Fall Festival... Fall Fiasco?

I bought our tickets early, so we HAD to go. Well, that, and I couldn't have a disappointed 6-year-old, asking why all her friends were at the Fall Festival... and she wasn't!
Ok -- let me explain... If you haven't already guessed: we just had Fall Festival at Jaiden's school. That was my first Fall Festival at Jaiden's school. Could be my last! (Ha-ha!)
We arrived around 7:30 and pulled the Jeep over a curb to park. Grabbing a flashlight and some light jackets, we made our way down to the insanity below... Sean, Jaiden and I were starving, so the school lunch room was our first stop (after weeding through the crowd of sugar-hyped kids, flustered parents and random teenagers).
Unfortunately, some of the food had already been sold out, and they were completely out of drinks. (Note to self: bring stash of drinks next time.) We finally managed to be at the right place at the right time and grab the few remaining Pepsis... then we made our way back outside to the mob of people. There were people everywhere. People running, screaming, standing in lines, reprimanding their children, clambering for cheap prizes and trying to keep their tickets in order. I got a headache as I tried to balance my purse, the envelope of tickets, the flashlight, the last Pepsi can, a handful of plastic horses and Halloween stickers, a bag of cotton candy AND my daughter, of course! (Note to self: bring a large tote bag or backpack to carry everything.)
Hey -- at least the kids had a blast! Jaiden stuck with our neighbors, Colt and Cailyn, most of the evening as they raced from booth to booth, bowling, jumping in the inflatables, fishing, sack racing, shooting baskets, saying "hi" to friends from school, consuming way too much sugar and getting their hair sprayed wacky colors! (Colt ended up with white hair; Cailyn had bright pink hair; Jaiden had half pink, half purple; and I had green and blue.)
We stayed until the event closed and watched the insanity as people packed away their booths as quickly as possible. We still had tickets left over, so Sean attempted to spend the remainder on food. (Add 4 hot dogs and three baggies of Halloween cookies to the pile of stuff I was carrying!) Then we headed back to the Jeep with our neighbors so we could give them a ride to their car... about a mile away! (Yes, 4 adults and 3 children in a Liberty....) I ended up riding in the back, which wouldn't have been too bad except that I still have a huge box of stuff in there. (Note to self: clean out the Jeep... and don't buy Fall Festival tickets early next year!) ;)