Fairy Land

Spring break is just about over now, and we've been keeping very busy. Monday we went strawberry picking, Tuesday the car was in the shop so we biked everywhere we wanted to go, which was an adventure in and of itself. On Wednesday the kids and I headed up to Oakland for a visit to Fairyland. The kids had been so curious about it since we moved to the area so it was fun to see what that was all about.

This picture was taken at the entrance, right before we went inside.

As soon as we got in El right away jumped on this giraffe's back. The rest of the kids ran for the slide and into a giant whale's mouth. This was El's choice. Watch out for her this trip - I'm not sure she has a normal picture the whole time.

The next stop was Gepetto's workshop. Inside that window you could see a little Gepetto robot working on his Pinocchio puppet -- a task on which he kept working and working... and working and working.

Jake loved this little house. He wanted to stay.

See? Here he is long after the others have moved on. He doesn't even mind his creepy tower neighbor, who also happens to be Pinocchio.

Next we moved on to a (lame) mini ferris wheel that was supposed to have something to do with Anansi's web. The kids LOVED it. Good thing they've never been to a real amusement park - they would have been so disappointed with this place! As it was, they were absolutely thrilled with everything they discovered here.

Caleb in his little cage. The ferris wheel was so small they could only put one kid in each car.

Emi all excited and ready to go. The kids loved being in adjacent cages and spent the ride calling to each other.

Jake spent the ride here, watching the other kids. He could have gotten in with Caleb (they let smaller kids ride together) but he chickened out at the last minute. It was okay though. He was a nice cheerful companion to have while I waited.

He took a minute to get acquainted with this little statue. I didn't read up on what it was or why it was there. Something from an Anansi story, I assume.

Next we went over to the Beatrix Potter section of the park. I've always loved Beatrix Potter. The stories make me thing of my sister Steph because she had a collection of some of her books when we were younger. Now our family has a great compilation of all of her stories that we love to read from or occasionally just leaf through, looking at the pictures.

Emi has recently discovered the stories for herself and was enthralled to find Mrs. Tiggywinkle here, complete with a line of laundry drying in the sun.

Jemima Puddleduck. I love her because I have a little ceramic duck that I've called Jemima since I got her, maybe 8 years ago. Joseph always wondered why I settled on that name so quickly and decisively.

 There was also a little messed-up dollhouse display for Two Bad Mice, and this sweet little Owl house:

Squirrel Nutkin is one of Caleb's favorites (along with the Fierce Bad Rabbit).

Next we headed on over to the super lame-o merry-go-round. The kids, of course, loved it.

I love to scroll through those three pictures and watch Elinor. Never a dull moment! Jake did surprisingly well on this ride, although I didn't realize until later that he was too small to get on.

Here he is, devastated, sitting on a bench the second time we came to ride the merry-go-round. The attendant had changed and this time he was not allowed to get on so the other kids went without him. I believe this picture was taken just before he yelled at me, "No picture!" He was very upset.

Next we went to see a puppet show. This was a convenient time to stop and have a snack, so that worked out well.

The kids chose to watch from this swing, which was fine with me. Again, what's up with Elinor?

Jake eventually wandered off to this playground which was right next to the puppet show.

This pirate ship was another of his favorite features of Fairy Land.

Caleb usually hates heights and climbing, but was pretty enthusiastic about scaling the rigging to hang out in the crow's nest here.

There are tons of these bottle brush bushes here in California. They remind me of Australia and Bush Babies and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

This Alice in Wonderland card maze was pretty great.

Caleb came out first. Then Jake.

Then Emi joined them. But where's Elinor?

Oh, yes. Of course. She's going to do things her own way. :)

We rode a train that was slow and noisy and very inconvenient -- a maximum of four people per car and one has to be an adult! We went in shifts with me and Jake going twice. It was very annoying but again, the kids were just thrilled. They thought it was the greatest thing ever.

And there were a bunch of other things we did, but I think I've posted enough pictures for today. Oh, except for this last gem. What are we going to do about that Elinor?? (Seriously - enlarge this picture and check out her face.)

Overall, it was a good experience. The kids loved it and Emi has been begging to have her birthday party there for the last couple of days. Hopefully she forgets about that soon! If it didn't come through clearly before, I thought it was super lame, but it was really fun to see the kids so excited and it wasn't too expensive. So, there you have it. Our day at Fairy Land. Fun for all (if you're a kid under the age of 6 who has never seen a real amusement park)!