Teeth cleaning turned fun!

On Saturday, I shuttled 6 of my kiddos to the dentist for cleanings and sealants. I just love that our dentist has Saturday appointments-what a lifesaver! That way, I can leave the littler ones home while I take the others. In all honesty, I don't mind that the appointment takes 2 hours because there are so many of them. I just enjoy the time I get to read a magazine in peace! Well, as we pulled into the dentist's parking lot, we noticed what looked like a little mini-carnival going up. I asked the receptionist what was going on outside and she told me it was to celebrate the anniversary of the medical clinic next door. I thought she meant it was for people who worked there or maybe were patients. During our wait, much to my 5 year old's surprise, in pulled a fire truck. He was in awe. Doesn't every 5 year old boy want to be a fireman? I knew we just couldn't leave without visiting that firetruck-I figured they'd let him take a peek at it, right? As we came out of the dentist's office and made our way over to the fire truck, we were offered icees (no thanks, no eating or drinking for 30 minutes-dentist's orders!), given goodie bags of stuff, handed free tickets for a drawing, and also given some tickets for free BBQ lunch they were serving! Wow-that was so nice! I guess it was a free festival sponsored by a local church and was open to everyone. We got to talk to the firemen and look around the entire truck.

They even let him hop up in the driver's seat! See that smile?

They had a couple of games set up-here is the soccer ball kicking one they did...

Guess what the prize was? Yep, candy! Don't worry-we were past that 30 minute period by now. But we were right in front of our dentist's office-and there were my kids, scarfing down candy! I was sure my dentist was peering out the window, shaking his head in disappointment at all the work I had just undone. Then again, maybe he was smiling at the possibility of all the increased revenue from my family in the coming months! We stayed a little longer, then headed out to Michael's, the arts and crafts store. I had promised Sarah I would take her there to do the free tote bag decorating craft they were having for kids. All I can say is, they had a blast! The 3 girls were very particular about their designs and carefully (as best they could) painted theirs.

John, however, subscribed to the "more is better" philosophy on this one. It was hard to tell whether more paint made it onto the bag or his clothes.

Unfortunately, I ended up wearing some paint, too, after trying hard to stay on the other side of the table. Well, that's what washing machines are for, right? Most importantly, they had fun!