Does
anybody ever had those days where they are off to a not so good start and you
are so close to throwing in the towel, but don’t. Then that day turns out to be
one of the best days and you sit there telling yourself you are glad you didn’t
leave? Well I had one of these on Saturday.
We
had planned to go to Caulfield’s Family Day, the first of the kind for 2015.
But things just weren’t going right from the beginning, Madison was in full
terror mode where listening was not an option and to top it off when we arrived
it had only just hit me that we had gone to the races dressed pretty casual..
What was I thinking? Luckily there was an even mix between dresses and suits
and the casual race goers- like ourselves.
It
was a task within itself to get in, we parked in the centre car-park and then
found we needed to be on the other side of the race track to collect our
tickets, so we went through the ramp, which runs right under the track luckily.
When
we got to the other side things weren’t running smoothly at all when collecting
tickets and the other half was hot and bothered by this stage and just wanted
to go home. So that is what we began to do, walk back to the car. As we did so
Madison was very upset that we were walking away from the rides, and I felt like
a horrible mother teasing her just moments before walking past them and telling
her she was going on all them rides, as that was our intentions.
As
we were half way back to the car we received a phone call that tickets would be
brought back to us, so it was a quick hurry back to the gates- luckily it
wasn’t busy as the first race was racing already- unlucky we didn’t back a
winner!
This
is when our day took a turn for the better and we secured ourselves a perfect
spot on the lawn somewhere in between the finish line and the kid’s area.
I
have never been to a family day, as the races have always meant adult time away
from the kids for a rest. We love the whole atmosphere and just thought it
would be too much to have to look after the kids and also enjoy ourselves. Now
they are a little older we thought why not, what could go wrong?
The sound as they gallop past is just goose bump worthy.
Caulfield
family day is great, once you pay to get in that is it. There is no extra
payments to be made for the rides inside and the kids can go on them as many
times as they like, which I thought was fantastic.
With
so many activities and rides for the kids Miss Madison had no idea where to
begin.
As
we walked into what we named the Kid Zone Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were
about to start so we thought we would sit in on this one and let Madison enjoy
something Matt and I used to watch as little ones.
Madison
danced along to the show and really got involved, which was such a great sight
to see and then of course I did sneak a peek at Matt getting right into it also.
The costumes these days have come along way since I was younger and you can
really sell it to the kids that these are the real Turtles!
Then
right next door to the Kids stage was Dirt Girl World where your children had
the chance to decorate their own little cardboard pot and then pick either a
chive or basil to plant in it and take it home. Madison decided that she wanted
Basil as it is what she loves on her homemade Pizza that Dad makes her.
Maddy and Daddy decorating a pot.
Concentration 0 at this stage haha.
Madison And her Basil
Dirt
Girl even made an appearance herself, which had Madison, an even happier girl.
Rides
were everywhere, there was everything from dodgem cars (which had a huge line),
those bubbles that float on water, blow up horse racing, jumping castle, footy
drills, pony rides, petting farm and of course a wonderful craft area which
Madison loved a lot- she is a very creative girl.
Teapot Ride
Petting Zoo
With Her Friends
Pony Rides with Nugget
Painting Her Rooster in The Craft Area
And thats a stack! On the blow up races
Afl Drills in Action
She got the ball :-) Little Rising Star right here!
Meeting the Bananas In Pyjamas.
For
those lucky enough there was even a V.I.Picnic area, which was a cordoned off
area- but I am unsure of the benefits you receive in here other then one of the
best spots on the lawn.
To
make my day one zillion times better I received a message from 101.9 Fox around
5pm to let me know to come into their little area. I needed to anyway as we
went a little nuts on the photos. If you tagged #FoxLovesRacing then their machine
would automatically print out a photo of you and you could print as many as you
liked, so I had to go and collect the ones we had taken anyway.
Our Winning Photo :-) Go 3B's Team!
But
when I arrived there I was informed that I had actually won an 18month MRC
membership, which had me almost in tears to be honest! I was shocked, happy,
surprised and all of that jazz all at the same time- not to mention a little
tired. This would have had to be one of the best Valentine’s Day gifts I have received
in all of my life!!
Mummy and Daddy are tired, but well worth it!
All
in all it is a lot of hard work taking a little one to the races, and you are
left pooped by the end of the day and just craving your bed. But Caulfield
Family Day is a great place to start and let the kids get in on some of the
racing action.
