Author: Becky

My kids decided they wanted to do a lemonade stand, but we live on a very, very quiet street. I knew it was going to be a challenge. So I talked about inventory and marketing and explained they didn’t have a large customer base.

“You think we’re going to fail, don’t you?” asked my 10 year old daughter.

I said, “No, I just think you better get to work.”

And they did. They came up with a name-and a jingle- for their business, made their little brother the mascot, put up signs throughout the neighborhood, made their kool-aid and set up shop.

When no one came, they put up more signs.

“We’re very unlucky,” my daughter said. “Not a single car is driving on our street.”

I added to the business talk a lesson about “supply versus demand.”

In the end, four very kind neighbors stopped by for a refreshing glass of Rock-A-Dile Red Kool-Aid. I wanted to see what they had learned from this experience, so I asked them what they could do to improve it for next time.

“Move to where there’s more people,” my daughter said.

Wanting to attend a Renaissance festival probably takes a certain type of person. And while I don’t actually have a “bucket list,” I’ll admit that if I had one, a Renaissance festival would be on it.

After a busy holiday weekend with lots of photo booth rentals, a wedding that we photographed, and a track meet for three of the kids, I was happy to have Monday free.

I knew there was a Renaissance festival going on near us over the weekend and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to finally go to one.

The conversation between Chris and I went something like this:
Me to Chris: “Do you have any interest in going to a Renaissance festival?”
Chris: “No.”
Me: “I want to go. I know the kids would love it.”
Chris: “You asked if I had any interest.”
Me: “Let’s try this again. I think we should go to the Renaissance festival.”
Chris: [he may have rolled his eyes here, I don’t remember] “Fine.”

We walked into the temporary village of tents and were instantly greeted with a ragtag group of fighters who battled it out in a field in the hot sun, all for the cheers of the spectators. Since it was hot and sticky for us watching from the shade, I’m sure they were uncomfortable in their full Renaissance costumes.

We continued on and people “in character” would happily chat with us, like the villainous man who offered to removed teeth from my six-year-old’s mouth to help the tooth fairy. We watched as a man drank alcohol and breathed out fire, pirates that tried to outwit each other and duals by horseback and on foot. There were people weaving on looms, cooking in kettles and carving wood. The whole area had a jovial, friendly vibe and they seemed genuinely excited to share what they were doing.

There were many ways that they engaged the whole family. Kids were invited to participate in the shows, like when my eight-year-old was invited to throw a log pole. All the kids had a chance to practice archery, but I stopped short at allowing my son to throw axes at a tree stump. That seemed a little too much for me- I could just see him dropping the sharp blade on his foot. *Shudder*

Walking around with a huge turkey drumstick seemed like a necessity, judging by how many people we saw doing it, so of course, we joined in. And, for better or worse, I agreed to buying the boys wooden weapons. I really thought the swords were cooler, but they both opted for axes. (Surprisingly, they haven’t hit each other–yet.)

The kids are ready to go back to the festival next year. It was “steam punk” enough that my 16-year-old loved the shops and wants to buy the clothes, and the boys loved all the fighting and “horseplay.” My eight-year-old wants to make going a new tradition.

As we drove away, I asked Chris what he thought. “It was exactly like I thought it was going to be,” he said, maybe with a little condescension. [He didn’t roll his eyes here, but it sounded like it. I’m choosing to ignore it.]

I smiled. “I know, me too. It was exactly like I thought it was going to be. We should come back next year.”

We recently returned from an amazing trip to Italy. With just under two weeks, we took in as much as we could. It was a whirlwind of cities, history, architecture, food, wine and many more stairs than I would have thought possible. (Up, we always seemed to go up.) We loved it and already talk about what we’ll do “next time we go.”

Being photographers, of course we took a lot of photographs while we were there. And we really want to show them off to our family and friends. When you just have digital photographs, it’s hard to share them. No one wants to be stuck watching a slideshow. I can’t have everyone come to my house and sit around my computer. And the little images on an iPhone won’t do justice to Italy, especially with these stately and intricate buildings we captured.

An album was the perfect solution. I picked the best images, the ones we wanted to tell the story of our trip, and designed them into a layout to highlight details and favorite moments.

I love this album: 80 beautiful pages, 40 charming spreads, wrapped in Italian leather and embossed on the cover. I have this magnificently gorgeous book that I can flip through again and again to remember my time in Italy.

So, go ahead and tell me you want to see photos from the trip—I’m ready. 😉