Every year on Memorial Day weekend, the community of Vienna celebrates with Viva Vienna!, a 3-day festival of amusement rides, entertainment, food, crafts, and vendors. 100% of proceeds go to charitable, community and humanitarian organizations. Growing up in this community, I have so many fun memories of attending as a child with my family, and then with my friends as a high school teenager! It’s yet another fond memory that I’m really happy I can share with Mio and Dan now that we’re back in my old ‘hood! Mio and I went two days in a row, and she had so much fun!
On Saturday, Dan was teaching a video workshop all day to the local community youth (such a great gesture on his part — so proud of him!), and our friends SunJae, Mie, and their son Kosei were visiting from Maryland so that SunJae (who is also a video editor) could assist Dan with the workshop. So Mie and I decided to take the kids to Viva Vienna! for a few hours of festival fun!
Kosei and Mio riding the merry-go-round together! Mie is pregnant with baby #2 (a girl!), due in September.
Mio going on the merry-go-round a second time. So many ponies, but this time Mio picked the freaky monkey to ride on.
They had free face-painting at the festival.
The kids are happy with their painted faces! Kosei got a spider (“Spiderman!”) and Mio got to be a kitty cat.
Mio and I really enjoyed going to the festival with Mie and Kosei on Saturday, but because Mio had so much fun there and we still wanted to go with Dan as a family (especially since it’s so close!), the three of us went again the following day on Sunday. 🙂 It was actually much more crowded on the second day, probably because the vendors (who weren’t there on Saturday) had set up all their tents down Church Street on Sunday and Monday.
Mio grabbing a hold of Dan’s chicken on a stick!
Mio nomming on the chicken skewer. You have some chicken in your teeth!
She was SO HAPPY. She enjoyed the chicken skewer so much that even when Dan and I requested to take bites in between, she wouldn’t let go of the stick and would just guide it into our mouths, before putting it back into hers. I think she ended up eating most of it!
Mio was fascinated by this “pet cool-down zone” pool they had set up. She loved watching the dogs go in and out of the water, and wouldn’t budge from the spot for about 15 minutes!
We ran into the Lee family by the carousel! Here’s Mio riding with Danny and his mommy Stephanie!
I’ve always wanted to go on the ferris wheel with Mio, but she was never allowed to go on them in California, even with her parents. We were really excited to ride it together!
The view of Viva Vienna! from the ferris wheel.
Mio bravely looking over the edge.
She really enjoyed the ride! The rides she could go on were limited due to her height, but maybe next year she’ll get to go on more!
We met up with newlywed friends Mimi and Sujay, and Xiaolu and her new adorable dog!
Mio was of course very interested in the dog. She kept pointing at its curly tail and eventually was brave enough to pet it.
It got really hot as the day progressed! Cooling down with a frozen drink on the sidewalk.
Waiting for pizza afterwards at Luciano’s! Love this smile.
“Enough pictures! Bring out the food!”
Mio staring at the huge pizza in front of her.
We had a truly memorable couple days at Viva Vienna! Festivals, carnivals, and county fairs are probably one of my favorite things about summer, and I love that now I can experience it with our little family. We’re looking forward to making more fun summer memories in the coming months and years ahead!
One of my favorite childhood memories was going to the local Friendly’s for an ice cream treat! We got to share the tradition with Mio the other day… Judging from her reactions, I think it’ll be a favorite of hers, too!
Waiting for our food. Mio was already content with her big girl cup and coloring pages.
Taking bites of some of the cheese fries…
And now for the best part: dessert!
Look at that smile!
Mio’s favorite part was the cone! She was playing with it as if it were a trumpet.
Dan watching Mio, amused.
Pure bliss! Sheer joy! Unadulterated elation! No doubt we will be back again. 🙂
Dan and I brought home a little treat for ourselves, too! The Friendly’s Watermelon Roll is a childhood favorite of mine, and it features lemon sherbet on the outside, watermelon sherbet on the inside with chocolate bits.
Mio loves to read and play with Daddy every evening after dinner, before bedtime. Here are some cute pictures and video of her playing trains with Dan.
Perhaps her favorite part of the day.
All smiles while playing with Daddy.
Sweetheart.
Mio is lucky to have such a warm and playful father who spends so much time with her! 🙂
While we limit Mio’s screen time as well as how much time she spends on our tablets, we do let her have fun playing with some of the interactive games and educational apps. Her favorite apps on the iPad recently have been the ones from Bamba — namely the ice cream parlor and the burger shop (the ones that are free). They are really engaging and fun apps for kids and adults alike: with the ice cream parlor, you can customize what ice cream flavors and toppings you want to sell in your shop, and create an ice cream cone or sundae out of them; with the burger shop, you can customize what type of bread you use and what to put inside the burger, drink, and even the type of french fries. Mio’s quickly gotten the hang of how the apps work that while we were watching her play on them the other day, Dan commented that it was scary how good she’s gotten at playing with the apps. I know I’ve said this before, but kids of this generation will grow up so much tech-savvier!
Here are some videos of her playing with the apps…
Bamba Ice Cream:
Bamba Burger:
I’m uncertain of whether to be impressed that Mio already can thoroughly play with the apps and know exactly what to do, or to be concerned. Again, I really believe that kids’ exposure to devices like iPads and smartphones should be limited and that they’re kind of in the same category as TV/movies — they shouldn’t get too much time with them, and such media and technology certainly shouldn’t become a child’s babysitter. I do think, however, that it’s okay to get some limited and supervised time for children to play with such technology. As long as it’s regulated, I don’t think it is that harmful, especially if they are playing with apps/games that are education and/or offer interaction and teach certain things.
I’m also reassured by the fact that despite Mio being drawn to our mobile devices, she still prefers to play with books, her play kitchen, blocks, and dollhouse more than anything. Nothing can ever replace the value of actual tactile toys and books — they are the best at stimulating children and opening up their imaginative world. My hope is that she’ll continue to make that sort of playtime a priority over whatever new-fangled gadgets that technology coughs up. It’s also a valuable lesson for us grownups (Dan and I admittedly spend a little too much time on our own devices and the computer) to take a break, be present, and enjoy the actual world around us, as opposed to the virtual one at our fingertips.
Here’s an additional video of Mio learning her ABCs with Leapfrog’s Fridge Phonics — she loves playing with this, and goes over to play with it several times everyday! It’s also a lifesaver while I’m cooking and preparing meals for her. 🙂 She’s already learned a few of the letters — not only how to say the letter, but the phonetic sound they make. Such an awesome toy!
