I find myself alone with the dog this Sunday evening; Jordan exerted her last bit of energy on a tantrum that erupted after apparently not wanting anyone's help getting out of a chair, and +Josh Femreite is also passed out from having to deal with all these tantrums. Did I mention that Jordan is 3 now? And that her favorite word is "no"?
The real point of this post is to tell you all about our experience at the McCall Winter Carnival. Here are the highlights:
1. The "Craft Faire/Chocolate tasting". I'll be honest, this was my idea, but i'll be the first to admit that it was a bust. When you're accosted by the Avon lady the second you step foot in the door, that's the moment you should be immediately leaving. Scentsy, Thirty-One, Tupperware, etc...does anyone actually sell hand crafted items at a craft fair anymore? Okay, so there were a few talented people there who made some cute hats and scarves and such, but the event was dominated by the minions of corporate conglomerates. And the chocolate tasting? This was a ploy to get you to buy bricks of fudge at outrageous prices. FAIL.
2. The Parade. We don't live in the French Quarter, but the Mardi Gras parade is as good a substitute as any. Jordan had fun collecting bead necklaces, candies, and even a frisbee from the passers-by. There was a large group of older children surrounding her, but she still managed to beat some of them to the prizes. The downside...well it was raining. Not the whole time, but enough to make us wish we had brought an umbrella. Jordan met her younger friends, Tamsin and Beatrix (my co-worker's twins) towards the end of the parade and shared some of her bounty with them. Then we decided to try out this bread shop down the road for lunch. We hiked through town in the rain and slush only to learn that the shop had already closed for the day. Bummer. Our backs were killing us from packing kids; kids were whining because they were cold and wet. I guess next time we'll call before we walk all the way through town in the rain.
3. Building a snowman. I was in slumberland while this was happening. Josh will have to supplement with his thoughts. He and Jordan suited up in their snow gear and took advantage of the snow in the front yard and built a nice little snowman. Word on the street is that she was not a big fan of the snow initially. But eventually she decided it wasn't so bad afterall, and it's kinda fun to eat, too. This wasn't her first time in the snow, but rather, her first time in the snow where she was old enough to understand what was going on.
4. Swiper the fox. Jordan is obsessed with Dora the Explorer. The antagonist in this show is a fox named Swiper who is always trying to steal Dora's stuff. Anyhow, there's a local fox, or maybe a few foxes that hang around the cabin and can occasionally be seen wandering in people's yards and on their decks, presumably searching for handouts. Well, we saw this fox today and Jordan, while somewhat nervous/afraid, was excited to have seen "Swiper" in the backyard.
There were other events to see at the Winter Carnival, but the weather and Jordan's constant tantrums put a damper on our enthusiasm.
