Last year, the first time we attended the Summer Bash, Lily was able to walk, but not big enough for the bouncy houses, or able to sit still for the face painting. This year, she was all over the activities, tagging right along behind Carrick. Also, last year, Carrick was 5 and had not started school yet. Now that he is (almost) finished with kindergarten and heading into first grade as a 6-year-old, the activities fair portion of the Summer Bash proved much more fruitful. As a 5-year-old, and not a school-aged child, there were very few summer activity options for him. Now that he's a year older, there are so many fun things he is eligible for here in Sedona. In fact, there were so many options, I still haven't had time to sort through all the fliers I brought home from the Summer Bash. While the kids bounced their hearts out in the bouncy house obstacle course, and summited the bouncy slide, they worked up enough appetite to want a sno-cone...each. Carrick only wanted blue, and Lily only wanted red, so I shelled out $4.00 to support the PTA and buy each of the kiddos a treat. I helped myself to a hot dog, which was only $1.00.
Each kid took a turn sitting in the chair with the face painter, which was free, along with the activities for the price of admission. Lily was bold enough to get her hair sprayed red too. I hardly recognized her running across the lawn between the bouncy obstacle course and the bouncy slide. While the kids took turns on the activities, I perused the used book sale. The kids collected donated books for a couple weeks leading up to the Summer Bash. Then, the PTA collected and sold them as another means of fund raising during the bash. I picked out a couple dinosaur books for Carrick. For Lily I found a shape and color book with lifty-flaps. $2.00 went to the PTA for the used books. Things did get a little chaotic after a while. I was sitting on the grass next to the obstacle course, and all of a sudden, I heard Lily crying from inside. I guess the person in charge let a bunch of older boys in, and they ended up in a pile-up near the exit. Carrick played the hero big brother, and was holding her along with another older girl to protect her from further damage. After removing Lily from the stampede, I sat with her on the lawn and calmed her down. One of the PTA members assisted me with getting a small bandage for her finger, which was bleeding. As soon as Lily was done crying, Carrick came running up to me saying that someone kicked him in the face. I sat there with both of them until the tears were gone. Carrick wanted to go to his recess playground to play, and I agreed that it was a good idea. I hung out with a few of my mommy friends while the kids played and recovered. They played until 5:00 that night, and were worn out by the time we arrived home.
Next week, school lets out. Thank goodness I am on hiatus from work starting next week. At least I get 4 more days of kid-freedom until summer starts. Since things kind of slow down in the summer time, I decided to take time off and stay at home with the kids. (It was either that or try to get another job and pay for two kids at daycare. That sounded like more trouble than it was worth, so I am on a summer sabbatical.) We are going to do fun things like go to the pool, the movies, field trips, playdates and the park all summer long. And hopefully, some of those Summer Bash fliers will come in handy for "things to do", well, at least for Carrick.
Let the Summer Fun Begin...well, next week anyway(!)
2 Sno-cones, a hot dog and 3 books at the PTA Summer Bash- $7.00
Admission to the Summer Bash was $5.00 for each child. I used the leftover $10.00 from last pay cycle for this.
Balance this pay cycle- $72.00
Happy Spending!
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