Lots of fun stuff coming up on the calendar – so many options to squeeze in before the State Fair.

We have gone to many since the last blog post, but I want to talk about the Andover Family Fun Fest (July 14, 2018). My daughter wasn’t walking by age one; jokingly we said it was because she was waiting to participate in baby crawl at this event. Well she got to participate in her first “race” and she did well, 2nd place for the 11 – 12 month old babies (it was for babies under 13 months old, not under 1 yr). They did heats for the baby crawl, with the youngest first. It was an unfair advantage – full grown adults lost their minds when this started. Everyone lines the youngest of the crawling babies up, they say ready set go and all the adults start stamping the floor, yelling, shaking treats and toys. Most babies were stunned. By the time the third heat came around the parents were a little less terrifying in their efforts to entice the babies to the other side of the gym mat….that and a few extra months helped the older babies “do better”. It was put on by KinderCare and they gave really nice prizes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner of each heat. More babies win prizes and more parents got bragging rights, but it was no small contribution on KinderCare’s side. I would guess the toys in the bag my daughter got were valued at $40…we got one of nine prizes.

After the baby crawl, we had snow cones and mini doughnuts. We were some of the first over to the bounce house area. My almost 3 year old had fun one the inflatables. His grandparents bought him an all you can do wristband, he got good use out of it since we were there early and the lines were short, but there were many inflatables reserved only for bigger kids. With little kids, if you do not intend to do a few over and over, tickets might be a better deal.

We stayed to collect candy at the parade. We found a spot near the end of the bounce house section, it wasn’t the end of the parade line, but it was near it. It was a spot not too far from the other festival activities. I was disappointed with the parade. It was very spaced out and my kids collected two Tootsie Rolls. Almost all the participants had run out of candy before the end. I am happy to see they still toss candy, but if that is what you are coming for, try a spot near the start of the parade and expect a longer walk back to the rest of the activities.