Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What ya Don't Want to See at the Carnival....

Remember how much fun you had at the Carnival as a kid?
All the fun colors, rides, games, & cotton candy? Never did you worry about the "safety" of the carnival.  

Why is it as adults, that's the first place our mind wanders to when we think of the carnival??

Cause of this.......
As a parent, you turn a blind eye to all the very "Adult-themed" names of the rides.....

And hope that while your 8-year-old son is waiting for 10 minutes in his car for the ride to start, he is NOT questioning why there are necked women on this ride?  Cause really, what does the "Crazy Dance" ride have to do with necked women??  

don't answer that.

And as much as we need a 8 ft stuffed banana in our house, I would not let the boy play for it.

I know -I'm mean.
I wanted him to try to win the Rasta-banana.

Come on mon!!

But the one thing that bothered me - 
yup - this man carnie proceeded to have a 10 minute conversation while loading the ride......

safety first!!!!
If I said I wasn't holding my breath while the kids rode this ride, I'd be lying........
'cause that text about the party on 6th street later was soooooo important.........

much more so than ensuring all the KIDS were loaded properly on the ride....
and I don't even know where this carnie was....

I was behind the fence as I watched my kiddos struggle to snap their buckles closed.

don't worry - I embarrassed them fully as I very loudly told them to "tighten your strap!", "check them by pulling real hard!", "rattle the bar", "check it again"....you get the picture.
look how high in the sky there were!!!!!! yikes!!
I know when we went to carnivals as kids, they were probably just as unsafe, if not more so....
and these rides were much more innovative and fun.....
the smiles on their faces showed how much fun they had.....

but I can't say we will go again next year.
 not that they would want to after this ride.

yes.  I'm showin it to you for a 3rd time.

it's my blog - I can do what I want.

besides, I never showed you the "recovery" picture.....the one right after the one above.
whew!

That's right kids.....

WHEW!  

We survived the carnival.


18 comments:

Shawn said...

The recover picture may be better than the action shot....maybe.

My Dad was the head electrician for a large them park in Illinois, I'm sure you know the one, and because he knew what all it actually took to run a ride of that size safely we were not allowed to ride carnival rides. I let my girls but only after I have been self medicated!

Connie said...

I have a knot in my stomach!! AGH!!

Sugarplum Creations Blog said...

Those photos are PRICELESS! I have such a hard time at carnivals {possibly why we never really go}. I don't know, but the shots you got of the carnies at yours looked much more competent than the ones we have here. And that's just scary.

Kelli said...

That recovery picture is great!!! Those rides look pretty fun too and I would have also been that mom yelling over the fence.

Anonymous said...

Yikes I am so with you on the safety thing! I only remember once that I thought something was unsafe.. it was.. the bar never closed all the way.. thank goodness my Dad gave me bruises holding me in the ride! Love the recovery picture!

Macey said...

This is TOTALLY why I won't do the carnival. I'm such a wuss.
Those last 2 pics are HILARIOUS.

Misty said...

i have a hard time with carnivals. I feel like they attract the wrong people... they are unsafe... and must they blare songs about sex and drugs while my child is spinning round and rounds the loud speaker? We've gone... and after shelling out $40 for ONE child to ride some rides and play some games, I decided I would much rather drive a few hours and hit the amusement park. you know, the place where the rides don't get taken apart and put back together by drunk and hungover people...

I know, i sound awful.

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

We don't do carnival rides. We do the overpriced, fried food and beer. And people watching.
I love those photos. You load 'em as much as you want!

Impulsive Addict said...

So I LOOOOOOVE rides and my husband HAAAATES them. How did I marry someone that can't ride rides with me? I have a picture of him and I at Six Flags and his face is priceless. I may need to blog about it! lol

Loved the pics! The recovery pic was my fav!

I like Viv's answer though. I'm all about some fried food, beer and people watching!

LauraLee Shaw said...

Wow! You did a great job of catching all of this! Wow. Hold on to yer hats, kids.

And your wallets, parents. We go to the Denton State Fair & Rodeo every year, and we're always shocked at how much money we spend...that's with no games and a few rides per kid. I can't ever resist the hand shaken lemonade, though.

Anyway, you had me on the edge of my comfy chair. What a great post.

Darling's said...

You are SO right, Becca! I think I gave up on carnival rides when I was in college based on the safety issues!! I do love a good Six Flags/Bush Garden fix, do not get me wrong. How long do you think I can make Miss A and Mr. B ride the little choo-choo's before I am forced to let them ride those big rides that terrify me?!?! Is this why they say parenting is so hard?? LOVE the 'whew' picture!

Natalia said...

I love carnival rides! Mainly bc there are so many I am actually able to ride (unlike amusement park rides which are waaaay too high for me to even think about wanting to ride them).

Jen said...

I am so glad - I mean SAD (not!) that we usually miss our county fair's carnival because of our beach trip. GREAT POST!!

Angel said...

Ha! Love this post. I think the same things everytime we go to the State Fair. Thankfully, my girls are not daredevils, so they won't ride the big ones yet. I remember going in high school with a friend and being a bit worried about a couple of the men operating the rides--they not only looked scary, they did their best to make us scared to get on the ride--at the same time they were hitting on us.
Um, yeah, mr scary man who looks older than my dad, I would LOVE to go sit and talk with you somewhere--if I get off this ride alive. I'm sure your motives are pure and you really do want to get to know me so you can pray for me, right?

April said...

Dang you Becca, now that I'm aware of the safety issues (phone calls while loading small children), don't think I can ever go to a carnival!
Just kidding, I'm too cheap for the rides anyway, I just want the funnel cakes!

Trooper Thorn said...

And it's all held together by a 1/4 inch cotter pin that hasn't been inspected since 1973. I shudder to think we entrust our lives to these men who I wouldn't hire to mow my lawn. And they assembled the rides after an all-night drive from Tupelo, or Little Rock, and will be gone again tomorrow to Tulsa or Amarillo.

jennykate77 said...

Those last two pics are AWESOME!!! I love it! Since I've been MIA this week, it's my first time. Love it! You really captured a moment there.

I love the carnival for all the same reasons...and it makes me nervous for all the same reasons.

I'm glad the kiddos had fun!

Maybe you'll win a Rasta-Banana next time.

Myya said...

Carni's are all kinds of wrong, but Carni's not doing their job... that is not acceptable! Cell phones have totally taken over the world (I probably shouldn't complain too much because I too have a cell in hand AT ALL TIMES!

LOOOOVE the Whew picture... PRICELESS!

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