Ohio Renaissance Festival Day 2

Our second night was drier.  We woke up fairly refreshed and ready to pack up the car.  This was the tricky part...pack the car, but leave garb accessible...we managed, barely.   The day started overcast.  Once we had entered into the gate = downpour of rain.  We ducked into several nearby shops in the attempt to stay dry for the next 30 minutes.  Luckily, the rest of the day was overcast, sunny, and fine.

Being nerds, we all have different costumes for the second day.  Tam's tabard is from a previous year; all I had to do was make a new undershirt.  Jude could fit Tam's old undershirt, but needed the tabard.  These are based on a bought Simplicity pattern...but I totally reused the dragon on Jude's from an old Gap shirt that he had outgrown.  Two little musketeers...a bit late for this period of festival, but still uber cute.

We danced the maypole dance again today at Tam's insistence.  This time, I grabbed the snapshot and let Brian dance around with Jude.  Tam still only barely grasped the concept of the weaving... he kept trying to climb over the ribbons of the other dancers, rather than letting them pass under his outstretched arm.


We caught the pirates' comedy show (their stunt show had a flooded stage).

I laughed quite a bit at their version of charades... the poor audience chump had to guess Oden dumpster diving on mars with chicken gravy.  He had not a chance, but they tried hard to portray it...complete with martian sounds similar to the ones from the movie Mars Attacks :-)

They also posed as life-size works of art...interesting.

Tamlin and Jude both had fans to cool them off in the heat.  Tamlin mastered his by the second day, which was a bit warmer at times.




We watched a knife throwing show where one of the duo ducked into a bag and "disappeared" while the other person launched knives at him.  Tamlin thought this was truly magical how he disappeared from the stage and appeared next to him at the back of the audience.

We watched one man swallow fire.  The boys wondered why he didn't burn up.

I kept having to remind him not to try these awesome stunts at home...though the one juggler balanced Tam's sword on his thumb and flipped his fan around.  Tam kept trying to do this throughout both days at the festival.





I love these shots of Jude...
"Why is the rum all gone?"

The ride choice for this day was the pirate swing.  Both boys opted to go on and loved it.  Big grins from both of them...which isn't surprising because both of them like to swig at playgrounds too.  The worker did a great job of keeping them entertained too with cool stunts and silly jokes.

They even got to have a little duel with foam swords.  This was uber cute 'cause they just didn't know what to do... and kept missing each other (like in a cartoon).

We did manage to get a family shot where all of us are looking at the camera at the same time.  I'll take three out of four of us smiling.  Such a fun-loving gang.

And Jude fell asleep again...granted, this time we were sitting at a kids' version of a robin hood show and he stretched out on daddy.  Ignore his not quite authentic pink shoes :-)  This zonking happened around 1:00 so we trucked out to the car and let Jude sleep in the carseat while the rest of us rested and ate a picnic.  This allowed us to stay all the way to the end of the festival before heading off to home.  I did very good and did not buy the oh-so-wonderful leather and suede bodice that fit me oh-so-wonderfully...sigh...if only we were still singing at festivals and could justify the expense...maybe in the future.

We all enjoyed the festival and I would certainly come to this one again...maybe alternating it with the Michigan festival (which has a bigger kiddie area).  It was great to see different actors and artisans, but I wish to have seen more cast / street characters to interact with.  Perhaps the rain kept some folk away.

Well, the costumes are all washed and nearly all put away until next year  :-)

Ohio Renaissance Festival - Day 1

We traveled to southern Ohio for the Renaissance Festival this past weekend.  Those who know us, know that Brian and I are Rennies and we are bringing up the little ones to enjoy these excursions too.  We opted for this fair since we hadn't been to it before and we hadn't been to this part of Ohio either.  The bonus was that the ticket prices were buy one / get one free (yeah!).  The downside was it was quite a drive, but we had books on tape (Tam chose the boxcar children mysteries).

We camped in the nearby state park for the two nights we were there.  The campsite was full, probably because it was a holiday weekend.  Our site was toward the back so it was a bit quieter.  We successfully got the tent up before dark and before the rain.  The strike out was that we forgot to back the grill for the campfire...and forgot the stove for when we couldn't get the fire lit because of rain.  Yes...it rained...
The majority of the first night, we all stayed pretty dry...but we woke up to rain.  And more rain.
We gave up and headed into town to find breakfast and a weather forecast, which called for more rain for the morning hours.  We did end up at the visitor center for state park and nearby dam.  This was a pretty fabulous visitor center with many interactive attractions, hands out wooden lock system, animal furs, and even a short movie.  We all stayed intrigued until the rain finished up.

