Parkville 4th of July Carnival

We had a blast tonight! It was so much fun seeing the family have so much fun together! We headed off to Parkville around 7:00 after eating at Applebee's for dinner. The first stop was a Merry-go-round ride for Ali and Zac. I stood between them as they went round and round. Zac was holding on tight, but Ali was ready to wave her arms and look for mom and grandma. The ride was over right after it got started it seemed.

After we cried a little for getting off of the horses, it didn't take long for Ali to spot the jumbo elephants. Mom went first to scout the line length as Diane and I brought the caravan to the ride. Ali rode with a friend she made in line. Here they are waiting for it to start.

After that ride, it was time for Zac to take a turn with his big sister!



We then headed over to the spinning dinosaur. Ali, mom and Grandma spent some quality time in an oversized dinosaurs belly... It was just too much for the guys to handle, so we stayed outside the fence and took this picture with my phone.





It was almost time to go find our perfect spot for the fireworks display, but before we all headed up the hill, Zac mom and I took a quick ride on the Ferris wheel.





Ok, we were not done yet. We still had 6 tickets to burn. What to ride... what to ride. Ah, Jen spotted the kid cars for 3 tickets each. It was perfect. Zac and Ali were strapped in quickly and honking the horn. I snapped these before the ride started.




Just for fun, I thought I would try to capture the "speed" of the moment. Not bad for a camera phone!





After a long hike up the hill, Jen and the family settled under a nice patch of open sky. It was a beautiful night for fireworks. The sky was clear. From where we were sitting, I could see the fireworks from a few of the casinos in town as well as Worlds of Fun. Ali crawled up on my lap to watch the fireworks and Zac decided he wanted to curl up on Grandma's lap. Now, Ali is not as scared of fireworks now. Last year she would scream every time she heard one go off. This year she did much better. She would occasionally comment on how beautiful one was in the sky. Who knows, she may enjoy them by this time next year!

Now, I know my little camera is not the best, but I used it to capture a few of the best fireworks from the show.






By the end of the show, Zac and Ali were ready for bed. Unfortunately for the Scott family, a lot of people wanted to leave at the same time. We had parked in free parking. It turned out to be an easy walk back to the car. We waited in line to get out of the parking lot. We waited again to merge with other traffic from other parking lots. Finally, the end was in sight. We were at the main intersection and we had two traffic cops to assist us. Sorry... no happy ending. We waited for 15 minutes at this one intersection as the cops continued to allow one or two cars block the intersection for Park University. A few times they would look at their watch, but most of the time they motioned for more cars to move up. After 15 minutes of listening to Zac cry, we were able to merge into traffic and leave the city of Parkville.

Even with the traffic situation, it was a great night. I had not been to a carnival in a long time and I believe the entire family enjoyed it very much. I am looking forward to next years 4th of July. I think we will pack a cooler with stuff to eat and drink for keep us entertained while we let everyone else try to leave first!

Talk to you tomorrow!
-Andy