Rose Festival

There are certain things I have always wanted to do, and one of them is taking my daughter on a carousel ride. Recently my wish came true and both Maddy and I loved the experience! Steve was in New York for the weekend, so I decided to plan a super fun Maddy/Mommy day, and off to the Rose Festival City Fair we went!

We decided to take the bus downtown instead of driving, and as usual for me, we were running a bit behind schedule. Even though the forecast only predicted a 30% chance of rain, I grabbed my raincoat and a sweatshirt for Maddy, and we hurried down the street to the bus stop. We made it on time, hopped on the bus and headed to the fair. Maddy was quite excited and told everyone on the bus where we were headed.

Once we got to the fair we took a quick walk around to get oriented. The carousel was on one end and the crafters' tables (merchandise) on the other, with blocks and blocks of games, rides and food in between.  There weren't too many rides suitable for Maddy since she's still such a little peanut, but there were plenty of other activities to entertain us. 

Our first stop was the tots craft station, full of art supplies, paper plates, googly eyes, pom poms and glue. Maddy made a cute little mask. Then off to the butterfly exhibit which was fantastic! A 15 minute wait got you into a room with 400+ butterflies cruising around and cutip full of nectar to coax the butterflies into your grasp. Maddy was ecstatic and laughing, having a grand time!  

All the excitement gave us an appetite so we got some yakisoba noodles to share and found a table with an umbrella. Good thing, as that's when the rain started. It poured for a bit and we shared our table with another family so they could keep dry too, and Maddy made friends with their little girl. Once the rain slowed, off we went to the games, where Maddy went "fishing" and caught her fish by the string winding around the plastic fishes tail! Now this made me chuckle, as I once caught a chinook salmon the very same way when fishing with my dad. Every fish equals a prize, and Maddy picked a purple lion and named him "Harry Blossom" (loosely after her current cereal "Berry Blossoms" but why? No idea). 

Next stop...the carousel, which both Maddy and I loved! Maddy laughed and laughed, shouting "Mommy! We're going around and around AND up and down!"  

Last stop: ice cream. Maddy picked strawberry and the people working the booth offered the ultimate ice cream cone: adding whipped cream and sprinkles. Maddy's dream come true!

What an fun adventure we had !