June 11 Kaity and I ride the ferris wheel!

Saturday:  Today was one of those picture perfect days for being outdoors ... not too hot or sticky, not too cold so as to need a jacket ... it was JUST right! There was even a pleasant soft breeze blowing. I picked Kaity up and tried to decide which direction to head in the great outdoors. Surely Kaity would want to explore a new playground? N-O. Hmmm. 

So I told Kaity that there was "stuff" going on out in Rockford this afternoon. "What kind of stuff, grandma?" she asked. I wasn't really sure ... but I remembered the second weekend of June back when my kids were young--they called it "Summer Festival" and there was even turtle racing contests ... and FROG races too! I didn't pass that information on to Kaity, however, because it would be such a disappointment if that kind of thing was no longer being done.

We had a difficult time finding a parking space in Rockford so we gave up on the parking lots and looked around the downtown neighborhoods ... nothing there either! SO ... we crossed the river and drove down a side street and finally were able to park. It was a little bit of a walk to downtown, but we were fine ...

Here are a few pictures of our walk ... I love this old railroad bridge, don't you?

A carnival! YES! WOW. We decided we would walk around and watch people freaking out over the rides. The lines were long for each ride. What did each ride cost I wondered ... ??? Well, it turns out that the rides required TICKETS. Each ticket was sold for $1.50. However, there wasn't a single ride there that only asked for ONE ticket. Most of them required three or four. And most of the rides were FAST and spinning ... no way ... Kaity wasn't any more interested in those rides than I was. Whew!

However, I DID talk Kaity into going on the ferris wheel! YES! My favorite ride at a carnival (actually the ONLY ride I will do)! I wished it was a DOUBLE ferris wheel, but we had to settle for a single one. For a mere FOUR tickets each ($6 x 2) we got in line to ride it. Kaity has always told me she is afraid of heights, like her brothers and Emma--but she did just fine. The higher we got when they were loading people, the wider her smile was!

I LOVE heights ... as long as they don't involve sudden drops, spins, or speed! Look at the great view we had at the top!

Once the ride was fully loaded, we actually did FIVE complete circumferences before our turn was ended. I really loved it. Kaity did too! What a nice memory to make with this dear person.

Thankfully, Kaity wasn't interested in staying at the carnival much longer ... everything there was quite a bit of money ... so we happily walked back to my car.

We played a few games at my house this evening. I taught Kaity how to play RACKO and we laughed our heads off while playing. I love you, Kaity-Girl!