The International Fair

The International Fair exceeded my expectations. It was really super. There were about 50 families there and very few countries were done more than once. The boys were given passports and they received a stamp or sticker from each country. The organizer also provided a terrific scavenger hunt with a question for each country, which was an awesome way to get everyone to actually stand and look at each display.

I was very happy with the way ours turned out. Yes, I did most of the research, but the boys did all the cutting and coloring, and most of the gluing. Our whole thing was very age appropriate; we touched the surface of the current culture of Hungary.

We had our globe with a giant arrow on it. This was great, because most other families just had a map on their display, and I thought the globe was much easier to decipher. We also had a CD player with headphones so people could listen to a pop tune which was popular in Hungary last year. We had a boot filled with treats, and Nagy Mama's Chicken Paprikash, which everyone who tried some, loved.

R had written up the info about the boot being used at Christmas instead of a stocking, and E had written up the info on the Rubik's cube. We also had a photo of Tony Curtis doing a commercial for Hungarian tourism, and a list of all the medals Hungary had won in the 2004 Summer Olympics. We had info about homeschooling in Hungary too. And of course, images of the money and info about their joining the EU. We also had a good photo of the capital Budapest, which you can see is actually split into two parts by the Danube River. Interestingly, each part has its own name: Buda and Pest. Like I said, ours was very age appropriate; just enough to keep them interested.

I had hoped that visiting all the other displays would inspire R for next time. There certainly were some beautiful displays, and some were quite involved. Some kids even dressed up in costumes. I have to admit that I just don't see us getting that involved, unless the boys suddenly start showing massive amounts of enthusiasm for it. I could see that a lot of work had gone into these things and could visualize parents sitting down and forcing their kids to do a lot of what was represented, and that's simply not our style. Also, to be quite honest, looking at these things could get to be like looking at book reports. Some of them would've gotten A's if they were in school, but they were usually the most boring to peruse.

Afterwards we went outside to watch our friends set off the volcano they had created for their Costa Rica display. And then we rushed off to Southington and arrived in time for E's basketball class.

Sunday B took the boys up to the YMCA for March Madness. The Y had an open house for members with a basketball theme. They swam and played some basketball and had some fun time with Dad, while I stayed home and took a deep breath after my busy week. And we finished off the weekend with Chinese Food.

Today found us shopping for shoes for Uncle Mike's wedding this weekend. Got a great, practically brand new, pair of penny loafers for R for three bucks, but no luck for E. We'll head down to another goodwill on Wednesday and stop off at consignment if that doesn't pan out. R also mentioned he'd like a sport coat "like Daddy" and I actually found a full suit that fits him for four dollars. Gotta love it!

I'll probably be starting to blog every other day from here forward. Although it's something I really enjoy doing I'm afraid I'm letting the important stuff go. You know, like doing my taxes. Ugh.