Esperanza Bonanza 2010

Esperanza Bonanza is Marion's annual festival. Our mini 'Memphis in May' with 50 some-odd teams competing in barbecue and ribs, as well as live music, carnival rides and games for 3 days.

{Sean and Snake playing Bag-O.}

For the first year since I can remember, it didn't rain so there was no mud to contend with or kids-who've-just-wrestled-in-the-mud to dodge. We got lucky.
{Here's a pic from last year.}
See Nina in the red sportin' her rainboots? And all those guys with farmin boots on. They came prepared for mudfest. I like the guy in boots and jorts the best!

Sean and I are hitting a strict diet hard these next couple weeks to make up for the horrendous amount of food we consumed this weekend! I think I had 3 cokes in one day. Sean and I are both Coke addicts but I barely let myself drink 3 in 3 weeks! Gotta get right...

When we weren't eating bbq, ribs, baked beans, or catfish, we were getting our hands messy with some crawfish. Yummm.

{Me and Sean}

Nina's cousin Ben (aka John Tucker) came to visit!


{Sean, Ben, Devin and Logan}


On a whim, Nina and I decided to see just how much our vestibular systems had changed since we were 15...

...And ride the Nemesis 360, a ride that elevates 60 feet and flips each pair of riders independently while the whole thing is in full rotation. It's been in Europe for a while, but just came to the US in the past year. It was ranked #1 on the "5 Most Insane Carnival Rides" list at Domainofdeath3.com. :)
Kind-of wish I'd have known that before!


Here we are flying in the night in the bottom right corner. I have a death grip on the bar after thinking of my recurring nightmare in which my contraption lets loose but the ride doesn't stop and my body is thrashed around while I'm left to my own grip strength to not crash. NOT what you want to visualize before getting on this thing!

{After just stepping off...A little disoriented!}


{Now trying to decide if the fun trumped the sick feeling in our stomachs!}
Me: "It was fun...yeah?"

{It's really starting to set in...}
Katie: "All I can think about is everything I ate today."
Nina: "I can feel my lunch just sitting right here."
Haha.
We. Are. NOT. 15. Anymore! Sad day.



Logan played 'Break a Bottle' for the sheer enjoyment of gambling and competition.
Nina: Logan, what the hell do you need all these stuffed animals for?
Logan: I don't. I just wanna win.

Is that a guy, or is that a guy:)

He won a hippo that is just Oliver's size. He has snuggled with him ever since!

{They had fun haggling with the carnie.}

Carnivals must have some freaky way to play tricks on you. I did NOT edit this photo at all and suddenly, Sean is a R. UE amputee! Crazy.

I love carnivals like this because they're so timeless. And ageless. everyone has fun no matter how young or old you are. I love them...but only for that day or two. Then the smells that had me drooling on the way in, are making me just a little queasy on the way out. And it's time to head back to normal life. And my normal life is pretty eventful right now!

XOXO,
Katie