School Carnival

“Is the carnival today?” has been our main topic of conversation since Tuesday, when the field at Isaac’s school sprouted structures, tents and machines that slowly transformed into carnival rides. Tonight was the night. And despite nearly three months of soggy weather, the drenching morning rains cleared up in time for a lovely evening. The trade winds pushed softly through the palms, and the Ferris Wheel took us up, up, up over Kailua. The sea, the Mokes, the mountains, palms: our neighborhood. The carnival lay rolled out beneath us like a toy play mat.

The sky darkened, the kids shrieked with laughter, Isaac waved to friends, and money slipped through our fingers with dizzying speed ($3.5-5 per person per ride!).

My favorite was the Ferris Wheel. Isaac’s favorite was the spidery spinning thing. Eloise liked the kiddie helicopter and race car rides. Isaac smacked his head into the glass of the Magic Maze so hard that a unified chorus of “OOOH!”s rose from the gallery of waiting parents.

Before we left, we watched local high school students dance hula, and two ladies gave my kids the stuffed animal prizes they’d won in the game booths. DELIGHT. You might say we had fun tonight.

If the rain holds off, we’re back for more tomorrow night to support the school fundraiser by buying some yakisoba, kalua pork or pasteles. Maybe I should pray for rain so we don’t go broke!