Back to School Bash 2017

Each year at the beginning of the school season, we have what's called a "Back to School Bash," where we get a whole bunch of inflatables and rides in the parking lot, and let the kids have lots of fun.  This year's event was under a literal cloud for a bit, because we thought it would be raining on us.  In fact, the forecast was threatening for a while.  But as you can see from these pictures on this post, everything turned out well.  Madison is seen above, surveying the inflatables a bit early with Josh and Pastor Lance.  Madison actually gets first dibs at pretty much everything, and usually gravitates towards this right here:

Before the rush of kids out to the event, Madison and a few other blessed kids get to try things out.  Here she is now, doing one of her favorite things:  trying to knock someone else down.  She was successful here, mainly because she's really got the hang of this game.  She's firm in her footing, and knows how to aim for the legs with this huge straight-on attack that topples her opponents forward.  She's such a small, compact target, and her center of balance is so solid, she's hard to take down.  Just saying.  If you're up against Madison, good luck!

But here's the other thing that she was just loving tonight:

The pirate ship thing that swings back and forth, really high.  Have you seen one of these?  Just typing about it now gets Daddy sort of motion sick.  Look at her in this next picture - she's so into it!

Oh yes.  Any other seafaring pirates might be tempted to lose their lunch.  But not Madison.  She seriously rode this thing five times or more over the course of the night.  She just got off... and got back on again.  Until the crowds showed up, and then she had to wait a little longer.  But these kids you see above are the ones that get to have a lot of early fun.

What a nice evening to hang out with friends.  Daddy took lots of pictures of all the kids - not just Madison - while watching over the perimeters and making sure loose ends were taken care of, and folks were in their positions to oversee various attractions.  It all went smoothly, and again no rain.  Here's Madison coming up to bat.

There were various targets set up, and she was very proud to have gotten a home run at one point.  She's not much for the swing rides, but she did go on the inflatable slides and the obstacle courses a few times.  And of course, she had a snow cone.  We all did.  Her favorite flavor is cotton candy.  Daddy's favorite has been the Pina colada, invisible but tasty.  

The kids had a great night, and because of the lack of rain, so did the adults.  There's a good bit of work put into this, and it all turned out rather well.  It helps take the sting out of going back to school!