Riverfest

There is this 8 day event in Wichita called Riverfest. For the purchase of a $5 button, you get free admission to various places and events all over the city each day: Zoo, Botanica, Cowtown, Exploraion Place, Indian Center, Etc. Last year, my friend Ashley was an advocate for it and was all into it. With the kids being so little, I just couldn't hack it at the time. This year, we have Carol. Since it's the biggest thing in Wichita, I felt we had to experience it. So...we did. We didn't do as much as I wanted...We only made it to a couple places, but I feel like we got our $5 worth none the less. We all enjoyed it. We walked the streets, went to Cowtown and Bontanica, did the rides and bouncers in the kids area, and listened to music and got free ice cream. Carol's coworkers at her community service told her about funnel cakes, so we bought one to share as a family. She fell in love with it!
May 17th was the last day of Riverfest, and they have big fireworks. The whole city comes out for this. It almost seems bigger then 4th of July, or equal to it! This was also our friend's birthday. We went to his birthday party at Exploration Place park and then were gonna stay for fireworks. It was awesome. The kids had so much fun. Ben and Mikey got in the river, the other big kids played on the sandbar, the little ones followed the big ones, climbing "mountains", playing at the park, etc. No one fought, no one cried, no one whined. We had lots of snacks and cake, juice and water for the party, then as we got our spot for fireworks, our family walked to McDonalds for dinner. It was a nice walk. Everyone was outside! Everyone smiles at each other, nods, the cars drive slow and let you pass and cross. It's a whole different city on this day.
The fireworks started out having some problems...there were booms with no lights, lots of pauses. Once the fireworks got started, they were awesome. Christianna was scared to death, screamed bloody murder. Shanndon was cool with it, just wanted his ears covered. Half way thru it, he didn't even care for his ears to be covered. The kids were fascinated! They were naming colors, gave each firework a name like: shooting stars, whistlers, etc. They were pretending to "catch" the fireworks. It was so cute!
It was a great night. We all really enjoyed each other's company. The kids got along...this gives me hopeful dreams for the summer! The kids passed out easily once we got home, about 11pm. Unfortunately, they still woke up early...church is going to be a bear. Maybe after naps, we'll go to the lake today?! Or maybe we'll just work on the yard! LOL