Return to the Ren Fest

Being sick sucks (I mean, stinks). I'm supposed to be enjoying my Fall Break this weekend. I was going to go to Louisville to spend the day today, and finish it with a temple session. Instead, I'm at home, trying to get my fever down, trying to rest my achy body, trying to get to feeling better. Alas.

On the positive side, I have time to finally update my blog.

Last weekend, I took a short trip back to the "Motherland" of Missouri to attend the Kansas City Renaissance Festival. What a fantastic trip! I have been looking forward to this for the last two years (the last time I was able to go to the RenFest was in 2006, not long after moving to Indy). I was a little worried when I saw the weather forecast (partly cloudy was predicted), but all worries were for naught- we had a near-perfect weekend for the festival, and as far as I know, all who attended (fluffy little Maximus Charles included) had a perfectly delightful time! (Max was definitely the darling of the group, garnering so much attention, we should have charged a quarter for every person wanting to get up close and personal- his vanity was certainly pampered that day! :)

For those of you who may not be familiar with this tradition, there is a lot in Bonner Springs, KS set up to resemble a Medieval town (complete with jousting arena). There are stands full of vendors of every type- from food to clothes to toys to art to weapons to jewelry to just about anything in between. There are fantastic entertainers (Dr. H. Dumpe is one of our favorites, as is Bob, The Incredible Juggler- I also enjoy the Human Combat Chess Match, where real people stand in for the traditional chess pieces), informative shows about things like falconry, jousts, medieval musical performances- something for everyone and every age. The Festival runs every weekend from Labor Day until the weekend after Columbus Day, rain or shine. Luckily for us, we had no rain- just clear skies and enough of a chill to keep us from sweating. You couldn't ask for more perfect weather for something like this! Well, here- take a look for yourself:

Here is Beckie with Max in his favorite position: Off the ground (he probably spent a total of 10 minutes on the ground the entire time we were there...)

Awaiting the show of Dr. H. Dumpe, fire eater.



Dr. Dumpe's assistant, Matt, walking on broken glass.

Dr. Dumpe burying his face IN the broken glass as Matt walks across his head and body.


Amazing feats of fire!

The Joust (complete with armor and lances! :)

The Victor!

Max and I at the jousting arena.



Steven the Sorcerer.



Sarah meeting up with close pal, Stephen Colbert (who knew?! Heehee).


Some of the historical crafts demonstrated throughout the Festival.

Great food, great entertainment, great shops (I'm very pleased with my purchases: a ceramic decorative mask in the style of a greenleaf face and a wooden mug)- fun times were definitely had by all...

...and to finish off an already wonderful weekend, for Sunday dinner, Beckie cooked us a fantastic Greek feast (trying to make it as authentic as she could). I truly wish everyone could have been there- I missed not getting to see Kirsti (keep studying hard!), Emily/Joe/Noah (I hope the moving is going well- I wish I could be more helpful from here...), and even Juli (though we can hook up fairly easily, and I did just see her last weekend when Sarah was here). It was a terrific trip, well worth the wait and the time/effort it took to get there. We'll have to do this again next year! Thanks to everyone for making it something to remember!



The family, relaxing after a delicious dinner, courtesy of Beckie and others who helped her out.

Here's hoping I get better soon and that the rest of you stay healthy!
Love you!