LaFesta!

Today was our annual fall festival at our parish called LaFesta. Yes, its Italian. No,, we are not Italian. My children are totally what you would call "Heines 57": a little bit of this, a little bit of that. But, I'm pretty sure that no where in that mix is anything from Italy.
It was an amazingly beautiful day for October in St. Louis. Almost too hot, actually. We started with the large plate of fried foods, toasted ravioli (a St. Louis original), mushrooms, and arancini (rice ball filled with meat sauce & peas). After that, we started on the game booths. Its amazing how fast a family of five can spend money at game booths. From the duck pond to the poker game, you can bet we were having a great time.
My 3 year old crashed out midway, in the middle of all of the hub-bub, and I sat out the festivities for a little while so he could snooze. Its amazing how a sleeping kid can make people stop and smile, but that same child going crazy & hollerin' can make them cringe. I left a little while later with that same 3 year old, now yelling that he wanted to stay at "festa" and my oldest, who has a fever now and a sore throat. Hubby & boy #2 stayed behind for a few more hours of LaFesta fun.
I have to say how much I enjoy our little neighborhood. When we first started here, I thought that it was going to be hard to fit in and make friends. Now, we have so many friends here that I think nothing of letting the reins a little looser and allowing my boys to run around the games with their friends, just like we did when we were kids. Hubby & I both walk around, talking to people, playing games, and just enjoying ourselves at these events. It feels very "old school", just like when I was a kid growing up in good ol' Dogtown. I remember my mom & dad having lots of friends like we have now. I know that if my boys needed something or got hurt, there's 20 people nearby them that would gladly help. Its a nice feeling. Its like home.