OpTiCaL illUSiOn?

It's that time of year... time for the carnival to come to town. They roll in sometime in the middle of the night to an empty lot and ~B*A*M~ the next thing you know, there is a lot FULL of rides, attractions, prizes to win, and lots of FOOD! It has always amazed me how they set it all up in the blink of an eye. I have always had some kind of strange attraction to carnivals and fairs. I don't know if its all the colors, lights, loud shouting as you walk past the balloons to pop, or watching all the people in general-- but whatever it is... if there is a carnival or fair.. you can bet I'll be there. So when I saw the first poster go up in town for the carnival I was counting down the days!

Now that I have children the other part of going to the carnival is watching them ride the rides and take in all the hype that goes along with the Big Attraction. They love riding the rides. Peyton especially- he is a "ride chaser" kinda like I am a "storm chaser". The bigger and faster the better. He has always loved riding them. I think the first big ride he rode was when he was 3 years old. He saw those lights on that ferris wheel and he was hooked. Now I'll admit I am a big chicken when it comes to that monster. You wouldn't catch me on that thing for all the caramel apples in town! So that time Ken had to ride with him and it was at that point that Peyton was hooked! Needless to say now that he is almost 12, this year was no different! He had to ride all the rides known to any Carney man! It is great watching him and the joy he gets from all the big wind!

But alas all good things must come to an end... the carnival was over last week and without a blink of an eye... all the rides were packed, all the prizes were tucked away, and all the food was gone. The lot was clear and there was no sign of it ever being in town- how strange~ how DO they do that!!!