Ah, it's been too long since I've posted pictures of the kids. Last week on the one day that it wasn't miserably hot and humid, Berta and I took Abby and Riley to the carnival that comes around in the summer.
I wasn't feeling in top shape, so mostly Berta and Abby got on the rides. I think they had a good time, especially on the Tilt-a-Whirl.
There was this one contraption (there are a few photos of it) that Abby climbed through. It had this rop ladder that went to the second floor, and she was doing so well, but then she got scared of the height (I think) and the guy at the attraction had to carry her up to the next floor. Hopefully, she'll grow out of the fear of being five feet off the ground.
I regret that we didn't play any of the carnival games, but at the time, none of them seemed really attractive. They had all the typical rigged games - toss the ball into the barrel, shoot the plastic cups down with a cork gun, throw darts at a wall of balloons, etc. There was this "new" game where you roll balls down a ramp into little slots and try to total up points to win a prize. That looked really rigged. There were also basketball tossing stations - yes, two separate booths - which I always avoid. Why they can't simply drag a Whack-a-Mole game around with them is beyond me. I kill at that game.
Riley rode on the Carousel, and that's about it. He's too small yet to get on anything good. Abby was too short for some of the rides, even. I didn't realize that the carnival had such restrictions on their rides. Probably a good idea, considering that some of the ride operators look (and smell) like they're on crack.
While I'm on the topic, I thought I'd point out something I found humorous: The people at the carnival this year seemed more like carnies than the people running the carnival. I've never seen so many people chain smaoking near their babies in one place. The sum of teeth that these people were missing was quite high. A whole new dialect of English was spoken amongst the crowd.
Makes me long for high-priced themeparks, which tends to weed out the folks who suggest to their children that standing up on the swing mid-ride is a good trick to try. And on one hand, you think it's Darwinian; that these people will death-deny themselves into extinction. But then you notice that they survive their mishaps, and wonder what good your soft skull will do to protect you from a headbutt from that weathered cranium. But I digress.
Enjoy the photos.
