Circus time!

As I was picking Chaz from school one day, I noticed a holder with some tickets for the circus. For every paid adult, you get two children in for free. I personally think it should be the other way around but I clearly don't make the rules. I grabbed a few (you never know when the Hill clan will tag along) and hung them on the fridge for a few weeks. It took a few days for Chaz to notice them but as soon as he did he asked about them every single day. "Is today circus day??" Everyday.

I will admit, as the start of the circus was approaching I began to become a bit reluctant to go. There were some terrible storms on the radar for that evening, Chaz didn't get the best nap and did I mention I am preggo? Well, add them all up and I wasn't so excited. But I went. And we had a great time! Before we walked in I tried to get a picture of my boys. Chaz decided I wasn't getting a good one of him. Nope. Not happening.
When we got out of the car they were feeding the elephants next to the giant trailer. Chaz just had to go take a peek.The entry fee to the circus was a wee but more than we expected. We did stop at the ATM on the way but unfortunately we didn't get enough money for the "extras." As you probably guessed, Ryan immediately got "the look." He told me we had enough money to share a drink and get a snack or share a drink and let Chaz ride the ponies. My options were very limited since Chaz had already spotted the ponies and was begging to go. Ryan managed to scrounge up enough money to get me a water and get him and Chaz a sprite to share. We had already found our spot on the ever-so-comfortable seating, so when Ryan decided to take the boy to the ponies I kept my happy bum put. I did send the camera with Ryan... Hence the below. This is what happens when you just hold the camera out and click. No aiming, focusing or viewing took place. Clearly.
Oh well, the boy was happy. That is really all that matters. Right?
First up, the lions and tigers! Chaz thought they were cool. There was one tiger that didn't look very nice. I was a little concerned that we were about to see this rickety trainer lady take a little nibble from one of the creatures. Seriously, it crossed my mind multiple times. The lion below was like 1000 years old and very nice. (I would hate for you to confuse the two)
Daddy/Chaz pic. Yes, no aiming, viewing or focusing took place. I don't care because it is super cute.
And then this guy came out. I tell ya, I know he is doing his job but on my scale he was kickin' it right there with the devil. I mean really. Look at all that stuff!!! Each item around ten bucks and you could see it glowing from a mile away. The devil, I say. Oh, and did I mention we didn't have two nickles to rub together if we wanted to buy the little guy something?!?! Ugh. Every single kid around us got one, some (including the family in front of us..we will get to them in a minute) got more than one. My poor little guy. He was pretty good about it but still he wanted one. He had his eyes locked on this guy for a solid 20 minutes. The family in front of us.. OH the family in front of us. They were very nice but they bought their little guy a laser gun. Sounds like a nice thing to do for a 3 year-old, right? Well, not when you have another 3 year-old behind you whose parents were running about twenty bucks short for the day. Ugh. Chaz just stared at this little boy. He never threw a fit about it, which I think was worse. He was sad. He just wanted one of these. I thought for a second he was going to snatch it when the kiddo sat it down, but he didn't. Good boy. And yes, I noticed the grossness of the fact that this boy's mother does NOT have shoes on at the circus. Gross.
Then it was halftime as Chaz informed me. Or intermission as you people would call it. Or MONEY MAKING TIME as the circus crew would call it. Dirty bouncy house? $5 a kid. Allotted time jumping? Approximately 3 minutes. Number of kids at the circus that love bouncy houses? Probably all of them. Cha-Ching!!
Elephant rides? $5 kids, $8 adult. Kicker? an adult must ride with the children. Average number of people per ride? 3 kids/2 adults. Cha-Cha-Ching!
Did Chaz do either of these activities? Nope. Instead he and his daddy ran to the car to rob my Sonic drink fund we remembered was in the car (I have a little addiction. Don't judge) AND guess what they bought? Yep, this is his and he is HAPPY!! Score one for the parents and a Cha-Cha-Cha-Ching for the circus.
Obviously, I was noticing the things going on around me because this wasn't the most exciting circus ever made. This is made super obvious by the look on my little one's face below. This and the fact that he had a very short nap. However, do take note of the laser gun which quickly became his favorite and has remained his favorite for going on a week now (that is a LONG time in kid land) Right after this picture was taken Chaz looked at me and said "Ok, I'm done. Lets go home" He got up and started to head down the bleachers. His father quickly changed his mind with the promise that the elephants were up next--I think it probably had more to do with the cover charge but whatever.
He was right. The elephants were the finale.
Chaz loved them but after two hours of sitting on a hard bench (note: this term is used very lightly as it was really just a couple pieces of very hard, not very stable, wood) he was ready to leave.

We did get an extra treat when we rounded the corner to the car.. the ringmaster was spraying off the elephants. Chaz thought it was really funny. "Momma, they are getting a shower because they smell." He is a smart one!
We had a great time but I don't think I will do this circus again. The one we went to a few years back was so much better. No matter what, we will always make sure we have a few more dollars with us :)