Brookfield Show

I have never been to the Ekka, but the thought of being jam packed with all those people does not appeal one little bit.  But I do have memories of going to the local show when I was a youngster.  So when the local show rolled into town, we took the opportunity for an afternoon of something different.  New experiences are all about my parenting style, particularly when I have one of those children who is the last one to put her hand up for anything.

I also very rarely encourage spending on children for no apparent reason.  I think it is important for them to have an attitude of gratitude, and that events such as birthdays and Christmas, are something that you look forward to as special occasions.  But on this day, it was all about having some fun, making some little dreams come true, and encouraging the boundaries of her little comfort zones to stretch a small way.

The blue husky was a dream come true as we passed the show bag stand.  In order to get one husky, Mummy did have to purchase the giant show bag, filled with enough sugar to send a small child to the moon and back, several times.  We won some small stuffed creatures by playing with the funny clowns.

We hooked a duck, and threw darts together at the balloons.  Lucky for Mummy, there was not a requirement to sit on any spinning rides of any kind.  We did all the things that I would normally put in the definitely not all in one day basket, ate fairy floss, drunk brightly coloured slushies, and just generally had a blast.  we walked around looking at animals, watching the horses go through their motions, and the biggest surprise was watching the guinea pigs be judged.  I was in hysterics at the whole thing, just check out the seriousness of the competitors.

The last stand caught the youngster's attention big time.  A row of giant stuffed horses.  The big blue eyes were WIDE and pleading.  So we bought a stack of lottery cards, and proceeded to navigate our way to eventual dismay.  The sight of the poor little face when the last card was opened was even too much for the operator to bear, and he quickly departed in search of an animal from another stall to help ease the pain.

Good old Maddy, she politely returned the creature to the operator and told him thanks, but she really wanted the horse.  The poor guy looks at me, and I quietly asked him "How much for the horse, the kid wants to win a horse?"  We struck a deal and bought some more cards.  At the last card the man leans over and tells her that he is feeling very lucky, and he thinks he should open the card.  At this point, he very much had my attention.  Maddison without hesitating spoke directly to him, and handed him the card.  Well you would never guess, he jumps on the microphone and yells to the crowd, "We have a winner!"  Maddison starts bounding on the spot, squealing and pointing at the horse.  The man throws the darn thing about 2 metres in the air, and she was all ready to catch it, barely able to get her arms around it.  As we wandered back to the car, her beaming smile just kept getting bigger as all the other little girls shouted in delight at her horse. 

Later that night, wedged between a husky and a horse, it looked like a tight squeeze in bed!