CARNIVAL



This past weekend we took my nephew to a carnival that was held at the elementary school my siblings and I went to.  It was surreal going back to my school all these years later.  When I was little, everything seemed so big.  The gym seemed huge, and the classrooms seemed monstrous.  Now, everything is so little.  Tiny desks and tiny gym.  I guess it’s just me who’s gotten bigger. 

I have memories from when I was little of going to this carnival.  It was the highlight of my school year.  Everything seemed so magical as I flitted from game to game, winning as many tokens as I could so that I could buy some cool prize (which usually turned out to be a light up rubber ball or something else that would break within 10 minutes).  It was always a debate in my house as to how many tickets we would get.  That would determine how many tokens I could expect to win, which would affect my prize value.  See?  Carnivals aren’t just for fun.  They also teach children relevant financial lessons, such as how many times do I have to throw this roll of toilet paper threw that toilet seat to get enough tokens to buy that bottle of slime.  That kind of knowledge will stick with you for years to come.

We had a blast with my nephew.  You may remember that he was wearing a Captain America outfit in the photos from Easter weekend.  Well, this weekend Superman chose to join us, adorable cape and all.  I can’t tell you how many compliments he got as we walked around.  He’d go into classrooms and announce himself by singing “dun dun dun –Da!” and swing his cape.  Sheer awesomeness.  It was so much fun watching him explore everything and see how excited he got when he won a token.  It made me so happy seeing him so happy.  He's only 3 1/2, but he was able to wait in line so patiently.  I was impressed, because even I got a little antsy waiting for it to be his turn. 

He won cupcakes with green icing at the cake walk (guess he wasn’t concerned about kryptonite?) and had a great idea to go find a bench to enjoy a few of them.  Who could resist cupcakes?  So we took a break from the games.  Here’s Superman with Wade enjoying a cupcake.  I think we were a bad aunt and uncle, because we let him eat a bit too much.  How can you say no to that cute face, though?

After cupcakes, he wanted to read a book that he had won.  Then the sugar rush hit, and we went off to play more games and win more tokens.  We found a great prize—these glasses!  Perfect for Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent.  Now the outfit is complete.

Thanks for a great time, Superman!