Another Rally....more fun, and more SUN!

When I found out that Sarah Palin was coming back to NC this week I called Jewel to see if she wanted to go and she did. I also asked the kids if they wanted to go and they were excited as well. We decided to do our fieldtrip for school to the Sarah Palin rally at Elon College! We went and got the tickets then left our house at 7:30 a.m. (can you believe Lauren got up that early...now that is determination..for her!) and headed out! (Even Jackie came along...she was a great sport and a great help the whole day and we really enjoyed her company...thanks, Jackie..we love you!) We picked up Jewel and off we went. We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, ate in the car and kept going so we could get there by 10:00 a.m. We knew the crowds would be big and we wanted to get there early! We had to park in a field about 2 miles from the baseball field! It was a nice walk during the morning....it wasn't too hot and we were all excited. We got pretty far up in line so we settled down for a long wait. Jewel had brought a camp chair with her that she knew she couldn't take in but she decided she would leave it and didn't care if she got it back. We talked to others in line and ended up standing under a shaded tree so it wasn't too bad. While we were standing in line, we found out that there were NO seats except for VIP's and we would all be standing on the baseball field. Okay..that was not what I wanted to hear but anyway they let us in around 11:30. We got so close to the stage that I was excited and so were the kids. The sun was really beating down though and after about 2 hours, with little water (we had to wade thru a HUGE crowd and wait in a line to get any) the kids were beginning to fade! Jackie doesn't like crowds so she opted to stay out of the arena under a shade tree but we all wanted to be close! I went to get some water for the kids (they had taken their cornstarch but we didn't have anymore water with us) and while I was gone, Jewel got worried! She checked the kids bloodsugars and they were good but the heat was too much. I got back, saw that they weren't going to make it. Emily said she felt like she was going to throw up (that time of the month) so I told the security gaurd we had to get out of the arena (we were packed in their like sardines). Jewel took her and Lauren out and after about 15 minutes I decided to take Michael out as well. The people around us were great and they held our places. Once the kids got to a shaded area, they got better IMMEDIATELY! Jewel and I decided to go back in since we were so close, we thought we could get the kids hats signed. We made our way back thru the crowd and then everyone closed in. It was BLAZING HOT in that crowd. Hank Williams, Jr. came out and sang a couple of songs then sang a song he wrote for the campaign called "McCain/Palin Tradition"! It was great and you have to go to Youtube and watch it! We cheered but I was so hot I thought I would pass out...I sat down in the crowd for a minute to try and cool off. Jewel was grabbing on to the rail we were standing by...finally Sarah Palin came out and we were so close to her we could see the beads of sweat on her forehead. It was great but by the time she finished speaking I was too hot to care! I tried to get the kids hats signed but I couldn't push up thru the crowd as everyone moved in really fast. I gave up when I felt like I was going to faint and Jewel and I made our way out of the huge packed in crowd. By the time we got back to the kids, I sat down, drank 3 cups of water and thought I couldn't go another step. My left foot (I have some kind of pulled muscle or something in it) was hurting so bad that any weight I put on it was so painful....of course we had been standing up in the hot sun for over 5 hours at this point! We began to make our way back to the car (a 2 mile walk)! It wasn't nearly as much fun going back....Lauren asked to stop once as she was really tired and I was happy to do so. I was hot and tired and in NO MOOD for those looney Obama supporters that were protesting so I just yelled back at them that we were voting for hope that's why we were voting for McCain. When we FINALLY made it back to the car, I was so happy for a good seat and AIR CONDITIONING! I would never have made it as a pioneer! We recovered fairly quickly though as we drove out of town. We stopped to eat on the way home and by the time we got home, we were tired but everyone was in tact! It was a good day with my kids, my sister in law, and my friend. We enjoyed each others company and loved seeing Sarah Palin. Michael had a "Country First" sign that he waved and said he was a good sign waver. Lauren got a pink McCain/Palin hat and they got to have first hand knowledge of what a rally is like with tons of people (although none of us like the blazing heat)! Michael came home and went to the computer to learn even more! I'm glad we got to experience it...I came away with a greater appreciation for our country, our freedoms, my home, my car, and for air conditioning...hahahaha! All in all it was a great day! Below are some pictures from our day!

Everyone waiting in line

Holding up my "Country First" towel

I took a picture of Mikey while he was sitting down in the hot sun

Jewel sitting in the crowd having a good time!

Emily & Lauren waiting as everyone was coming in!

Eating at Cracker Barrel at the end of our long, hot, fun day!