People often refer to little girls as 'Princesses'. Whether this is meant sarcastically or as a compliment is always up in the air, for me, anyway. There have been numerous times when Kenzie acts like sheer royalty, a gracious host and benevolent patrician. Then there are times when she acts like Princess Vespa from Spaceballs, your stereotypical spoiled rich kid.

Well, we took Kenzie to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire this past weekend. I used to go to the faire when I was younger. I loved being there and interacting with the actors and looking at all the weapons and armor for sale. There were so many reasons I would go that I would go several times each season. And, yes, I would dress up in costume every time. Because of my love for the renaissance faire I was really looking forward to the day when I could take Kenzie to it, hoping that she'd love it every bit as much as I did.

My main fear was that she wouldn't like it because she'd have to walk all day. Also, I wasn't sure if she would really grasp what was going on around her. I figured that she'd like some of the costumes some of the folks would be wearing, but I figured we'd be there for about 2 hours before she started to complain that her legs were tired and she wanted to leave. Thankfully, all of my fears would be put to rest...eventually.

The day started off slowly. We arrived shortly after 1030 am. The place was buzzing already. There were actors dressed up as peasants lining the walkway greeting all the patrons of the faire. These folks really creeped Kenzie out. She lowered her chin, put her hand to her face and stared intently at the ground trying to avoid making eye contact with just about anybody, even the Queen.

We met the Queen on the way in and tried to get Kenzie to stand next to her so we could take their picture together, but Kenzie would not do it. I was a little disappointed but she needed time to get used to what she was seeing. The closest Kenzie has ever been to anything medieval has been Spongebob Squarepants: Lost In Time, which was totally lame.

Kenzie eventually started to come out of her shell, but not before we bought her her very own princess costume! The costume was beautiful and she looked so adorable in it. This is when the compliments from actors and fellow patrons really started to pour in and when she finally started to get comfortable. Kenzie was a real Princess for a day!

Most of the day was spent walking around looking at different jewelry and crafts tables like the candle makers hut where Kenzie got to make a candle wax mold of her hand. It was pretty neat watching her cast her hand in wax. She also purchased some of her very own Wish Stones and Fairy Rocks. And we also found out that she likes to eat smoked turkey legs. In fact, she ate the better part of two legs throughout the course of the day!

The last big event before the finale was the joust. Kenzie loved this part. During the joust there was a staged brawl between the good guys and the bad guys with loud "cannon" fire and fake blood. Kenzie was enthralled by this exhibition.

After the joust there was a big finale of song and dance with all the players who appeared throughout the day. We didn't leave till after 800 pm. On the way out Kenzie finally got to give the Queen a hug. Unfortunately it was very dark and we couldn't get a good picture, but it was great to see Kenzie finally comfortable at the faire.

On the way to the car she asked when we could come back to the faire. That made me feel good. I can't wait to take her back to the faire. I've got to start working on a new costume for myself so we can both dress up next time! Go check out my Andy's Pics page for some awesome pictures!