Carnival Party (Hardy Style)

John's Aunt and Uncle, who happen to also be my Brother in Law's parents, (got that?  understand the connection?) organized a family carnival during their family reunion a couple of weeks back and invited us to join the fun.    (I say it was a carnival for their immediate family, but really, it was a carnival that their immediate family put on for all of the extended family.)   John's Grandma was there, Aunts and Uncles that he hadn't seen in a long while were there, and Hardys I had never even met before were there.  

 And it was AWESOME! 

The perimeter of their yard was full of fun carnival style games.   The kids were given a handful of tickets and had every opportunity to play each and every game!   Nate spent most of his time at the cake walk, often playing alone.  I'm not sure why he liked that booth so much?  Perhaps it was because Stacey, (John's cousin in law, or our Brother -in -laws Sister-in -law, depending on how you look at it) was so nice to him.   All I know, is he kept playing, and he wasn't playing for the cake!  

 (Oh boy, I ate a lot of his winning cupcakes that afternoon;)

Grandpa Hardy was operating the pinball booth at the carnival, and Sam surprised us all by getting top score!   Woohoo right?    

Like I said, all of these booths were set up and operated by Clark and Deanna's immediate family.

They also had the cutest, most delicious array of teeny tiny treats to enjoy for a ticket each!

Little miniature hot dogs, mini burgers, veggie/fruit cups, mini cookies, mini pizzas, mini EVERYTHING!   

Is it just me, or does food just taste yummier when it is mini?

This zip line that they'd set up was a huge hit!   It spanned the depth of their yard, and had my kids standing in line constantly wanting another turn.   (Some of my kids didn't necessarily wait for their turn too often.  We'll work on that:)

It was a great afternoon, and a wonderful reminder to me of how important it is to stay acquainted with our extended family.   We can get so busy that years go by without doing much to stay connected.
 I am particularly bad at staying connected (tsk tsk) so I was so grateful for this chance for my kids to get to know this awesome family more:)

It was the perfect way to spend a summer day!!