And a good time was had by all

Trish, John, Rich and I took the kids to a town fair about a month or so ago. It was one of those travelling/mall parking lot deals which I usually avoid like the plague. Years ago Julie and I had a horrible experience at one of them where the rides were all rusted and faulty and the folks that worked there all stank of booze. I swear I'd never revist that experience but Trish found one near her house that was really huge and seemed safe, clean and modern. No creaky rides, no drunk carnies.

It ended up being a fantastic night. One of the highlights of the summer indeed. Simon had never been on any kind of big rides before so I had no idea how he'd react. We started them off old school with the merry-go-round and John stood next to all of them to make sure they were fine.
As you can see, I really shouldn't have been worried about any of them being afraid.

Kate and Simon went on another ride together by themselves while we all stood by the gates. I was somewhat nervous but they did great on their own.

Alexa got to join them on a helicopter ride. Here it looks like Simon and Kate are angry parents telling her not to misbehave in the backseat. She looks unphased by their rescue-copter rules.

The best ride of the night was a car that was big enough to hold all three of them in a row. Every time it came around, the smiles just got bigger and bigger.

By now they were having a bitchin' time

The only ride I went on was the ferris wheel. Which was probably the only low point of the night. For someone who is terrified of heights (like moi) ferris wheels are really not fun at all. I did my best to maintain my anxiety because fear really is contagious and I didn't want to make the kids nervous. I didn't do a very good job though as you could see by my white knuckles. Poor Kate is trying to console me while Simon looks unimpressed altogether.

No fighting, no whining, no tantrums. I've never taken a series of photos with so many smiles in them. A good time indeed.