Celebrate Youth Day

Madison County has a grant to do a special youth day, on the day before school starts. They set up all sorts of booths and games and inflatable rides at the park, and it is all free. We have never gone before, but decided to attend it this year. For me, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision. We dropped Allen off at work and then headed to the park.

We ended up parking about 3 blocks away - but it didn't matter, because the kids were so excited. However, immediately after getting out of the car they start running down the sidewalk. Kylie missed the step and did a face plant on the pavement. She has fallen a lot lately, and she is used to sticking out her hands - which she did - which saved her a lot of pain. When she stood up, she was bleeding like crazy from both knees and one of her hands. I asked her if we should go home but she said no. So our first stop...the bathroom to try and clean up a little bit. I knew our next mission was to find band aids which luckily there were at the information desk! Band aid on, things were going better!

We stopped by the sheriff's booth and the kids got creamies and stamps and stickers. They had a line for a train ride - which I wish I would have known better and stood in. There were only about 5 people in line. When we circled back, it was about a hundred or more. They had cotton candy, popcorn, all sorts of carnival like booths where at each stop they would get a prize. They had dentists there passing out toothbrushes and toothpaste. There was a free book stop - where they each got to choose a book. Then over to the big grass area where they had all of their inflatable stuff. They also had a huge multi story fire truck ladder raised with hose spraying water with kids getting soaking wet and having a blast. We went and checked out the apache helicopter that the national guard had there. They each got to climb in and sit down in it and look around at all of the controls. I was amazed at how huge it actually was - because later when it took off, it didn't look that big in the sky.

By this point, the lines were kind of long and I was getting kind of tired, so I told them they could get on one inflatable. They chose the big slide. McKenna and Tyler get in, no problem...they were told they could each go twice. So they do it twice, get out, and Kylie gets in - being told she could go twice. So she climbs up, comes face first down, climbs back up and "hides." She absolutely refused to come down...knowing she would have to get out once she did. Finally, one of the volunteers went up and kicked her down.

We decided to leave and go get Allen and go home. But we had to go back because they were also doing a raffle of all sorts of cool prizes. A bike, the wii, wii fit, telescope, etc. Tyler really wanted to see if he won anything. By this point, parking was non existent so I dropped Allen and Ty off and let them go. I circled back around and actually found a great parking space, so we went in search of Allen and Ty. Just then I get a phone call from Allen - Tyler is lost. Can't find him anywhere. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of people at this thing (they also had free dinner for everyone). I get there...we can't find him at all.

By this time panic had set in and I decided to go up to the front and asked the Mayor (as he knows Allen) if he could make an announcement at the beginning of it - to see if anyone can find him. They announce his name, say he is lost, and to come up to the front. Lo and behold...up pops Tyler from the first few rows he was sitting in. I don't think he understood how concerned and scared I was - because he didn't consider himself lost. He knew right where he was. I think he was more bugged that he lost his great spot on the grass! Ugh! Anyway, we didn't win any prizes, but we did wait in line and took that train ride. It was fun and I know the kids all really enjoyed themselves. I wish I had pictures, but it was a spur of the moment decision and I wasn't prepared! But I think we'll try it again next year.