Touch a Truck!

Today at the library, there was a "Touch a Truck" event scheduled from 1:00 - 4:00. Katie Anne was very excited about getting to "touch" (aka ride in and pretend to drive) trucks and tractors. She loves tractors since she sees them every day doing road construction outside our neighborhood. It rained this afternoon, but it cleared out after about a twenty minute storm. I called the library after the sun came out, and they said the event was still on. So, she went down for a nap early, I woke her up at 2:30, and we were on our way!

Of course, we took Baby Amanda with us... here's the little mom, complete with her own cup of juice, her baby, and her diaper bag. She dressed Baby Amanda in a little purple outfit, and swaddled her in her blanket. She packed the bag all by herself... it contained a toy bottle, a small baby hat, two baby toys (plastic mirror and tiny set of keys), and one bib. Not bad!

Unfortunately, when we got there, only one tractor was left... apparently, all the others drove off about an hour early without a word to anyone! What a drag! So, Katie Anne got to sit in the one tractor that was there, and then we made a craft.

I'm not sure who really organized this thing... the children's librarians who were stationed at the door (and who normally run very smooth events) seemed kind of confused about the whole thing when I asked where the tractors were, and they said that no one had said a word to them... the trucks and tractors just pulled out about 2:50. And, when I'd called, the librarian at the front desk said, "As far as we know, the event's still on. I can see out there, and the trucks are still out there." So, my guess is that Kohl's, who was the sponsor, was kind of in charge... inside the craft room were only Kohl's employees, and the crafts were held in the Civic Center, not the library.

Well, the Kohl's staff should've consulted the children's librarians when they dreamed up this truck-related craft, because I don't think a thirty-year-old could've done this thing. All the kids were running around while parents cut wheels out of super-thick cardboard and painted them black, poked pipe cleaners through toilet paper rolls, and glued on teeny tiny wiggle eyes. So, Katie Anne and I barely listened to directions, I asked for a few extra art supplies (and gave back a few we wouldn't be using, like that goofy cardboard and black paint), and we went to a far-away table and did our own thing.

It wound up looking just as good as the sample super-hard cars the Kohl's employees had made, and Katie Anne did most steps herself! She named her creation "The Sesame Street" in honor of her favorite show. Here's some of what we did... I tried to position the camera more carefully this time, but our heads are still cut off a little bit.

Katie Anne colors the outside of her car.

Then, we glued it to the toilet paper roll.
After Katie Anne colored the foam and helped me trace some circles, I cut out the wheels. She wanted two big and two little... kind of like a cannon.
Katie Anne sticks on the last small wheel!
Showing off the car!