All the rain meant lots of mud at the festival.
Oh well...we have slung through this conditions before.

It take us a bit of time to get all garbed up...especially with two wriggly boys.  The boys' doublet and shirts were what I had been working on for the past month.  Blue and grey corduroy, lined, trimmed, with buttons, made from scratch (including the pattern) = kept me busy! I did run out of time for pants...next year the are getting puffy slops, I promise. Tamlin loves dressing up and loves all the attention he gets for be so darn cute at these festivals.  Brian let him carry the small horn and taught both boys how to blow / make noise with them.  Tam knows the drill of adding jewelry and feathers (he wants a peacock feather next year).  Jude was a bit more reluctant...he didn't sleep too well last night and was a bit ornery this morning.  Jude also doesn't like button-up shirts so he was not pleased with his doublet.  Brian and I had these outfits for a while.  With my recent weight loss, my bodice fit a bit loose, meaning that the girls weren't quite displayed as nicely as in the past.

The day was overcast most of the time until 'round 3 o'clock when the sun decided to come out in full force...and gave me a sunburn during that brief time.

We did lots of fun things at the festival...I love letting the kiddos enjoy the fun and wonder of the place.  Brian and I enjoyed seeing new shows and meeting fellow people like us.

We danced the maypole dance. I helped Jude and Tamlin went on by himself. He had so much fun, we did the maypole dance the next day too!

Both boys had fans to help them stay cool.  Jude was having problems manipulating his... a kindly pirate helped him out.


We met the Queen Elizabeth and the boys were knighted.  This is one of the few photos that I got both boys looking at the camera...and I do love the royal guards photo bomb.

 Since it was overcast, the crowd was light which meant we had great seats for the mid-day joust.  I usually opt not to see the joust because it is in an arena with no shade and the show is staged. Not here...this was with real jousters who tried their darnest to unseat their opponents.  The horses they rode were the same horses that appeared in the TV realty show "Full Metal Jousting."  I was impressed...especially when one of the jousters was a woman!


The knight had several passes...and then after a full on strike, the lady knight fell off her horse to a jarring crash.

She was ok and walked off the field, but conceded the match to her opponent.



The boys were awe-struck by this.

I mean they really watched what was going on...


We let them ride the horses after the show.  Now, I usually don't pay for pony rides...but these were big honking jousting famous horses and the money went right toward their care.



At first, I didn't think Jude would be big enough to ride...he was majorly disappointed...but the handlers said he was welcome to ride and that the horses are very gentle with little riders.  We let him up with Brian walking beside him just in case he got scared.

Neither boy was scared....and both had HUGE grins.

Brian saw the gleam of happiness in Jude's eyes, so he gave in and bought them toy horses.  Oh-my-Gawd...the horses were Jude's most favorite thing all weekend.  He knew right away he wanted the little brown pony with spots  and was not swayed to any other.  Tam opted for the big white horse that looked like the one he rode.  Jude loved playing with both horses,  pretending the white horse was the momma horse. They even had to have blankets and be put to bed with them that night.  Very cute.

Another fun character we meant was this pirate captain with an animated parrot.  Tamlin had a hard time trying to figure out if it was real or not...the bird could move its eyes, beak, head and make various sounds.  Jude totally thought it was real.

 

 I let the kiddos each pick out one ride... Jude chose a merry go round with carriages.  It didn't go very fast, but he still loved it.  Tamlin felt more adventuroues and opted to go in the maze, which ended in a super fast slide.  With the help of some older kids, he did great in the maze.


We saw several shows during the day as well as wandered around the shops.


I had wanted to stay for the pub sing at the end of the day...but Jude was done by 4 o'clock.  I don't blame him...we made him walk much of the day, and he didn't get an afternoon nap.

Brian looked at the little tyke and asked if he wanted carried.
Oh yeah...he did...


