A week ago, I got news of my Dad falling and getting stitches in his head. I joked that he was following in Devon's footsteps, but I spoke too soon. For during our family movie, Devon decided to hop over our piano bench in the dark and hit his head on the low ceiling. He ended up splitting the top of his head. Daniel took him to the ER.
He came home with 3 new staples and a mighty headache. They didn't give him any pain meds. I dosed him and sent him to bed. He had bitten his tongue pretty badly and hurt his tailbone, but he seems to be healing ok.
The Kansas Renaissance Festival is shifting into high gear. While they put on events year-round, this is the main event! A friend decided to go with her family for the first time, and her daughter insisted they dress up. I was only too happy to assist them. I pulled a few pieces, and they went away overwhelmed but happy.
Unfortunately, the day they went was in the high 90s, so they sweltered a bit. They seemed to enjoy themselves anyway. I'm glad they went and survived! We went the following week in much cooler temperatures.
This year I asked the kids what they wanted to dress up as; Charles wanted to go as a beggar. I had an old costume that was crazy quilted that I pieced together for his outfit and even had enough left over to make him a sack to carry things in. Devon wanted to be a plague doctor, but with German military vibes. I tried to make his vision come true. I am always surprised at the level of confidence my children have in my abilities. I looked through my patterns and modified 3 different ones to create his costume. Typically, I was putting the finishing touches on the morning of our visit to the faire.
Emily did not want to dress up, but she did bring her toy sword. Teddy wore a D&D shirt I made for him and his "saucy" shorts. Back when I was asking them what they might like to wear, Teddy declared that he did not want a Renaissance shirt or vest or anything, but he was fine with Renaissance pants. So I clarified that he would wear something "renaissancey" in legwear, and he agreed to "saucy" pants. I have laughed about that for months now.
Henry wanted to use his Robin Hood costume from last year; everything fit except for the pants, so he wore non-saucy pants. We somehow have lost one of the bracers too, but as long as he had one for his bow arm, it was fine. I will have to make him a bigger shirt next year. Lizzy's outfit was made up of the various options she has collected over the years. Daniel wore his blue outfit, and I wore my floral and green. I need to make him a new shirt as well. The mice had gotten to it at one point so it's looking a bit rough in places.
Enough chatter, on to the pretties!
The obligatory photo with the fountain! As it had promised to rain, the crowds were sparser than usual, which was nice. We armed ourselves with umbrellas and separated into 2 groups. I took Henry and Teddy to the children's realm, and the rest wandered with Daniel.
Whilst in the children's realm, the boys made wands and took them to the wizard for inspection. He listened to them and declared them fine wands. They each received a dragon's tear. Henry's was from an amethyst dragon. Teddy's was from a crystal dragon.
After finishing the obstacle course, they went to visit with Mother Goose and Lady Nightshade (apprentice to The Sandman). Lady Nightshade read them a story, and they received blessings from both ladies respectively. This year I came prepared with trinkets to trade. The boys were excited to trade with everyone.
Henry really wanted to trade a trinket with The Sandman. He was away somewhere for a bit, but when he returned, Lady Nightshade came to get Henry so he could meet him. I thought that was sweet.
After playing on the pirate ship for a bit, King Ferdinand called everyone over to the stage. We came as bidden and found ourselves recruited for a play. Teddy chose to be on the good guys, Queen Isabella's team. Henry elected to join the bad guys on King Ferdinand's team.
It was a riot! Afterwards, they were knighted.
Then we met the Pirate Queen, and she taught the boys how to be pirates in her fleet. She gave them new pirate names: Henry is Crackers, and Teddy is Blackbox.
She gave them each a coin, and Henry fed her dragon. A good pirate needs a captain, and we soon found ours!
By this time everyone else came around, and we went in search of some lunch. 3 boys wanted hot dogs, and the rest wanted sandwiches. Unfortunately, I didn't tell the seller at the stall that one didn't need a bun. Teddy took one look at it and absolutely dissolved in tears. He said that he wanted it given to him, so I asked the cashier to hand it to him, but that wasn't enough. The rest of us ate, then Devon went for some ice cream, and then Henry had to get some. Finally, I convinced Teddy to have some, and he calmed down.
