Working opposite schedules and not having one full day off together is hard. Ray and I have done it for a long time now, but it's still a challenge, especially when you add juggling Sawyer to the mix.
So I decided we should do something special and just have some time to ourselves for our anniversary this year, even more so because it was our 10th.
I took the weekend of our anniversary off and made plans for Sawyer to spend the weekend with his grandparents. It was the first weekend of October, so Ray had his usual shooting match in Wilkesboro on Saturday. I rarely get to go with him because it's too hard to get back in time for work. It wasn't the most romantic thing for us to do, but I knew we'd have a good time together and enjoy the drive up the mountains.
It also happened that our anniversary weekend was the final days of the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston-Salem. I've taken Sawyer to the Greensboro fair the past two years, but it's incredibly lame (in a parking lot) and draws some shady characters. I'd heard that the Dixie Classic was much bigger and better, so I wanted to try it this year.
A few weeks ahead, I started hatching a plan to combine going to the fair AND getting Sawyer to Hickory. I thought it would be really fun if Sawyer had a buddy at the fair, and if that buddy happened to be my niece, it might save me a trip to Grandmother's house. So I invited my brother and my niece, who's just 4 months older than Sawyer, to meet us at the fair. And they were game.
We met about lunchtime on a hot Friday afternoon. Sawyer and I got there first, so Andrew called me when they got to the gate. As we walked up, the kids saw each other at the same time. We were probably 30 or 40 yards apart, and both of them started running toward each other. They met in the middle in a giant bear hug like they hadn't seen each other in years. It was totally adorable and had Andrew and me laughing.
I wondered as we walked around if anyone thought we were a couple with two kids. Sawyer and Peyton both have blond hair and light eyes. Andrew and I couldn't look more different. He told me later in the day that he heard someone pointing out the cute twins, but another person saying they thought they were different ages.
We all ate lunch and then bought tickets for rides. The kids agreed to ride monster trucks on a track first. Peyton waved every time around; Sawyer was oblivious to us as he twisted and turned the wheel.
The ride ended quickly so we decided to walk a bit. Another quarter of the way around the midway, we came to the merry-go-round. Sawyer was eager to ride, so we checked how many tickets it took. (The rides took a ridiculous amount of tickets ... so you ended up paying several bucks a person per ride.) I got on to ride with them (thankfully I didn't have to pay because Sawyer was about half an inch too short to ride alone!).
As soon as we started moving, Peyton wrapped her arms around the pole like her life was at stake. I asked if she was scared and she said, "YES! We're going too fast." Sawyer was as happy as a clam watching the mechanism that moves the horses up and down.
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Luckily for her, the rides were not just expensive; they were super short. So after having blown almost $20 worth of tickets in 10 minutes, we decided to walk around and find some free entertainment for a while.
We ventured through the craft exhibits and found the animal barns. The petting zoo sold carrots and those pellets in a candy machine. I was smart enough to remember to bring a handful of quarters this year. We stressed the importance of holding your hand FLAT when feeding the crazy goats and other livestock. And we made it through without losing any fingers.
After a very thorough hand-washing, we ventured down the food aisles to find a sweet snack. Andrew and I wanted a funnel cake. Peyton wanted ice cream. Sawyer wanted anything we'd give him. We got plain and pumpkin funnel cakes to share, and the kids ate ice cream and cake.
I asked the kids to pose together, and Sawyer turned into a grump who wouldn't look at the camera. As soon as I quit snapping, he'd look up and laugh. He thinks he's very funny sometimes. Finally, we got him to laugh.
By this time, we were all getting tired. The kids were a bit cranky. Andrew had to get home for work, and I had to get back to Greensboro for my date with Ray. So we headed back to the midway to take a spin on the Ferris wheel as our last ride.
The Ferris wheel took like 10 tickets apiece, and I was going to have to buy more. Once we did the math, it seemed dumb not to buy the package deal and save a few bucks. (If you're keeping tabs, that's $40 on tickets for 12 rides.) Then a woman walked by and gave me her remaining tickets.
We had to convince Peyton to get on the Ferris wheel. She really did not want to ride it. And after all that, we got on, made three full revolutions and it was time to get off. No joke. It didn't even get up to full speed. Is anything NOT a ripoff, these days?
With all the extra tickets, we then had enough for the kids to go on a firetruck ride and a circus train.
We gave our remaining two tickets away and walked back to the car. Sawyer rode back to Hickory with Andrew and Peyton, and I enjoyed my anniversary weekend. Win-win for us all. And it was definitely fun to have a cousin buddy at the fair.
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