School Festival

Tonight was the kids' school Fall Festival.
Here's the good and the bad:

The good:

My kids were SO excited about it and have been since we pre-bought tickets weeks ago.

They had a fun time eating dinner there; choosing between a sundae bar and cotton candy for dessert; and winning prizes at the games sponsored by each class.

I didn't have to cook or do dishes.

This is the closest we get to a "community event". We live in a big city, but it feels at least slightly more "small town" when there's an event at the school. It's still a far cry from the idyllic Springtime town picnic in the square, but you take what you can get.

I was reminded that though we've only been back for a little over a year, we've met a lot of people. It's fun to recognize familiar faces and get to know more people a little bit.

The bad:

O. Ver. Crowd. Ing. This is my second school festival in Las Vegas. And it was the second time I tried to imagine how much nicer it would be with fewer people.

Seriously. Here are some numbers from the evening to depict how mobbed it was:
- thought I lost one of the children at least three times
- got my foot run over by a stroller once, feet stepped on twice
- lost our neighbors and their families in the crowds at least five times
- had frequent visions of things like stampedes; gridlock; cattle-herding

But now it's over for another year. The money is spent and so are the kids. And three of the six of us have temporary face tattoos.