As Family Fun Activities Coordinator in the Fam Bam, I stacked the week with many expeditions, some haunted and some not. First things first, last weekend we went to the October Carnival downtown. I was completely ecstatic to go since it has been over 10 years since I visited my old stomping grounds....err, fairgrounds, the South Florida Fair. I didn't realize how much I missed the food, exhibits, overpriced object throwing games, and rides until we stepped foot onto the Messeplatz Fairgrounds here. I guess they must have German scouts that scour the US looking for great rides to use because all the oldies and goodies were there. I'm talking the Himalaya, the Round-Up, the crickety old roller coaster, the house of mirrors, and of course THIS....
It was known as the Pirate Ship in my day and it is evil!!! I would rather have my tonsils removed than plant my behind on this thing! This is also the case when it comes to any tower of terror, elevator drop, or bungee jump contraption. Saige & JD ran up to the pirate ride with no hesitation. I wasn't sure if they realized the life or death risk they were embarking on...but who am I to pass my judgments onto others? Everyone needs to experience life's little thrills, right? Oh, and I didn't realize there were naked, hookah women all over the backdrop until today when loading up my photos on the desktop.
I'm assuming nobody noticed...because the kids were shell-shocked!! I could hear Saige screaming from the sky. And JD had this "That was fun, but I don't want to EVER do that again" look on his face.
Mom's ARE a wealth of information you know...and have a pretty good idea on how to keep their kids alive.
Here's my cameo...getting off, I mean running off, the rickety roller coaster that I promise was made in the 1920's. And yes, that is George holding Teage (he insisted he was not too little to endure this...They would have NEVER let him on this ride in the states) but you know in Europe, they could care less. Your kid can smoke & drink at age 16 here...go figure!!
Teage wanted to get on every mini-car ride he could catch in his sights. He kept trying to find the big rigs saying, "Where's O-timus Prime?"...cutie!
There was also the pony/horse rides, and T was all about it. I always felt so bad for the horses and their life of circular hell at these venues. I just hope they get to graze on big, green pastures during their off-time and enjoy whatever it is that big, green pastures have to offer :o) Either way, you gotta love a horseback ride....
While the similarities were evident at the good old fair, there were some differences.
Like how about you play a little ball throwing game to win your very own German beer stein?!
Sooo much better than winning a big stuffed animal that ends up in the basement because you have too much crap!! We didn't win one by the way...
Or Jim Bob Becker, the talking moosehead, chillin' atop a drink stand...
Perhaps you would expect to see pumpkins run amok, since it is Fall. BUT, is this what comes to mind?
...ok, maybe it is ;o) That gourd is smoking, for real! And what about those eyes?? Hmmmm...Good Times at the Kaiserslautern Fall Carnival!!
Next up, we spent a weeknight taking the kids to the Ramstein Community Center for the "Family Friendly" Haunted House.
That's my kind of Haunted House! I don't "do" Haunted scare-me places ever since I peed my pants heavily at the awkward age of 11...Location: Haunted Woods in Tennessee. There's more to that story...some of you know it and if you don't, well ask me sometime.
So it was super small, and very not spooky, well....except for that guy that grabbed my ankles while I was trying to get JD to go through this tube.
I thought they weren't supossed to touch you in haunted houses....FREAK!
T & J had fun and even Saige got in on the action afterward...more like caught in the action.
There was a craft table set up across from the haunted room...and the kids each chose one to do. Teage decided to cut out a pumpkin. I had to show this. He's completely unaware of his little concentration quirk...but WOW, I'm totally impressed by his scissor skills!
JD just spent the whole time admiring his spider ring and drawing the Haunted Mansion.
Finally, the big day came. I swear, Teage was asking me up to 20 times a day if it was Trick or Treat time yet. He was super-excited to really use his Batman costume properly. He has been putting it on everyday to mentally prepare for his role. However, on Thursday I realized I couldn't locate the dang thing. With our painting and organizing of the house still going on, I was worried we'd never find where he stashed it. Luckily, it was stuffed under his tykes table in a ball. Anyway, JD was none other than...the Joker! Of course they both wanted to be each others nemesis. In this case the enemy towers over the hero, but what a great duo...
Don't ask me about the make-up...I figured the Joker is really not a make-up artist either so I just smeared it, I was channeling the Heath Ledger version. Plus, I was in the back of our truck and it was dark (don't worry, we weren't crackheads on the side of the road...we were downtown that afternoon and so we just packed our Halloween essentials with us to go on base). Saige didn't "dress-up". Unless you call wearing Stitch ear barrettes in your hair and Stitch T-Shirt dressing up (and yes, she wore that last year, too...even though I bought her cutie masks for this year, grown kids are so weird sometimes). She still looked cute of course!
What a great night...even if it was 40 degrees!! Check out the rest of the pics from T or T night! (JD really takes his character seriously...just sayin')
Once I told them I was happy with the amount of candy they retrieved for me, we piled in the truck to defrost and go to dinner. Teage was passed out before we even made it to the parking lot. Back to the food. I have been craving Thai food like a psychotic woman since being here (talk about irony). I brought my frozen camera inside to snap a picture (like I have been meaning to) of my usual green curry chicken dish and once again, I couldn't contain myself and gobbled up the whole bowl before shooting it. Blasts!! I did manage to catch the kids' fortunes from their cookies...do they secretly know my kids at the fortune cookie factory or WHAT?!
Saige's:
JD's:
This is what I saw when we pulled into the driveway and looked back...Saige was awake and didn't hesitate to inform me how mean it was for me to take a picture of JD like that. She knows anything snapped by momma has potential to go up on the World Wide Web I guess. LOL! How cute that she stands up for him though.
Terrific week!!!!Last note...I went to the Red Ribbon Run this past weekend for a newsletter article I am writing and there were an astounding amount of people out there. I just want to give a shout-out to DARE, MADD, SADD, and Nancy Reagan for helping us Just Say No!! I pass on the message to stay safe...and call a cab if you ever have one too many glasses of Spooky Sangria!!
Now it's late and this blog has officially consumed practically all of my Sunday. So, as my kids put it...
So, off I went to finalize the last minute things needed to make the party a success. We had all the parents and kids meet up at the flagpole and we proceeded to trick or treat through all the different sections within the Battalion. Each section had the option of decorating their area, and at the end the kids would vote for the best one. George gave all the Soldiers an incentive of granting the winners with a 3-day pass (free day off). The Soldier's in George's building won...they must have really wanted the day off because they went all out. They called the HHD building the "Haunted House Detachment", and made a mini haunted hall. The kids were all over it!! George was there before entering to give them a block of instruction on what was going to take place...I guess he thought he would try to be scary in his gas mask...
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