I made the mistake of building up my home town’s Water Carnival a bit too much when talking to the kids about it, such that when the weekend arrived they were a little disappointed to learn that it had nothing to do with (a) water or (b) a carnival. Who can blame them?!  But on Sunday they were completely game for heading into town in the heat to watch the parade. I realized quickly that I had forgotten sunglasses or hats for them, and after a brief attempt at trying to convince them that “your eyes will eventually adjust” I realized how ridiculous that sounded and we ran to my parents’ house and raided my mom’s extra sunglasses and grabbed a hat from my dad’s golf bag. Thankfully, the kids loved their sun gear for the day. We had a great day pouncing on the candy thrown from the parade participants, and with the additions of the “ride” on the trampoline, mini donuts and face painting, we captured what would have been our favorite parts of any true carnival.
There is a fine line between hugs and headlocks with these two.

I really, really hate toy clowns. But life-size ones I don’t mind. Ella, however, was skeptical of this woman’s shenanigans (notice the hand on the hip).
Ella took waving to the queen candidates very seriously.
For the most part, Ella was all business when grabbing fistfuls of candy out of the street. She flashed the smile below when she knew she darted far too close in between the buses, but scored a sucker that no other kid noticed.
Taylor was a little apprehensive at first with the bungee jump/trampoline, but loved it after a few moments.
Add an Elsa crown and Captain America shield, and the afternoon was complete!

Reality Check. You may have noticed that I didn’t have any elaborate posts with Father’s Day gift ideas or tips to plan a special day. You also may have noticed that I mentioned this day of leisure was this past Sunday. Finally, you may have noticed that Trevor was not in any picture. Especially on the heels of solo parenting for much of the week while I was on a work trip, the best gift for this Father’s Day was a few quiet, kid-free hours at the lake on a beautiful summer day.