A Carnival and a Halloween Festival: Where I Conquered a Fear.

The Sunday before Halloween we went to Mass, to an All Saint's Party and then back home to change into warmer clothes and take the train into the city for the carnival.

At the carnival, we first saw the bumper cars.  Now, please, don't judge me because I feel badly enough about this as it is.  I had not been present during the other German bumper car events, but I should have watched a round closely before allowing all six of my children to go on them.  Bobby was crying to do it and Brian said Judah had done it before.

There are no rails to keep people out, so I could walk right up to the edge of the ring if need be.  I paired people up according to the younger kids' needs and instructed the big kids to pull off to the side if it was too rough for the little one they were driving so I could take them out.  First bump and Bobby was screaming.  I get him out quickly.  Then I look over at Judah and he is screaming as well, but Hannah for some reason did not drive him over to me.  After I got her attention she brought him over.  I sat with rather inconsolable babies on the edge of the ride.  Oops!  We later found the bumper cars for younger kids at the end, but by then they had all had enough bumper cars for the day.

Brian and Genevieve went on a super spinning, fast ride together while the rest of us wusses watched.  The kids played a few games and we ate dinner.  They were getting cold and we were actually trying to catch the 5:30pm train back home.  

However, we weren't thinking ahead enough and after ordering the hot chocolates realized that we'd never make that train.  You see there are no disposable cups here.  Everything is served in a mug or glass even at festivals.  The way they keep you from stealing their mugs is by collecting a "Pfand" or a deposit and giving it back when it has been returned.  You can take the mug home as a keepsake, but only for the price of the Pfand.  In our case, with so many mugs it was going to be over 15 Euros worth and so there we sat trying to drink our steaming hot cocoa and missing the train.  That meant we had some extra time to kill and the ferris wheel was now brought up.  It must have been the liquid courage or something (I had not had a cocoa, but a Gluwein instead.) because I suggested we all go on it.  I am actually quite afraid of heights and have never been on a ferris wheel ever.  I have done the skyline rides, but usually against my will and with my eyes shut tight.  My mother may or may not have some stories to tell about that that involve me claiming my parents were kidnapping me in hopes that the guy running the ride would not make me go with them.  Anyway, this was big!

It wasn't even that I was taking one for the team.  Isaac, Hannah, and Drew were all scared to do it too.  They didn't want to go.  I made them.  :)  I can't even believe it as I'm writing this.  Me, the girl who hated that my parents made me go on certain rides that were too high or too fast totally made my children go on the ferris wheel.  BUT  I let all the scaredy cats ride in my bucket, and sent Genevieve and Judah with their daddy.

The next day after school and work (for Brian) we went to a Halloween festival in a nearby village.  Hannah and Bobby stayed home because it was cold and Hannah didn't want to go.  The rest of the kids dressed up and we ate fest food of brats and crepes with hot drinks.  My hands were in gloves and so I really didn't get any pictures of this.  But it happened.