A Carnival

Last week was Fiesta. In San Antonio, that means that pretty much the downtown businesses close up shop, the work world stops, and we have a big old party. Parades, food, booze, music, friends.  It's chaotic, wonderful, expensive, exhausting, and a ton of fun.
I haven't actually taken Sy to any of the larger events because I have deemed him too young. I think that's just my escape route from having to deal with the parking, congestion, and too many people in one small area because when I have kept him out late, he does great. He stays up, alert, and is ready to have a great time.  What we did start doing last year, thanks to our wonderful Nana, is to go to the carnival at South Park Mall. 
Now prior to Sy becoming part of our family, I would see this carnival go up each year and I would think, who in their right mind takes their kids to a carnival in a parking lot on the South side?  The answer would now be me.  And I have to say - WE LOVED IT!
We almost didn't get there. Sy was dry heaving most of the morning but after a nap and some conchitas, he said he was ready to go. Nana took he and Sarah over and I met them there. She called me to say that the rides were $2.00 each but you could get a wrist band for $15. She wanted to know what she should do. I said - get the bands. 
It threatened to rain and it was a little muggy out which made most people stay home, hence the place was not crowded at all - awesome!  And since it didn't rain, I was even happier with my split second indulgent decision to tell Nana to get the wristbands.
I didn't catch the name of the company running the carnival, but they did a great job. The rides were clean and neat. The skirtings, cables, lights, all that stuff looked brand new, was covered up so you didn't trip, and well lit so you could see. The staff were all in uniforms. Nice blue shirts with black/brown slacks. Much nicer presentation than some of the employees I've seen working at my local HEB, Target, or Walmart. AND is was the first time I have ever seen an employee of the carnival wearing a Chanel pouch to hold their valuables. They were very helpful with the kids, well spoken, and some were even from South Africa. Cape Town is what the very nice girl running the swings told me. They had come to work and see America. Good for them. She was surprised I knew her accent and her hometown - just west of Cape Town.  Fancy that will you. In the middle of the carnival at South Park Mall, I run into a whole crew of crazy Suid Afrika folk. That was the highlight of my evening.
The highlight of Sy's evening was that because there were not a lot of people there, he could get off the ride and right back on. He and Sarah rode rides for 3 1/2 hours straight. I kid you not. Sy enjoyed the ladybug ride the best. It went in a circle, first frontwards, then backwards. When it went around, it went up and down a little bit but not too bouncy. He rode that until I was dizzy watching him.
Sarah enjoyed the big people's swings and the roller coaster gizmo. Sy and I went once with her on the roller coaster gizmo. Ugh. I am so glad Sy didn't like it. I was pretty close to tossing cookies and I have not done that since I was pregnant. 
Sy also tried the 4 fun houses they had. He struggled with the bigger kids one but they were patient with him and since there weren't a lot of other kids, it was easier to deal with his pausing to figure out how the pieces worked prior to trying them.
The other really great thing for him was that he's big enough to go on most of the big kid rides, if he wants to, but he's still "small" enough to go on the little kid rides too. So he really got to try all of the rides he was interested in. Sarah wanted to go with him on some of the smaller rides, but she's too tall now. He will be next year too.
It was a great night. I was so glad that he felt well enough to go. He fell asleep on the way home but before he did, I asked, "Did you have fun?" He responded, "That was the best day ever.  Can we go back tomorrow?"