Greek Festival 2015

Last weekend, at the behest of our real estate agent, we took the kids to the Port Jefferson Greek Festival. It was interesting! We navigated our way through a maze of flea market and promotional tables, and at the back was a fair with rides.

We bought a bunch of ride tickets thinking that I was going to ride everything with James, but at the first ride I was told- no adults allowed. Oh sadness. So James went on his first real ride alone. He looked nervous, but he claimed it was fun when he got off and he asked to go on the next ride.

Getting off his first ride. Checking that the ground is still there.

We found one we could do together- the Ferris Wheel. Definitely not a scary ride until you start visualizing all the ways your 4-year-old might escape the ferris wheel. I held on tight.

Ferris wheel fun!!

We are in the one on the far left- you can see us!

Next James went on another solo kids ride but this time he was psyched. He watches a cartoon called My Big Big Friend and said the ride looked like that. He had his own big friend and flew around on him.

Big elephant friend

Flying!

Miranda thought it was a bunch of BS that she couldn't go on any rides and gave us the poutiest face to express her displeasure. By now we had run out of tickets anyway, but we were pretty sure James didn't want to hear about that. So we lured him away from the ride with Greek diples (honey rolls pronounced dip-less) and cookies.

Diples are my new favorite food!

Munching on honey cookies

WWFTC Reading at VA Festival of the Book 2015

Kevin read at the Virginia Festival of the Book last week. His read with Clifford Garstang (editor, Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction From a Small Planet) during a panel called "Short Stories: Great Fiction in Small Bites" at New Dominion Bookshop.

Kevin all set before the reading

The reading was upstairs.

Kevin read the title story and the reading went really well. He had a good rhythm and the crowd understood and liked the story. Kevin had some different answers to the questions this time.

Or so I'm told. I couldn't stay to the end because the kids were being kind of disruptive. The reading space was weird because it was upstairs and pretty narrow. There was some seating downstairs, which is where I had to park it because I had Miranda in the stroller. This turned out to be somewhat fortuitous as I could escape with bothering too many people.

James entertaining himself by reading some kids books

Miranda napping at the reading

[Not pictured: James whining, Miranda tearing all the books off the shelves.]

After the reading. (Photo by Pat Jarrett, VFH staff)

Brooklyn Book Festival 2014

Last year when we went to the Brooklyn Book Festival together, Kevin already knew his book would published with Black Balloon so we spent some time at their table talking to the editor Buz, publicist Jen, and and some of the other authors. So going back this year with his book on the table was realizing the dream. Kevin talked to people buying his book and signed copies through the afternoon.

Kevin and We Were Flying to Chicago at the Brooklyn Book Festival!

The 9th Annual Brooklyn Book Festival at Borough Hall!

Kevin got to meet Mike Meginnis who wrote Fat Man and Little Boy, and whom Kevin was to spend many days with during their Midwest Book Tour together. (More on that soon.) He also met Sean Manning, author of Come Here Often?

Mike Meginnis, Kevin, and Michelle and Freddie from Black Balloon Publishing

• Kevin's most recent book event, Fall for the Book at GMU 2014
• Kevin's reading at BookCourt in Brooklyn, June 2014
• The 8th Annual Brooklyn Book Festival 2013

WWFTC Reading at Fall for the Book 2014

Kevin read for the Fall for the Book festival at George Mason University so we took the whole family down to hear him read. The Fall for the Book Festival is pretty awesome actually. It's a week-long event and brings a lot of great authors to Virginia for readings, talks, and book signing. Some of the headliners this year were Pulitzer winner Richard Russo, bestseller Jodi Picoult, poet Martin Espada, essayist Eula Biss, thriller writer Sophie Hannah, and the author of Orphan Train Christina Baker Kline.

With George Mason himself.

Kevin read "Isabel and Colleen" from his collection We Were Flying to Chicago. Even though it was Monday afternoon he had a big crowd of people of all ages, and his crowd spilled out of the tent! After he read the story he answered questions about his writing process. He also introduced me and the kids to the crowd.

Kevin reading "Isabel and Colleen" to a big audience

Miranda and I are listening intently.

Spill-over crowd!

A lot of our friends from different times in our life came to the reading. It made me so happy to see everyone there together! Kevin's friend Jon from high school in Florida was there! His friend Cory from college, his wife Robin, Robin's entire family (!), Jody and Bill (Brady's parents) were there. My friend Sarah from law school and her son William, my friends Anna and Mike (from after college) and their two younger kids. Thank you guys so much for coming out! You warm our hearts!

Kevin talking to his high school Jon

James meeting Robin and Cory's nephew

James photo bombing the photo of Robin and Cory's family

Miranda wearing the dress Sarah got her.

Me and Sarah and our 3.5 kids.

Jody and Bill- meeting Miranda! 

Anna, Mike, and their two youngest, Clara, and Maxwell

Clara is James's age and they were having an awesome time getting dirty!

And Miranda and Maxwell are pretty close in age too! He stole this picture!

Brooklyn Book Festival 2013

Last Sunday, Kevin and I went to the Brooklyn Book Festival. Our first stop is was the Black Balloon Publishing booth, which is Kevin's publisher for his short story collection! For those of you that we haven't told yet, his short story collection is coming out on May 15, 2014. I will be updating you guys with more information as it becomes available.

So many people at the Brooklyn Book Festival this year!

Black Balloon Publishing Booth was hopping!

We talked with the Managing Director, Publicists, and another author Paul Kwiatkowski. Afterwards, we walked around checking out all the different booths for publishers and organizations. Kevin spotted a bunch of authors I don't know walking around. 

Random House- Penguin ("Random Penguin") had a food truck filled with books

Nick and Emily met up with us, and after a little more walking around we went to a bar to grab some drinks and snacks before a reading that we were checking out. Jon, Becky, and Ben stopped by to say hello as well, but they couldn't stay.

Kevin and me

Emily and Nick

Then we waited on a long long line to attend "The Fantastic and The Strange" reading by Karen Russell and A.M. Homes. I didn't previously know anything about A.M. Homes, but she's funny and kind of badass. Now I want to read all her books.

"The Fantastic and The Strange": (l-r) faciliatator, Karen Russell, and A.M. Homes

Apple Festival at Queens Farm 2012

I was really excited about Apple Festival at Queens County Farm. Really disproportionately excited for it. Maybe because since the first time I went to the farm I've been really into it. Also, I love apple cider, and Kevin is a big fan of apple pie and apple crisps. We discussed all the apple-goodness for weeks. And then it rained. The rain was bad enough, especially with a toddler who if we'd put him on the ground would have made a beeline for the puddles. But worse yet, there seemed to be virtually no apple products. We couldn't figure out if this was also due to the rain because we've never been to the Apple Festival before so we had no point of reference. This is a real quote from Kevin, "Apple Festival has all of the excitement of a trip to the grocery store."

Hamming it up

We tried to make the most of it and take some pumpkin patch photos, but that's a little different in the rain. Also, James doesn't remember the pumpkins from last year, so to him he had been set down in a field of orange balls. He immediately ran to one and started kicking it like a soccer ball. When that proved ineffective he tried to pick one up, but again, no go.

A field of balls!

I choose this one.

Maybe we should come back?

Holding the umbrella with James