Once upon a time...

The BIG event this week was going to the Abbey Medieval Festival. Amie was most excited about seeing real sword fighting in action. I decided against bringing her sword and shield with us, as I was sure I'd end up having to carry them. She was happy to go without them, especially once she saw how much was happening there.

Front and centre for some fencing.

Examining a tent full of goodies.

We had tickets to the first joust of the day, the Pas d'Armes, so we made our way along the west side of the grounds, heading towards the jousting fields. There was so much to see with so many people were in costume. Next year we'll go back, and we'll both be in costume for sure.

She couldn't quite reach the horse from outside the pen, even when held, so she was invited in to meet her properly. It was a little scary for her, given how big the horse is, but she was very happy to be so close to a real horse.

By the time we'd reached the jousting fields, it was about time to go in. And by that, I mean it was about twenty minutes before the jousting was to start. We'd been told that it would be best to get in early to get a seat, so we did just that, and managed to snag some good ones halfway down the field, near the Master of Ceremony's box.

Need  a cheer? She's got one for you!

While the seats were filling, several riders made the rounds of the field to keep our interest, during which Amie spurred them on with her "go horsey, go horsey, go go go horsey" cheers. Once the games started, any time anyone else cheered, she cheered too. It didn't matter why they were cheering, she'd wave her arms, yell and clap loudly. I think she just likes to cheer!

During the jousts, we were told one of the Knights wanted a challenger from the audience. When the MC asked if anyone wanted to rise to the challenge, Amie loudly said she did, which caused the people sitting around us to burst into laughter. A man was picked from the audience, and when he came out, dressed in armour, after the jousting had finished, the MC said the he needed to have a favour from his lady companion. She then joined him on the field and gave him a kiss, but the MC said that the gent needed to receive it properly, so he got down on one knee...and then proposed to her! It was so sweet. She was very surprised by this of events!

Photo from the official Facebook page. We were too far down to get a good shot.

After the jousting we continued walking around, exploring the displays and shops and admiring the costumes.

She does this with normal sized spoons at home, so she couldn't resist doing it with this one too.

Her first pony ride! She didn't want it to end.

I'd changed a setting on my camera and hadn't realised, so these photos are a bit grainier than what I'd like, but they're still good. I'd filled the memory card on my camera by just after 2pm (more photos from the day can be found here), which may be because I'd changed those settings, I'm not sure. Next year I'll bring a spare memory card just to be safe.

Despite being out all day, Amie was still full of energy when we got home, and right up until bedtime. She now had a knight's tabard to go with her sword and shield, along with a pretty flower wreath for when she wanted to be a princess (she insisted that I wear that during our time there, too). She went to bed fine once I put her there, at least! All that energy had to run out eventually.