TRF (Texas Renaissance Festival for the virgins)

I've gone to TRF for as long as I can remember. It's what makes having a late October birthday SO amazingly awesome. There's nothing that I can do to celebrate my birthday that is more fun. It's a small group thing though. We've gone with friends in the past and prefer to go as a family. Brian and I have very specific things we like to do when we go. If we want to watch Tartanic perform 3 times in one day, then that is OK. If we choose to skip the shops and just hit shows and eat, that's OK.

Yesterday was our umpteenth trip. Xander was finally able to experience it. He went once before, but was just 2 months old. Now he's 3 yrs 2 mos old and he loved it! Yeah, he got tired, and yeah, he was a pain in the butt at times, but overall it was a good trip. Aelynn was amazing. I let her know in no uncertain terms that the trip would NOT be a reenactment of the San Antonio vacation (hell on earth dealing with her). She took it to heart and was great. Xander was pretty happy to hang out in his stroller most of the day (lucky dog!) while daddy and I pushed. He even took a decent nap!

The day started out as planned. We were up and out of the house by 7:40...only 10 minutes late! We hit the road and stopped for some much needed Starbucks for us girls. Then we continued on, stopping for some Sonic for the boys. We got there about 8:50, perfect timing and parked on the first row out that the general public can park on. We bought our tickets (why we didn't buy them online is a whole OTHER story) and got lined up with everyone else. The canon went off, and it was time to begin!

Straight inside the gate, Aelynn asked to get her face painted. I agreed and we did that while watching the opening proclamations. Xander was thrilled to see the king. It was Highland Fling weekend (the only weekend to go to), so there were lots of Scots around. After we finished up with the opening ceremonies, we made a beeline for the beignets.

The morning was spent watching the musical act Wine and Alchemy (awesome) and randomly walking the festival. We skipped the usual shows that we see for some classics that although haven't changed much in 10+ years, are still funny. We forget that Aelynn hasn't seen them. So, we decided to stake our spot for the parade by the mud pit, so we could take the kids to the mud show. We figured Xander would be all about the mud. The parade came through, we grabbed some front row seats for mud and had some fun. Aelynn thought it was hilarious...Brian and I laughed, but again, it's a show we've seen SO many times before.

After the mud show, it was time to find some lunch. In our quest to watch Tartanic perform, we decided to get some food by the stage they were set to play at. We couldn't see them from our seat, but we were able to eat while listening to some rockin' bagpipes. Aelynn finished quickly so she could go watch her boys perform. A new CD was released on Saturday, so we snatched it up and packed it away in the stroller.

Now it was time to head into Sherwood Forest. Xander fell asleep, so we enjoyed the leisurely walk down there. Sherwood is my favorite part of the festival. It brings back so many memories from years past. The giant swings, the dizzy dragon. I grabbed the required funnel cake and we went and staked out some seats for Cast in Bronze. I wanted to hear my Carol of the Bells. While waiting on the show to start, Aelynn and I walked over to get something to drink. Tartanic was performing at their other location, so we stopped to watch them yet again. Always fun! Cast in Bronze wasn't the smartest move because once the show started, Xander woke up pretty quickly. It's not the quietest show around.

The next stop on our trip was all the way back at the front of the festival. Tartanic was playing a 5:00 show at the Globe theater and we were dying to WATCH them in an entire show. So, we took our time getting up there. At the theater, we noticed that Ded Bob had a 4:30 show, so we realized we would have to watch him first. We grabbed some decent seats up front and sat through the standard show. Again, no changes in 10+ years.

5:00 arrived with Tartanic. This is their "clothing optional" show, so the pipers stripped down to their kilts. It was rockin' as usual. Then it was time. Here's where they make a KILLING! $20 got you onstage for a lapdance by the boys. They did that for a while then decided it was time for a Scottish car wash. $20 lets you up on stage, where you can lie on your back with a bunch of other women and the boys dance over you in their kilts, answering the question of what is REALLY under them. They got over 28 people up on that stage. It was awesome. Aelynn was dying to go, but alas, she's underage. :) I would've liked to do, but figured I'd wait until another year. After the car wash, there was some more music and then they ended the show around 6:00.

We headed out to the Arena for the fireworks...music provided by TARTANIC! We grabbed some great seats up front and watched the finale to a great day. Xander said they were too loud, but they were so pretty! Afterwards, we trekked back up to the front of the festival and outside to the parking lot. Tartanic was there performing again, so we hung around and watched them do an adhoc show to tell everyone goodbye. We hit the car a few minutes after 7 and were home by 8.

The pics are still on my camera, but I'll get some uploaded as soon as possible. Until next year...

The story behind the blog

Ok, I've started a blog so many times now, it's not funny. But this time, it's for real. I'm tired of blogging on my myspace page, so here's where it'll be, especially since I can upload pics. Most importantly, I'm going to steal an idea from a scrapbook magazine article. The idea is to print off your blog when you scrapbook the events you write about, and *poof*, instant journaling. No more trying to remember what it is that you were really feeling 6 months ago when the pictures were taken. I'll really try to keep this thing updated and will even find some readers for it. :) So, this is my first post and for the sake of keeping things organized, it'll end now because I don't want to get into the meat of things in an "intro" post. Stay tuned!