The very best part of the year in Connecticut has just started. The weather is gorgeous. There are so many fun things to do we can’t possibly do them all. We’re just two weekends away from The Best Weekend Of The Year. We can be out of the house 12 hours a day easily, so when we get home all the children are exhausted and go right to bed.

On the one hand, this is perfect. The United States Navy called in their claim on my husband, and we won’t be seeing him for a while. Operation Keep Them Busy is my only hope to avoid sad, crying children every day. It’s lucky that this drastic family change happened during a time of year full of activity and changes. It’s easier to adjust when you’re already adjusting to new classes, new teachers, new schools, new routines and plenty of fun.

On the other hand, participating in all that fun without a second set of adult hands is taxing mentally and physically. There’s no one to go with the kids on rides the babies can’t ride. There’s no one to watch the stroller while I run to the bathroom. There’s no one to help carry plates at a food festival. There’s no one to wear an exhausted toddler when I’m wearing a nursing baby. There’s no one else to drive when I’m super tired. There’s just no one else. We’re going to miss some of the annual events we “always” go to because my sanity is more important than doing everything.

To kick off the best part of the year, we went to the Brooklyn Fair and it was wildly successful. I basically said yes to everything, including throwing a ton of money at stupid carnival games because my kids love those cheap, gross, horrible, trash stuffed animals so much. We were there for almost 5 hours and I think I only threatened to abandon them once. Maybe twice for Lincoln. But they had a super good time and said I was the best mommy and I got to eat the cotton candy they forgot we bought so it was a good day.

I love baby goat season.

I think the only thing I love more than baby goat season is Linc feeding baby goats.

The place is Beltane Farm in Lebanon, they let you visit, tour, and taste cheese from 11-3 every Sunday in April and May.

The Greek church in town went and moved their food festival to NEXT weekend, so my Best Weekend Of The Year is now divided into two weekends. But the good news it there is even more stuff next weekend (a vintage market, the Garlic Festival and THE BIG E) so I get two Best Weekends instead of one. I LOVE FALL IN NEW ENGLAND.

We started Saturday at the Ledyard Fair. They do free rides from 9-10 and since the kids love rides and I hate paying $75 to go on them, we skipped our first day of soccer in favor of the fair.

For dinner we walked downtown for Taste of Italy. I love that we can walk. I love the free bounce house. And I looooved my lobster mac and cheese.

While we were waiting for Evan to be done bouncing, we heard Sweet Caroline come on the sound system. This was her reaction:

Then on Sunday we headed out for lunch at Mystic Eats. It used to be called Taste of Mystic but now it’s…not? It was very dramatic and lots of small-town paper editorials were written. But it’s exactly the same as all the other years. Tons of delicious choices, with Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream for dessert.

Shrimp and corn fritters

All my photos are of the back of Linc’s head. Too bad he’s such a shy kid.

It’s a parrot. Obviously.

Now I will spend the rest of this week doing all the walking and eating all the vegetables so that next weekend I can eat even more stuff. Did I mention I love the fall? in New England??

The Brooklyn Fair is the oldest agricultural fair in the country. But don’t worry, besides the adorable little fair museum building everything else was the true country fair experience. I don’t really mean that as a compliment, but it still makes me happy. People watching and deep fried stuff are two of my guiltiest guilty pleasures.

Linc was a champ, hanging out on my back almost the whole time. The kids liked the animals and teh food but they mostly wanted to go on rides. Since I am the meanest mother in the world I only bought a book of tickets, not wristbands, so they each got to go on a few things. As far as carnival rides go, everything seemed really sturdy – sturdy enough that I actually went on one of the high swinging things with Evan. No one died!

The Brooklyn Fair was the warm up for September, which will be absolutely full of fairs, food and long fun days with a baby on my back.

The boys at pizza and nachos…

The girls (and the baby) had clam strips.

We don’t know that girl. Evan just asked her to pour corn on his head. Of course she said yes.

Caroline was really good at milking the fake cow.

Those are apparently the biggest whoopie pies in the state. Country? World? I just remember they were very proud of them.

She would have watched the horses all night.

I love love love this picture. I’m going to enter it in next year’s fair’s photography category.

The big kids wanted to go on the “roller coaster”. Caroline was technically too short to go without a responsible person, but Evan was good enough for the guy working the gate.

She did NOT love the roller coaster. Poor child.