The Carnival

A few years back, Dave and I took Henry to a carnival. I think he was about two year old. He was so excited to be riding the little cars, and he went on them several times. I was so surprised by the strong emotional reaction that came when I was just watching him smiling, laughing, tooting the horn, and enjoying the simple thrill of pretend driving around and around on a little track. I just started crying. A LOT. Now, my reaction could be partly due to the fact that I was very pregnant with Seth. Or that I am my mother's daughter, as she tends to cry at sentimental moments too. But that moment is frozen in my memory, and it makes me very happy to think of it.

We went to our town's carnival last night. It's something we do every year, and we all look forward to it. On the way home from the lake to the carnival, the kids had a lot of time to reminisce and to plan. It was sweet to listen to their excited chatter. When we arrived at the carnival and got out of the car, they grabbed each other's hands, and I couldn't help but to take a picture of it. :)

Here they are, anxiously awaiting their turn on the roller coaster.

Here's Seth and his good friend, Jack, waiting for their ride to start.
Caroline is a real daredevil. She kept shouting "No hands!" with Henry at the front of the roller coaster.

You may think that Seth is smiling sweetly in this picture. I, on the other hand, see a mischievous glint in his eye. He and his brother had plans for their little sister on the teacup ride.

Look at these two big brothers working together to spin their little sister as fast as they could!
Don't worry. She loved it!

Here's our Evan, enjoying his turn on the cars. Yes, I cried. :) (And yes, the car is pink, but it is a police car.)
One of Henry and Seth's favorite rides from last year was the hang glider ride. Seth was tall enough to ride it last year.

And this year, Caroline was tall enough. She was game, but Mom was anxious. So Dad rode along.
She, of course, loved it, and she flashed me a "thumbs up" when the ride was over.
The whole evening went swimmingly until the very end. When the carnival was closing, the operator of the Zero Gravity decided to give an extra long ride. You know, that's the one that spins so fast that they can drop the floor and the riders stay stuck to the wall. Henry was on that ride with his friends. And he was on the same ride just before that.

Feeling queasy for a good hour after that, he gleamed some wisdom from the experience. Next year he'll ride Zero Gravity just once.