Winterfest

One of the really big homeschool groups down here does a big holiday party called Winterfest, and we were all super excited to go.  It's kind of hard to get into the holiday spirit when it's in the 70's and sunny, there are palm trees all over the place, and you're spending your days swimming or at playgrounds.  So anyway, we were glad to be able to participate in a holiday event, even if it was outside at a park, in warm enough weather that we could wear shorts and t-shirts.

Something I've noticed about the homeschool groups down here is that they seem to be very well organized.  They use things like Google Docs and other sign-up websites to keep track of attendees at events, who's bringing what to potlucks, etc.  It's nice.

So Winterfest was a pretty long drive for us, about an hour away.  I don't plan on going over to that area often for homeschool stuff, but for a big event like this, the drive was worth it.  They had an awesome turnout; there was somewhere between 50 and 75 kids, I'd guess.  They had tons of food and activities, but mostly the kids just played on the playgrounds or they played kickball in a big field.  There was a big pavilion for everyone to set up food and crafts.

I love how a lot of the playgrounds down here are shaded, sometimes with big trees, but more often with huge shade sails.  I've always complained about that up in Massachusetts, that the playgrounds are always out in the blistering sun with no shade.  Here's proof that shade sails work!  They're not absolutely essential when it's in the 70's, of course, but they provide enough shade that I don't have to worry about sunscreen.  You can see one in the background in the pic above - looks like Fiona's got a big blue triangle coming out of her head.

As usual, my kids tired of the playground after a little while and entertained themselves collecting acorns for a squirrel feast.  We met a few people that we'll hopefully get together with soon, but it was actually harder meeting people at this event than at smaller ones.  When there are less people, usually someone takes the time to introduce us around, etc.  Winterfest was just too chaotic (in a good way, of course).