Off to the Races

This week was the annual Melbourne Cup Carnival- a week of horse racing, centered around the Melbourne Cup which was held on Tuesday. They call it the "race that stops a nation" and everyone gets the day off work- It's a HUGE deal. Horses from all over the world race and the winners take home $6 million!
I got really into it this year and did all my research and placed a bet on my favorite horse, MaLuckyDay, and actually won $100 (because he placed second)! We went down to Federation Square to watch the race on Tuesday, the weather was yucky, raining off and on, but it was still fun.

Today was the last day, Emirates Stakes Family Day, it was a perfect day for going to the races!
There was lots of fun stuff to keep the kids busy and lots of excitement, I loved the atmosphere of being there at the race. But I have to say that unless you have those really expensive box seats, you really can't see a whole lot. The track is so big you can only see the race for the 5 seconds they run by where you . I was totally confused, it was hard to even tell who won.

One of the best parts was the people watching- everyone gets really dressed up with their hats and fascinators. In between the races they did fashion competitions, since today was family day the fashion was all about the kids clothing.

Tons of kids activities, painting, crafts, bouncy houses, etc.

While all the other girls were getting flowers, butterflies and hearts painted on their cheeks, Ellie walked right up and asked for a snake on her arm. Such a funny girl!

Oh, and there were horses too :)