Kite Festival

Last weekend we took the boys to a kite festival. It was perfectly sunny, blustery day for such an event and Alder had a blast! I have to say that I am so happy to be able to take Alder to something like this and know that he is going to have fun. It seems as though he has reached some sort of landmark age (almost 3!) where outings to events like this are no longer a gamble - we no longer have to weigh (as much) whether or not he napped, the length of the drive, if he will actually enjoy it, etc. Heath was miserable in the wind by the time we left, but the second child just has to deal, right?

He squealed with delight upon arrival and kept his eyes up to the sky almost the entire two hours we were there.
Exceptional stunt kites flying to music were truly amazing - the tails on this thing were ~50 feet long...the photo does not do it justice nor the precision with which the kite flier made it dip and twirl just above the ground and then swoop up again.

Dad and Alder ventured out across the huge field with a free kid kite and a doubtful mom sat back with a neighbor friend and infant. I always recall kite flying with memories of frustration and little success. However, by the time I joined them they had this little (well designed) kite flying with ease.

Alder was even able to hold the kite string and run with it. He was easily distracted by others and their kites and more than once got tangled with others or let go altogether. It is such a pleasure to show a child something in real life rather than try and describe it or even show it in a book. I think he has a real appreciation now for wind and what it is relative to us.

We look forward to using this little kite again...

It was also my birthday last week and Jason surprised me with a delicious vegan carrot cake from the local health food store for the second year in a row and I loved it. My birthday was a regular, hectic Monday and this was a wonderful way to end it.