I spied the dread pirate Roberts and Inigo Montoya.
Some fun outfits:
Then we went to see the joust!
I got the plague for this picture! She stamped my hand.
It was beginning to rain by this time, and while Henry and Teddy tried their luck in the maze, I went to listen to this lovely woman play the bagpipes and sing Scottish love songs. We headed home soon thereafter.
When September 11, 2001 began, it was a normal
Tuesday. I was up early for something I don't remember, but I was on my way
home when I heard the news of the first attack. I got in the door, and Mom was
already watching the news. We sat together and watched the next attack unfold
in shock.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, we were
still dealing with the aftermath of the world wars, the Cold War, and Y2K. We
were collectively holding our breath for the proverbial shoe to drop. So, when
it did, we expected the world to end.
Watching those towers fall and the ensuing
aftermath was devastating. Hearing about the downed plane that didn't reach its
destination due to the brave acts of the passengers on board was equally
inspiring and heart wrenching. Knowing so many were losing someone they loved
and depended on, it galvanized us as a country and showed the world what being
American really stood for.
I have heard many lament for the time just
after the attacks. When we as a nation came together in a way rarely seen. We
looked out for each other. Even with the fear of further retaliation, we had
learned from our past mistakes a bit and didn't go full boar on discriminating against
all those who could claim Middle Eastern descent. This time we did not round up
everyone and place them in camps. This is not to say that people were not
hostile or degrading towards them, but the level of hostility never
resulted in the government taking them away. I consider this an improvement in
our behavior as a nation; when the precedent was there, our government chose to
look outward for hostile forces this time.
That is not to say that we as a nation were
fair to those who held no affiliation to extremists; people were still scared.
We saw this yet again when COVID hit and suddenly anyone with Asian descent was
suspect. Fear often unlocks the worst in humanity, and fear was ever present.
But I digress; what put me in this reminiscent
mood was that this month is the 25th anniversary of the attacks, and Daniel,
Lizzy, Emily, and I were able to attend a showing of Come From Away, the
musical about the planes that were diverted to Newfoundland as a precaution
when the airspace was shut down. I had heard of the musical since 2017 and knew
it was worth the viewing, so when I saw it come up at the Rep, I secured the
tickets. We actually went to see it on September 12, so it was timely to say
the least.
The fact that they landed in Newfoundland is poignant. For many of the passengers and crew of the 38 planes that landed there, really did find a new land. A new place to start and return to. If you get the chance to see this incredible show, please go. It is beautiful and heartbreaking, hopeful and just so, so human. The music is wonderful, and the band was so talented. Emily made friends with her seatmates, and we had a nice chat about the play and theater. It was a wonderful evening, and I should have brought 3 boxes of tissues; I was weeping before the second song.
This is what I like to remember: how people from anywhere and everywhere can find hope together. The world isn't nearly as cold as it seems; we are all, after all, human.
I had been asking Henry what he wanted to do for his birthday for a few weeks. He finally decided on snakes for the theme. I wasn't sure where to go with that. I thought maybe snakes and ladders, but I never got that idea off the ground. The day of his birthday was pretty packed for us. Daniel picked up kits from Home Depot for us to finish at home, then he took the older kids to the Temple to meet up with Grandpa Ron and the Blacks for baptisms.
We celebrated when they came back. Henry had picked out a controller piñata, because snakes were not an option. He was very happy with it, though. Since this was a traditional piñata, we had it outside. We had to convince Teddy not to get within swinging distance, but after a bit he realized it was in his best interests to stand back. Devon landed the winning blow.
After the obligatory trading of spoils, we headed inside for presents.
He recieved a romote controlled snake from Grandma and Papa, it's already bit me twice! Henry loves it. The dagger is a dice holder.
Henry was thwarted by the candles, they just would not blow out!
