Now that Finn is big enough to interact, we’re always on the
lookout for fun things to do together as a family. Matt heard about the Got to Be
NC Festival on Friday night and immediately emailed me to see if I’d be up for
going the next day. Of course! It was like a mini version of the N.C. State
fair, specifically for smaller children and it was so much fun! It was not
nearly as crowded and overwhelming as the fair, and much more child-friendly.
Kenna went almost completely silent when we first walked into the fairgrounds
and she saw all the fun rides!
(I had to laugh when we pulled up and Finn had managed to
completely conk out in the 2 minutes between when we parked the car and when we
got the stroller out. He’s just so darn cute!)
We started off gently with a little strawberry ride, which
of course, she was thrilled about because of her current love of Strawberry
Shortcake (the tv show). Waiting in line to ride in a giant spinning
strawberry:
Finn was all smiles
when we got him set up in the stroller. There was just so much fun stuff to
look at!
We lucked out that Papa and Mimi were in town meeting our
new niece, Ella. They came with us to enjoy our day at the festival!
Mimi could not resist the smell of the giant turkey legs
cooking… just one ended up being enough to feed her, Papa, Matt and Kenna! Finn
definitely got a few bites too.
Kenna’s second choice of rides was a mini version of the fairground
swings that go wider, higher and faster as the ride progresses. I was not sure
how she’d handle it (and was silently saying prayers that she didn’t somehow
slide out of the bottom and get flung out of it!) but she held on tight and
absolutely LOVED it. She ended up riding it twice more before we left! It was totally
worth it for the super big grin she had the entire time.
Matt and I were so impressed at how brave she was on the
rides, especially a really fast one she rode with Papa. She seems so little to
me still, but I have to admit sometimes that she is really growing up so fast
and I’m constantly amazed at how much she can handle. We were so proud!
Our favorite part of the day was the petting zoo where you
could pet the animals up close and feed them by hand! That two dollar cup of
animal feed might have been the best two dollars we’ve ever spent! I think I loved
feeding and petting all the baby cows, sheep, goats, alpacas, and deer as much
as Kenna did! They were all super sweet and gentle and seemed to love being fed
snacks and loved on so much.
These little baby cows were SO soft! Much softer than the sheep, which was surprising to me! Petting their little ears was like pettting a puppy.
This little goat very nearly needed to come home with us. He was SO sweet!
The highlight of the trip for Matt was where we stopped for
lunch- the Pig Jig was a section of tents/booths where local Masonic lodges had
each made their best barbecue and were competing against each other… for ten
bucks you got an all-you-can-eat plate to try them all out! We stuffed
ourselves trying to find the best NC barbecue, and had hush puppies, coleslaw,
lemonade, and even a piece of homemade pound cake to round it out.
Surprisingly for a three year old, Kenna absolutely loves
barbecue- this was her second plate! The silly face was because she had just dumped a water bottle down
her shirt. We lost count of how many hush puppies Finn ate!
After walking through more of the festival and seeing more
of the vendors and booths, we stopped by the Jim Graham building to see the
Fiber Arts part of the festival (mostly
a craft show of sorts with local yarns and wool for sale). It was mostly a pit
stop for bathrooms, air conditioning, and a chance to get out of the sun, but
Kenna did get the chance to learn how to spin wool roving into yarn with a
really cool homemade spinning wheel. She seems to have caught an interest in
handmade/crafty things from somewhere...
We had promised Kenna some ice cream, so on the way out we
found the homemade NC ice cream booth… unfortunately the NC State ice cream
wasn’t there like it normally is at the fair. Somehow Daddy got stuck holding
everybody’s cones while Kenna took one last ride on the “big swings.”
Waiting to give the man her tickets because she's apparently grown now. Where did my little girl go?
What a fun, fun day! We'll definitely be on the lookout for this festival again next year!
