All the Little Ducks are Swimming in the Water

This past Saturday, T and I took Tiny and Buba to the Ducky Race & Fair in a nearby town. This is the 5th year the event was held, and it serves as a fundraiser for a local preschool and sometimes other nonprofit organizations. It was our first time attending, and the kids had a blast!

We arrived about a half an hour early to avoid having to park too far away. Our first stop was at the ducky table, where for $10 you could buy a little, yellow, plastic ducky that would be thrown into a pool for a chance to be drawn (scooped out with a big pool cleaning net) for a $500 prize. Our duck was #1206, and we were asked to give it a name when we signed up for the drawing. I asked Tiny what she thought we should call it and she said, “All the little ducks are swimming in the water”, which is the first line in a song that both Buba and Tiny enjoy singing (we learned it from Buba’s EI teacher). That name seem a bit long for a little, yellow ducky, so we opted to call him Swimmy instead.

The event took place at a playground that was adjacent to a track, some baseball fields, and a swimming pool. The kids started off on the playground and then did some running around on the track. Just as we were coming off the track we saw some women setting up a small petting zoo with a goat, two small dogs, a small pig, two little rabbits, and a chicken. There were also some kittens and baby bunnies in cages nearby. We waited around while they finished setting up and were among the first to go in to see all the critters. Tiny and Buba had great fun petting the pig, goat, and doggies (especially the doggies). The women used baby blankets to tightly swaddle the kittens and baby bunnies and let the kids hold and pet them while sitting in the grass. Unfortunately, there were so many kids waiting, that we were only allowed 15 minutes in the petting zoo, but Buba and Tiny didn’t seem to mind when we told them we needed to move on to other things.

There was also a fire truck parked on the road, and Buba and Tiny got to climb up into the cab of the truck to see where the rescue workers sit and all the gear they have. Upon leaving, they each got shiny silver stickers branding them Junior Firefighters, which Tiny seemed to take very seriously.

We moved onto the library book sale just a few blocks away before picking up sandwiches and heading back for the ducky parade and drawing. Sadly, our little Swimmy did not win, but we all had fun waiting and listening as they drew ducks from the water for the $500 and various other prizes.

The only thing that would have made this experience even better would have been if I’d managed to snap a few pictures of the kids. I don’t know how other parents do it, but I was so afraid that if I took the time to try and snap a few photos, I’d lose my kids in the crowd. So that look on Tiny’s face as she stroked the baby bunnies ears and the look of wonder Buba had as he looked all around the fire truck’s cab will just have to remained engrained in my memory forever.