What do Maypoles, elf ears, Princesses, pets in costume, jousting competitions, falcons & Girl Scout badges have in common? They were all part of our second day in Atlanta.
My lovely Mother & Step Dad helped me plan a surprise for the Lady Brandt's on day 2. They were heading up to South Carolina and brought the one and only Ava Relli with them so she could join us for our Saturday adventure. Ava loved making a big show of jumping out to surprise the girls & they were equally glad to see her. Once we retrieved our special guests, we headed to the Georgia Renaissance Festival for the day. I'll be honest, I had SUPER low expectations for this shindig, but it turned out to be a really fun day!
The Ga Ren Fest is semi permanent running from April thru early June. The buildings and shops are all designed to look very "Renaissancey" and from the moment you walk in the doors, the workers are in full time period character. I would describe the "character" commitment level to that of Disney workers. It was that serious. We rented the girls each a Princess costume of their choosing, and they were curtseyed to and address as "ladies" for the rest of the day which thrilled them to no end. I wasn't down for wearing a costume worn by an unknown number of adults, but I did agree to some Elf ears. The girls were NOT impressed at all & suggested me removing them immediately. With this knowledge, I of course wore them for the remainder of the day.
Note the elf ears
Lady Heaven
Annabelle waived to her townspeople the WHOLE ride
All of the exhibits and rides are things that *could* have existed in the Renaissance period. All of the rides were man or animal powered, which I thought was pretty neat. I think the girls favorite however was they maypole led by the "fairies" .
The girls and the "Fairy Queen"
We also attended several shows including a "fire whip" show (in which Annabelle was chosen as a volunteer), a magic show (which all 3 of the girls were chosen as volunteers), a pet costume contest, and a Birds of Prey show that the girls earned a Girl Scout badge for attending.
This dog looked miserable. The whole time.
1st prize winner
Captured by the magician
Showing off their badges
Annabelle and the Fire Whip Guy. The Fire Whip Guy weirded me out most of all I think....I mean, you have to practice for YEARS to get that good with a whip. Who decides to devote years to whip training?? This guy apparently.
The girls also went thru official Princess training. The "Queen" gave different lessons in various Princess type thing like curtsying and evaluated each girl before graduating them as official Princesses. They received graduation certificates and everything.
We ended up staying at the Festival until closing time & finished the day with a little souvenir shopping & jousting. Yes, jousting.
The girls and their magic animals (their magnetic and move via a clear tube that when cleverly hidden makes it appear they're moving on their own.)
My mama's so purdy
Marko was attacked by a stranger. No really.
Heaven's souvenir of choice was this umbrella....
They all needed Princess hats, Obvs
Papa & his girls
Yup, still wear'n Elf ears. I have no idea what Ava's doing in this one.
I was thinking that after the long day we'd had, I was thinking the girls would pass out in no time. This was not the case.
Pretend It's January 5th, 2013 It's Birthday Season here at the Brandito Lair! Mr. Brandt heads back tomorrow and it's time for the annual triple treat birthday party for Mr. B, Uncle Danny and Annabelle. Katy made 2 delicious cakes for the event. The boys got their own green cake and Annabelle got her own special Mario Cake. We had some delicious food and the Birthday people got lots of special prizes! The UnBirthday Party was definitely a success!
One of these outfits was self chosen....the other was chosen by Mama...can you guess which is which? Happy 4th of July everyone!! It was a rainy 4th for us Floridians. But with the rain comes cooler temperatures, and I'll take a little wet over sweat any day. We started the 4th off by sleeping in (which of course still means we were up by 9...) and then cooked out with the Brandt/Simmons clan for lunch. We'd planned to go to the Riverwalk area too take part in the crafts and whatnot but once the girls heard Ava was already at Nana's house...they could not be persuaded to do anything that did not include being with her. Cousins It was overcast and cloudy all day, but we did manage to escape most of the rain. Until the fireworks that is. I'm talking lite...
It's wacky hat day at PRE today. Only Annabelle felt inclined to participate as it costs 2 feathers. Heaven said it was a "total waste of feathers" and Gavin said nothing as his only hat is a Seminole hat and he's gone rogue lately claiming suppot for Gators. My dear Annabelle made up for both of their lack of sense & style. She is both Fancy in my large sunhat and Fabulous in her FSU Friday decor. Doesn't get much better. Happy Friday!
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