Kinder Fest - Illesheim

So today Erin Murphy and I worked at the Illesheim base Kinder Fest. We were NOT expected and may have been able to go home...such is the communication we live with! But I already changed my plans for this, I wasn't going to change again. So we stayed and ran the Bouncy House.

We got there around 9am and were told to come back at 11am because they didn't need help setting up. We worked from 11am to 4pm. I am proud to say that there were no serious injuries on our watch! NONE. We tag teamed the kids by holding it to about 10 kids in at once. Mostly keeping the big kids out when too many of the little ones were in. Erin and I also took turns in the Bouncy House to make sure that things were running smoothly from all sides! We were a great team. I really wish I had thought to bring my camera because it would have looked soooooo good in my portfolio at the end of the semester! But I'll live without the pictures.

I only have two incidents that bothered me all day. First, when two "older" boys came into "the house" and immediately did a couple of somersaults. Those were not allowed in "the house" and I told them that. They looked at me like I was either crazy or the wicked witch and left. I felt like their parents were not amused by my intervention. But those were the rules of the house I had to make sure that EVERYONE was safe! The other incident happened with a couple of "older" girls. They looked to be playing at ridding on each other like a horse game maybe. I told them that wasn't a good idea because of the number of people and the way "the house" moves. They were fine with that and would have kept on playing but a dad like guy came over and told them to get out. I'm not sure if it was because I had to correct them or not, but I felt like it was. But they had corrected the behavior and would have been fine! I felt kind of bad for the girls because they hadn't given me any grief about it. Oh well, that's the way it goes.

The day itself was kind of crazy! There were a couple of kids I saw running around but never did see a parent attached to them...some doing fine without the parental supervision and others not so fine. This all happened inside a hanger on base because it was raining cats and dogs! ALL DAY LONG! The weather this weekend is VERY German weather. The hanger was nice for the Bouncy House because it kept the dirt to a minimum and we didn't have to worry about people/kids knocking over our air supply (nothing but wall behind us). The noise was a little annoying from some of the games because the way things echoed, but for the most part it worked just fine. There was a good turn out, but I think it could have been better. Because even though the event was moved indoors parents have a hard time wanting to take kids out of the house when it's raining like crazy.

Now it's time for a hot shower and finding a movie to watch! My legs are already sore from jumping/bouncing around that stupid "house" all day long! The plan is to head to Stuttgart tomorrow for a day trip, but if the weather keeps up like today we may have to cancel. We are supposed to be going to a carnival and it won't be any fun in the rain!