The Celtic Festival had some great dancing music, which Fiona wasn't really in the mood for, but Caitlin loved. We also ran into some friends there and their little girl was dancing up a storm too. There was a kids area with different games, face painting, and an opportunity to build a fairy house with sticks, rocks, and other natural materials.
After a pretty quick swing through the rabbit, sheep, goat, and lama/alpaca buildings, we stopped for a bite to eat and then spent the reminder of the time on the rides. Sean and Fiona also stopped to look at the cows and poultry on our way out. Fiona and Caitlin went on almost every ride that they were allowed (size-wise) to go on. Fiona went on a couple of the bigger rides (like the Ferris Wheel) with me and then all four of us (me, Fiona, Caitlin and Jennifer) went on a couple of in-between rides (like the Helicopter ride). Fiona even went on one that raised the seats, dropped her down, and then repeated this a couple of times (while harnessed down); similar to Power Tower at Cedar Point, but much, much, much shorter. She didn't like it, but she didn't cry until the ride stopped and then recovered very quickly.
Last Sunday Sean surprised us with a trip to Aullwood Gardens. He had gone there while the girls and I were in MN and liked it so much he wanted to go back again with us. Sean and Fiona practiced throwing rocks in the water and then we hiked around the gardens. It's a beautiful park with a number of different gardens as well as a path through the woods.
Impromptu game of tag.
Just gazing at the water.
We packed a picnic lunch to eat at the Cox Arboretum before meeting Auntie Jennifer and Caitlin to explore the Butterfly House. Jennifer and I were definitely more interested in the flowers and butterflies than Fiona and Caitlin, who were mostly interested in the rocks, dancing, and throwing leaves in the water by the pond. We also went up the new observation tower and walked around some of the ponds. Both Fiona and Caitlin climbed all the stairs to the top; Fiona went so fast that I had to hoof it to keep up with her.
Posing with her flower, next to the pond where the turtles were sunning.
Looking towards the Butterfly House and parking lot
Germanfest featured good food, a kids area, crafts, and lots of people. We went a little later in the day this year than last and the crowd was much bigger. It was still a good atmosphere, just a little more crowded. Fiona went on a huge slide, which both Sean and I were so proud of her for trying. She needed a little help getting up and because she slid a little sideways on the way down she didn't really like it. The next ride she tried to go on, the big kids pushed in front of her and the workers were basically like "too bad kid" so even though it didn't bother her, Sean and I decided they were too disorganized to deserve our money. We still enjoyed the food (mett, brat, potato salad, kraut, and a cream puff) and the atmosphere.
Real life organ grinder (fake monkey). Machine was from the Black Forest, made in the same style for the last 1000 years.
Sean and Fiona checked out the Bell Tower as we were leaving.
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