This past weekend there was a Chilbi down in Affoltern. A Chilbi, for the uninitiated, is the Swiss-german term for carnival. Almost all towns have them on a yearly basis, even tiny villages like ours have them about every other year. Everyone goes to them, practically the entire town shuts down for the three days they are in town. In our neck of the woods, the kids even get a day off of school to go to the Chilbi, just in case Friday night, Saturday and Sunday weren't enough time to see and do everything they wanted.
Monday after lunch we decided to head down the hill and join in the fun. Nicholas couldn't come because of his hurt knee, but he had a friend come over and they played Spore all afternoon, so they didn't really miss us. We were able to find a parking spot not too far away, and walked up the road at a leisurely pace admiring all the little stands that were set up for different vendors. The kids thought this was the highlight of the whole thing. They got to walk in the middle of the road, and not worry about cars or anything! We bought a big thing of cotton candy almost right away, and then I spied a jewelry stand where I picked up a cute, handmade necklace. There were also stands selling toys, but they were mostly junk, so I steered the kids right past those. Many stands were selling food, but since we had just eaten, they weren't really a temptation.
When we finally got to the main square where all the rides were, it was a bit disappointing. Most everything was designed with bigger, older kids in mind. There were bumper cars, one of those centrifugal force spinny things, a fun house, and some sad looking ponies that went around in a very small circle. The only ride that looked semi-fun and safe was the merry-go-round made out of cars. Perhaps it would have been more impressive if we hadn't just been to Disneyland, I don't know. At any rate, I told the girls that next year they would be big enough to go on the bumper cars and the fun house as well. That seemed to mollify them.
We had planned to be gone all afternoon, but ended up coming home after only an hour. Still, the weather was perfect, and we did enjoy our little stroll right down the middle of the street. Sarah even commented on our way back, "Hey, look! There's the crosswalk, but we're going over it like a car." Who knew something so simple could be so thrilling? I love looking at life through my children's eyes.