And then he fell asleep on Brian's shoulder.
In the middle of the festival...
With all that noise and nonsense...
He fell asleep :-)

So Sweet...
Tamlin conked out in the car on the ride back to the campsite.  We let them sleep in their car seats for another hour or so while we assessed our rain-drenched gear.  Yep, with the torrential downpour in the morning, we did have a leak in the tent and quite a few things got wet.  We had enough evening sunshine to dry out quite a bit of things, but Brian did opt to hit up a dollar store for a dry towel.  A fire was conjured after much effort and we had brats and marshmallows for dinner.
While Brian was on the hunt for a dry towel, the boys and I stayed to tend the fire.  We had fun watching the dark settle around us and the stars come out.  Jude is convinced that the moon follows him when he is walking and that it plays hide-and-seek with him and the trees.  We ended the night with telling ghost stories, well, Casper the Friendly Ghost stories :-)

Common Sayings in our house

Jude's been picking up on some of our common sayings of late...
"How cool is that?!"
"I'm so Silly!"
"True That!"
"Tank you"
"Please I get a treat?"
And his favorite saying when he's feeling contrary..."I don't like that."

Tamlin's favorite is asking why when we tell him to do something...but he's not often listening to the answer!
"Everything is awesome"
"I love rock and roll"
"Everybody dance now"


Jude had to do a "favorites" list for pre-k, so I thought I would do one up for Tamlin to and post them here to share :-)

Jude's Favorite...
Color: Green
Movie: Umizoomi
Place to go: Hawaii
Book: Airplanes
TV show: Thomas the Train
Animal: Camel
Toy: trains
Holiday: Birthday
Friend: Monster
Sport; Basketball
and When he grows up he wants to be bigger

Yeah, I'm not sure where Camel came from.  Hawaii because Daddy always says he wants a trip to Hawaii.  Umizoomi is the ONLY cartoon he is currently watching on the iPad and we only have access to 2 seasons.

Tamlin's favorite...
Color : Blue
Movie: Minions
Place to go: Cedar Point, I meant the Farmer's market that is outside in town
Book: Busy Town
TV show: Penguins of Madagascar
Animal: Giraffe
Toy: Cars
Holiday: Winter
Friend: Oliver from YMCA and Liam from next door
Sport: Basketball
And When he grows up he wants to be a Cook like Daddy.

Again, I am totally not sure where giraffe came from as a favorite animal.  We haven't been to Cedar point and have only looked at it from across the bay.  Minions are a hit right now because that is the lunch box he picked out.  He wanted to be clear that it wasn't the indoor farmer's market that we have across the street.

First Day of School

My first born is growing up so fast!  Tamlin went to Kindergarten today :-(
Yes, I'm ok...Sad, proud, hopeful, sad, but ok.
Here's a throw-back of Brian and me from Kindergarten:


(Bottom Left for Brian)



Tamlin was so excited for today.  He picked out the Hawaiian shirt to wear (his favorite) and let me spike his Mohawk.  His bookbag is full with his lunch box, spare clothes for the locker, towel for nap, and extra shirt for painting.

Liam from across the street is in second grade this year and will ride the same bus as Tam.  Both boys were super excited by this!  (Note the cool Mohawks both boys are sporting).  Liam started school yesterday, but Kindergarten starts a day late.   The boys had fun watching out for the bus(s) and guessing which one would be there bus.  Jude is looking sad because he so wants to ride the bus with Tamlin, his favorite big brother.  

 And they are off!  The grade school in town is only K through 3rd grade, so only the littles will be on this bus.  The middle school and high school start earlier in the day.  The bus driver is a very nice lady that has been doing this route for years.

The teachers and principal heartily invited all the parents to come on in to the school to give final hugs and take last minute photos.  Brian, Jude, and I hopped on into the car and followed the bus to the school.  The kindergartners get off the bus first and are led by an older student to their wing of the school (5 kindergarten classes!)

Tam's room is at the end of the hall...he immediately found his locker with his name on it.  There are 21 kids in his class and his teacher was the one that evaluated him last week.  The classroom is cheery-looking... very similar to his pre-k rooms.  Jude was excited that there is a train table in his room, and then he was devastated when he couldn't stay and play.

I was so very proud of Tam that he was so ready to go and learn.  However, my heart was aching a bit inside that he is growing up and doesn't need me so much.  He got on and off that bus all by himself!  It did make my sad heart sing when he reached for my hand when walking down the hall in the school.  Aww...my little man :-)  Brian said that he was holding up pretty well...but tears were in his eyes too as we hugged Tamlin goodbye and left the classroom.

In a few hours I'll get to hear all about his first day!

We took Jude to school and took his picture too.  Jude was very, very sad that he isn't going to the big kids' school with Tamlin AND he doesn't get to ride the bus AND he doesn't get to play with train table AND we can't find monster.  Poor little man...I'll make sure he gets some ice cream tonight.