What We've Been Doing in Wenatchee

Hello There!

Sorry it's been awhile since I have updated my blog. When we arrived in Wenatchee last Tuesday we hit the ground running.

Last Tuesday, we pulled into the bone yard about 1:35. Ron quickly got us parked and Shawn hooked up our power. Ron then got changed into work clothes and then they were gone. Set up was supposed to start at 1:30 but Shawn had seen us pulling into the bone yard so he turned around and helped to get us hooked up so Ron could work set up too. After they left, I called Theresa and let her know that we had made it here. She was glad we were able to get the motor home fixed and had made it to Wenatchee. I then spent about an hour setting up the motor home and getting organized. I even found time to take a 2 hour nap ~ it was wonderful.

Wednesday and Thursday we both worked all day. I was in the office all day Wednesday. Thursday morning I set up all three ticket boxes and then in the afternoon I worked more in the office. Wednesday night we had our first guests for dinner since starting with the carnival. Shawn, Albert and Sophie joined us for a delicious dinner of roast beef, potatoes, carrots, celery and onions. We had a good time visiting and getting to know each other a little better. Wednesday after I was done with work, I made a quick trip to do laundry since we were not able to do it on our travel day due to the motor home problems.

We heard on Thursday that a dear friend of ours, Doug Freeman went home to be with the Lord. Doug was 81. It was hard to know that we would not be able to attend the memorial service for him or to be available to help at Northwood with the service. We did hear on Saturday night that the service was well attended and went well. We are thankful for answered prayer.

Friday the carnival was due to open at 5:00. We had to be at work at 2:30 to make sure all the computers were up and working in the ticket boxes as well as make sure all the signs were up with the correct prices. It was a good thing we had started early as we had printer problems. Seems Ron hooked the printer up to the wrong outlet on the computer. Won't make that mistake again. Friday night at the carnival was a busy night as sponsors had given out wrist bands for free rides from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. The carnival lot was crowded ~ the first we had ever seen that. It was a nice sight to see all the happy kids and all the rides in action.

Our jobs this week are a little different. Since the Lions Club is the sponsor of our carnival here in Wenatchee, the Lions Club members sell our tickets ~ it is their biggest fund raiser of the year. Ron and I have to train each person at the beginning of their shifts. Ron and I also respond if there is a problem in one of the ticket boxes. Another job we have this week is doing cash pick ups from the ticket boxes and the two food booths that belong to Funtastic Shows. We are getting lots of exercise as we walk from one end of the lot to the other. I am also spending lots of time in the office doing Customer Service and helping with payroll and counting money.

Saturday and Sunday we opened at noon so we had to be at work at 11:00. The carnival stays open till 10:00 p.m. each day. We did lots of walking and interacted with lots of people. Customer Service is going well. I know that is because the Lord is answering my prayer for things to go smoothly when I am in that position. I have heard such horror stories of how customers treat the person in Customer Service but so far nothing bad has happened to me and no one has called me names or even swear at me. For that I am thankful.

Sunday started off with some bad news. Shawn found out that his cousin had been killed in a pedestrian/bus accident in Portland, OR. She was only 22. Shawn and Albert were given the day off to make arrangements for Shawn to go home on Monday morning. He is from Enumclaw. He went home on Monday morning and then drove on to Vancouver, WA to be with family. He will rejoin us when we are in Sequim. Since Shawn had to leave, now Ron and I are the show van drivers. We drive the van from the bone yard to the lot for each shift and at the end of the day. It appears I will be driving the show van to Sequim when we head out next week. I will find out for sure either today or tomorrow if that is the plan.

Monday morning we were woke up at 9:50 a.m. by three gamer people who wanted to go and do laundry. We had to call Rick to see if it was okay to take a group to do laundry. Rick said yes, so Ron took 7 people to do laundry and then to Walmart for some grocery shopping. I went with Albert & Sophie to Costco, Walmart, Home Depot and then the Grocery Outlet. It was nice to be able to stock up on things like granola bars, bottled water (we are drinking 3 to 4 bottles a day), sliced cheese, a roaster chicken and plastic ware. Since we do a lot of boon docking (camping without hookups) we have opted to use paper plates and plastic ware to save on water going into the holding tanks. At Walmart I found a pair of black slacks and a pair of black capris so now I have four pairs of work slacks as well as buying 10 white t-shirts for Ron. I think we now have enough work clothes to get us through a two week carnival run.

Sunday, Ron was pleasantly surprised as he ran into a friend of ours from home. Sean Smith, from Birch Bay, was here in Wenatchee for some training and was walking through the carnival when they ran into each other. Sean took Ron's picture and sent it home to Teresa via his cell phone.

Monday night at the carnival was a little crazy. It was the first night where you could buy a wrist band and ride unlimited rides for the evening. Another new thing we had to teach the cashiers how to sell. I spent the first hour we were opened running from ticket booth to ticket booth fixing errors ~ wrist bands not being scanned when sold which made them not work on the rides. We had our first lost child ~ a little girl of about 6 or 7 who got separated from her parents was found wandering in the games area. We put it out across the radios that she was lost, where she was at - sitting with a gamer in front of one of the games and asked ride operators to watch for frantic looking parents. We are happy to report parents and child were reunited after about 15 minutes.

Ron and I have enjoyed two treats at the carnival. One is a bag of dried onions that are like potato chips. You can get white onions that are flavored with butter, salt & pepper or red onions that have paprika, salt & pepper on them. They are delicious and only cost $2.00 a bag. I think I am going to buy a couple of bags on the last day to take with us. The other treat is getting a large cup of fresh fruit & vegi's (mango, pineapple, watermelon and cucumbers) for $3.00. The fruit tastes yummy and the price is pretty good. Oh, a third treat Ron has enjoyed a couple of times is fresh made lemonade.

That about sums up our last week here in Wenatchee. The Apple Blossom Festival runs through Sunday, May 2nd. We have heard rumors that tear down will be a two day affair next week so not sure when we will leave for Sequim from here. I hope to find out today or tomorrow if I will be driving the show van for that trip.

Praises this week ~

~ for good weather this week as we worked
~ that we were able to get the motor home repaired and a safe trip to Wenatchee
~ for being able to meet our financial obligations
~ for all the walking we are getting in. Ron lost 4 lbs last week and I lost 1 lb.

Prayer requests ~

~ we are still waiting for one check to come in from a customer. Ron spoke with him and was told that we should get our money around the 5th of May. Please pray that it comes in as we were told
~ for continued good health. I spoke with my endocrinologist and she lowered my insulin and I have not had any problems with low blood sugars for over a week.
~ for safety as we work especially as we do the pick ups of cash from the ticket and food booths

Thanks for reading my blog and keeping up with us as we live/work/travel with the carnival. Feel free to leave a comment or drop us a note on facebook or via email. We love hearing from you!