Oktoberfest

After church today, we headed to The Phoenix Club for their Oktoberfest celebration. The last time we went was two years ago, and we expected it to be "like it was the last time." One difference between this time and last time: the time of day. Today we arrived at 1 pm, and the last time we arrived around 4 or 5 pm.

It was crazy busy! Last time, we came after naps...this time we came before naps, for lunch. Everyone had brought their tablecloth and covered the outdoor tables. There were no empty tables anywhere! I asked a couple of people who looked like they were done with their food if they would be leaving soon and they looked at me like I had something growing out of my head (besides hair!) They said, no, they would be staying awhile.

There was no place to sit (and there had to be about a thousand people already sitting). Tom finally decided we would leave, and then I tried one more time...with two ladies who were selling ice cream. I asked if they knew anyplace we could sit and eat, and they said we could sit at their table (since we were just going to eat and leave). Whew! What a relief!

By this time you have noticed that there are no pictures on this post: we left the camera in the car (it was a long walk to the car).

After we ate (Tom didn't bother looking for the ox on a spit...he was looking for whatever was fastest, and bratwurst and sauerkraut were the fastest...Konrad chowed down on the split pea soup Tom found), we of course bought ice cream from the nice ladies who let us sit in their chairs and use their table. Then the kids spent some time in the bounce houses: one for little kids (Natalie) and one for big kids (Lukas rubbed shoulders with the 10-year olds).

Tom took Natalie to look at the pony rides while I supervised Lukas in the bounce house, and then I suggested Natalie ride a pony (Lukas has been vociferous in his desire to avoid riding a pony). Friday at the Pumpkin Patch, they had pony rides, but the lines were too long. This line was short enough to make the wait worthwhile. I've been interested to have Natalie ride a pony since so many RTS kids have great therapy experiences when it's combined with pony or horseback riding.

I wasn't sure how Natalie was going to do, but she did great! She didn't have a huge smile on her face, like it was better than the ice cream she just had, but she didn't twist and scream to get off, so I'd say it was a success. She just sat on the pony with a huge strap around her waist, holding on to the "reins" on each side, and nonchalantly rode around in a circle three times.