A couple weeks ago, my sister invited us out to her school to participate in their Fall Festival. I'm the type person that likes to get home and stay home in the evenings (especially as it gets cooler and I want to bundle up and hang out in the house), so I didn't especially want to get back out that evening. But I'm so glad we did, and it was a reminder for me that I've got to quit being such a homebody! I have to remember that taking Iliya places (even if it is out of my "daily rut" zone) is really good for him!

Anyway, we had a fabulous time! We ate hotdogs & chips, Iliya got his face painted (which he was not quite sure about at first) and played a couple of games. He spotted one of those "pop a balloon off the board with a dart" games & made a beeline to it... I caught him just before he ripped one of the balloons off of the board (the child LOVES is obsessed with balloons). The lady manning that station was kind enough to give him one of her replacement balloons, which satisfied Iliya...and he carried the thing around the rest of the night.

We found the blow up "moonwalk" jumpers, and Iliya was very indecisive about what he wanted to do. He wanted to get in one of the jumpers and lost his confidence just before getting in it. After the older kids were cleared out to make way for some younger ones, he seemed to gain confidence enough to go in and jump with one other kid for...oh, about 30 seconds. Once a couple other kids got in here, it got too wild for him and he wanted out. A total waste of 2 tickets, but oh well.

Then, we found the playground. And it wasn't one of the main attractions (meaning, it was dark and no one was there to take tickets)..and that's where my boy wanted to hang out. He played on the swings and climbed on the jungle gym. He had a fantastic time and I know his fingers were freezing off (it got very cold that week, and I didn't have his gloves or hat with us).

And finally, he discovered that wonderful pink, fluffy goodness...also known as cotton candy. We had a few extra tickets so we just opted for getting some. And he fell in instant love. When he was done with it, it was time to go home and he didn't want to go...he wanted to stay and eat cotton candy. I had a little bit left in the bag, but since it was getting so close to bedtime, I told him that we were done. He was c-r-a-n-k-y and probably a little hungry (since he actually didn't eat much of his hotdog)...so Nathan told him that once we got home, he could have a little snack before bedtime (thinking...oh, maybe yogurt or a banana). To which Iliya, in his best whiney voice, cried, "Snack....I want snack....PIIIIINNNNK snack!"

So maybe we shouldn't have given him cotton candy. But who says you can't indulge every now-and-again? And it was really fun to watch him eat it. Lest you wonder, the answer is "no," we didn't give him a pink snack when we got home.  If I remember correctly, I think he got a bath, opted for no snack, and sent straight to sleep.

Here are a few pictures...enjoy!