. And thankfully the Popcorn festival did not disappoint in the fried sweets department. Ahhh... Funnelquest '09, while Weight Watchers wants to shut you down, Southwest Ohio fall festival season does not!

All hail the grand daddy of them all... Fried Snickers, Oreos and Rice Krispy Treats. I've died and gone to Funnelquest utopia.

And speaking of a one person festival, Steve's Aunt Marilyn was in town from Michigan and joined us for the festival fun. Steve's Aunt is a blast and absolutely loves our kids, and the feeling is mutual. Quinn met her for the first time on Sunday and let's just say, he likey some Aunt Marilyn!!!

He also likey sitting in a fire engine.

Which is really funny because Turner is the one crazy for all things big, shiny and on wheels. But he did NOT want to sit in it. (You can't look at it if you're sitting in it.) But Quinn... he likes to sit! (Are you sure we are not blood related? 'Cuz I swear he gets that from me!)

So all in all, it was a really great weekend. In fact, it was the kind of weekend I wish I could bottle up and keep on the shelf for sometime in February. Because I know all too well... Winter, it is a comin'.