This place is still super hip :)

Yes, the Sandy Lake Fun Fest still exists. In fact, this was the 42nd year of the event – one that celebrates the joys of middle school beginner band. I still remember stepping on that rickety stage, hearing the thunder of sixth-grade feet stomping to the steady beat, and playing a very out of tune “Jurassic Park Theme” and having a blast.

Jonathan and his school had their Fun Fest Day this morning, so B and I took the very short drive to the park to meet him. She had a blast and was such a good audience member! We lathered up the sunscreen and hopped on her first “rides” in preparation for all the future deathtrap amusement park rides she’s certain to experience. I even got to give a hug to my middle school band director! He still recognized me after all these years and was so excited to meet my little booger bear. What a special day!

This cracked me up. There was a “Gum Tree” outside of each warm-up tent for kids to dispose of their “illegal” chewing gum prior to playing their instruments. Genius! Right up a middle-schooler’s alley!

Performance time!

Off to the rides with Daddy!

The (surprisingly fast) race cars were her favorite for sure:

This one, not so much. I heard “I no like this!” a few too many times. Since she was the only little one riding (the day was mostly reserved for middle school kids), they were able to stop it early for her. Phew!

But she loved the carousel ‘cause Mommy was able to ride with her! Man, do I want this girl to love horses like I did. Hehehe.

Her roller-coaster-hating Daddy got a chuckle out of B’s desire to ride this whopper. She was JUST tall enough to ride with an adult, so I got the fun job of being the giant to ride the kiddie ride. Nice. Check out our “roller coaster scream” faces!

A sip from the lion head water fountain:

And by the end, I had one sleepy doodle bug who didn’t even cry when it was time to leave. I was shocked! And she went right to sleep when her head hit the crib pillow. I guess we should visit Sandy Lake more often!