My husband and I decided to make family resolutions for 2014.  One of the things we decided to do was to try to get out more together.  We are SUCH homebodies.  Mainly it’s because there aren’t many family-friendly activities to do in the town I live and the things we have cost so many dollars.  I was tasked with finding something entertaining for the whole family: something that didn’t cost much, would be fun for everyone, and was within 20 minutes of home so we wouldn’t have to spend much time in the car since the kids hate it.  Awesome.  UGH.  Luckily for me, our city has a monthly arts showcase 15 minutes from my house.  HECK YES!  It’s called “First Friday” (I apologize in advance for the photos…all I brought was the cell phone GRRRR)

All 4 of us love music and art.  The kids are big on coloring and painting and the hubbs likes to draw, paint miniatures & play music.  I sew and sing, so this seemed like the perfect thing for us.  I am happy to report that it was GREAT!  We had so much fun.  There were vendors selling all kinds of things.  Aurelia got a new necklace and I was so indecisive that I walked away with nothing.  Haha!  I will say that I totally walked by the booths with hand sewn items because I wanted to compare my own skills.  Don’t judge…you would do it, too.

The booth that really caught mine and my daughter’s eyes was this cool recycled materials lighting booth.  We were mesmerized.

There were live performers doing everything from hula hooping, to playing violins and we even saw a guy playing the pan pipes.  He was phenomenal.

There were food vendors and a stage with live music, but the kids were so worn out after an hour that we just headed home.  It took us an hour to get there even though it was 15 minutes from our house…one way streets in an area you’re not familiar with cause lots of arguments disguised in pleasant voices for the children’s sake.  We did make time for this cool little area where they had used big plastic toy cars and paints & brushes for the kids to get creative with.

*Random side note: I totally saw the Sister Wives guy with 2 of his ladies.  Not that exciting.  I would have rather seen The Little Couple.

We had a great night and I think the experience rubbed off on the kids: the boy picked up and started to browse through a Hancock magazine before we could even strap him in and the girl “painted” the next morning.  It made my heart happy.  I hope we’re always a family that appreciates the arts.

P.S.  I don’t know if you noticed, but both of my kids were wearing My Little Plumcake creations that night.  Obren was in his Canaan Blazer and Aurelia was in her Sophie.  =)

-Crystal-