Update

[trickykitty]

My God-Damned Fucking Sister.

No - that is a complete sentence. We made it onto the train with ONLY 5min to spare because of her sorry ass (and that's only because the train stayed behind an extra 10min before leaving), and without lunch in our bellies. (We had planned to go at least an hour early and get lunch on the way.) Luckily they had microwaved hotdogs on board, but still. And then, because of "events" (that were completely in her control and she tried to blame on us for RUSHING HER, heaven fucking forbid), she was a damned bitch the entire time, mean and rude and belligerent to the boys, practically ignored them and/or stood far away from where they were, not even caring about participating, and spent the entire time wondering when BD2 was going to show up to pick her up. From the moment she arrived at my parents' house with the boys at 12:30 until the time we separated at 4:30, she must have said not 5 sentences of any real sign of care to the boys.

So, beyond all of that...

We had an excellent time. The train stopped and the Easter Bunny walked by the train, and then got (back) on and took pictures with everyone. Unlike a lot of the kids there, the boys stayed interactive with the train ride the entire way, and didn't balk when we told them we weren't taking the train back (which I was prepared to deal with). A guy on his own horse galloped REALLY fast along side the train for a good quarter mile or so, totally hamming it up for the passengers. I guess that's a really great way to let your horse have a wonderful free exercise while also getting a whole train full of people cheering for you - major kudos to that guy! We got to do everything on the list, and then some. Dad even made it in time to see Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show with us. I managed to get a wonderful sunburn on my face, chest, and shoulders. The boys even behaved for the watching of American Ninja after we got home, sans a moment when eldest accidentally sprayed a spray candy in the younger's face (after he had already spilt a little of it on his pants while trying to get the sprayer to work), so we had to pause the movie while I wrestled to get him to stop rolling around on the ground and flush his eyes out because they were stinging. (Note to self: avoid the spray candy from now on).

Speaking of candy, there's a Candy Barrel in the Stockyards. I remember this company having a store in one of the Mid-Cities malls when I was a kid, and dad always bought cherry sours from them (which I didn't recall seeing there today). I bought a hefty chunk of candy. This included Necco Wafers, which I grew up stealing quarters out of my dad's coin cup so that I could buy as a kid. This is the "new and improved, all-natural" wafers, and let's just say, I agree with the outrage. (Also, fuck Michael F. Jacobson and his ridiculous legislation.) I also picked up some Neopolitan Coconut Candy to test out with the boys. The guy standing next to me had just finished commenting to his friend about how absolutely awful they were, when I reached in and picked up three. He asked me if I like them, and I said yes. The eldest like them, but the youngest only liked it for a little while before spitting it out. Each to their own.

Overall, great day, but yet again, I still want to strangle my sister.