LAAFFing it off

this past weekend we attend a local festival, LAAFF, held downtown on lexington ave. this is one of the many free festivals we have here in our town. this one is a fave of the locals as it brings all the colorful characters of our community to the street. in the nineties, rolling stone magazine dubbed asheville as america's new freak capital. LAAFF gives everyone an excuse to get their freak on and, as you might imagine, makes for some incredible people watching.

all geared up and ready to go!
**stroller pictured is a joovy caboose. there is a jump seat and a standing platform in the back allowing options for the older child. we LOVE it!!**

throughout the festival, there are musicians and artists of all sorts. i believe taking children to see live music is an incredible opportunity that all children should be given, if possible. this was an interesting four piece that sienna planted herself right in front of. she loves to experience all kinds of music.
what's a festival without face painting? just isn't one at all if you ask these two.we even had a special frozen treat! it was such a hot day on the city streets.
usually daddy breaks out some fun duds from his immense wardrobe collection, but he played it pretty tame this year. could be because he came straight from soccer (four games that weekend!), so i'll cut him some slack. ;)this silver gal stands frozen as a statue until a dollar is dropped into her bucket. then she comes to life and rattles of a little number on her drum, bowing to the donor before becoming motionless once again. my kids could watch her for an hour.
there were several artistic opportunities for the wee ones, but the art car was the highlight for these two.
such a nifty piece of collaborative art!this festival is significant for us as it marks four years we have been in asheville. four years ago we moved here the week before LAAFF. having gone to middle and high school here and those having been some rebellious and formative years for me, i was pretty darn resistant to moving back here. it seemed like the universe just pulled us here anyways though.

when we first arrived, my dear friend renee and her family were living here. we were pretty miserable the first few months and wanted to bail. when renee and jason decided to head back to colorado (where we originally all knew each other from), they so sweetly and generously offered to pack us up and take us with them. it was very tempting!!

though i wasn't sold on being here, i knew we must be here for a reason and knew whatever that reason was that we had probably not realized it yet. we asked for a sign. please be careful if you ask for signs!! you never know how you may get them.

we knew we needed money in order to move. we put matt's car in the newspaper to sell and decided to let that be our gauge. if the car sold, we could move. if not, we stayed. the day the ad went in the paper, matt and sienna were in an accident in matt's car. they were fine but the side of his car was smashed. we canceled the ad and settled in to being here.....for now.

and here we are four years later. i know why i had to come here now. not only for the work i have been called to do with early childhood, but also to bring the many facets of myself and my past together. i have had many separate lives and distinct phases of my life, some of which i previously chose to shut away and hide from. living here has forced me to look at my past and my mistakes and come to terms with all that has brought me to where i am today. this is a whole other blog post though!!

we are still here. it is a wonderful place to be a young family. there are so many opportunities for our children and ourselves. the landscape is gorgeous and there is much to explore. there are also many challenges. we miss the west (and renee and fam!!) so very much. i am so far from my dear friend candice (at least her and renee are near each other again). the humidity and moisture are difficult for me to handle. my allergies are drastically more intense here. i know that matt still struggles with being here. he has yet to find his niche in this town. i am still hopeful for him! i am also still hopeful that someday we complete our work here and find our way back to the west.

scenes from LAAFF 2006.