This past week we decided to take our lives in our own hands and go to one of those traveling carnivals that set up in parking lots. I have never gone to one; I've read too many articles about lack of inspections, safety concersn, etc, and let those articles scare me. Well, one of those outfits set up in the parking lot of the old HEB by our house. We drove by, and drove by, and drove by and it began to look like A LOT of fun. So, we set up a "date night" for our family.
We had so much fun!! It was a total blast. The kids rode so many things- Hannah is really quite fearless, the little minx! LOL She loved the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Ferris Wheel and the Silver Streak mini-coaster. Micah decided the Tilt-A-Whirl went "too fast" and the Ferris Wheel was "too scary" but the Merry-Go-Round rocked! LOL Then it was Sara's and my turn.
Nathan dared us to ride rides I would probably never look at twice, let alone ever trust to be safe! But as I stood there looking at them, I felt my wild and crazy side resurface! I haven't seen that girl since I was 18!! Sara and I rode every last dangerous and daring ride...and laughed our heads off! The last ride we decided to try was called "Spin Out". It takes you up in the air then spins you head-over-heels and end-over-end for what seems like forever! It was in the middle of this that I remembered my phone was in my pocket. OOPS!!! It fell....like 100 feet or more to the ground, crashing into the metal flooring of the ride. That was the end of my phone!
We were all laughing and shaking our heads about the phone, but we had so much fun with the kids and each other that it never even fazed us. It was a blast. I told Nathan we need to be wild and crazy more often, as much for the kids as for us. They enjoyed seeing us acting crazy and being kids. I think they need to see that. They see us dealing with life and stress everyday, but when do they see us absolutely throwing our cares to the wind and living life with joy? Not as often as they should, I think. Maybe that's why today's kids are stressed out? Maybe they need to see their parents have fun more often. I want to make this part of our schedule. I think I will start planning a totally irresponsible, money-wasting activity every month with our kids. They will remember and appreciate that more than they will remember how we juggled finances to pay for private school, or how we had to run 90 to nothing to keep up with everything going on in all of our lives. I want them to have memories of me with my head thrown back, laughing until my muscles hurt. I don't want them to remember the stressed-out, tired, harried woman I feel like I have become. Maybe I need to remember myself laughing, too, though. Maybe the problem is that I have lost touch with that wild and crazy kid. It sure was nice to see her again...I forgot she still existed!
We had taken so many pictures of the carnival and the kids...but they were on the phone. We weren't able to get the phone to power up after its plunge, so I wasn't able to retrieve anything off of it. I lost all my pictures and contacts, but it doesn't bother me. We had fun and that means more to me than anything else! :D