It's Just Like The Empty Cardboard Box

Two giveaways going on for a $50 VISA gift card and Kleenex here and a green gift bag here.

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This afternoon we headed over to one of our local elementary schools that was running their annual carnival. It's a huge one, and I've always heard good things about it. We'd never gone before due to nap schedules, but I figured it was worth a shot.

We had a choice of buying a ride everything wristband or individual tickets that are also good for games and food. I opted for a few sheets of the individual tickets, not knowing what kind of rides there would be or what the wee ones would want to do.

The Top Ten Things I discovered at the carnival:

10) Little Miss does not like spinny rides. At all. It's possible that I ruined them for her by spinning too hard and too fast on the teacups at Disney. Mister Man and I like to spin fast though....

9) The wee ones can con my husband into riding huge scary rides that he hates just because he doesn't want to look like a wimp in front of them (and I had nothing to do with it).

8) You must always keep an eye on your child in the bouncy jungle gym because there might be an evil slightly older chld who decides to use your child as a karate board he's trying to break. Seriously. My husband made a scene, and it was deserved.

7) Mister Man will scream like a girl, but he likes rides.

6) Encouraging Little Miss to get a kitty face paint is not a good idea. She will then spend the rest of the day (and let's hope not tomorrow) meowing everything and trying to walk on her hands and knees.

5) Heading to the carnival just before the Bears game begins is a great way to ensure it won't be overcrowded when you go.

4) Always check the weather report before you head to a carnival. Although I was hot coming out of church, I was freezing in the t-shirt I changed into. Because it turned into fall and was overcast and windy. Fortunately, the rain didn't start until long after we were home.

3) In our town, my family can't go anywhere without knowing people. It's kinda cool. My husband ran into many former (and current) students. I ran into friends from Mister Man's preschool, his summer school, my babysitting co-op, my softball team, and my husband's school. It comes in handy when you're trying to figure out how the carnival works though.

2) Next year, we're buying the wristbands. The ticket sheets aren't cheap. And I as not going to buy any more tickets -- this carnival got expensive quickly. The wristbands allow you to ride any ride as often as you want for five hours. I spent the same amount on tickets that lasted us just over two hours. Now I know.

And the number one thing I learned?

It isn't worth it to buy the tickets. As we walked in, Little Miss wanted to do the swings. I told her ok and started to head for the swing ride where you go in the big circle around and around. She ran to the park and climbed on a swing. She was perfectly content playing in the free park, and I had to promise we'd come back to the park after we finished at the carnival.

You remember all the fun you had with the plain empty cardboard box some fancy toy you got came in (the fridge box was my personal favorite for several months as a child)? Those are the things you remember. And those are the things I need to remember as a parent, too.

Then again, Little Miss does make an awfully cute little kitty, and we can't get our face painted at the local park....