Answers, updates and goings on!

Hello Everyone

What a week we had in Kent and the beginning of our time in Olympia.

But first to answer a question:

Does that end the carnival season for the winter, and are you guys planning on doing it again next year? Yes, the carnival season ends for us after the Puyallup Fair. September 26th is the last day of the fair and then there will be one to two weeks of tear down and then we are off to Lewiston, Idaho.

Thanks for your comments to last weeks post. Sorry it took so long for me to get the comments posted...time on the computer was definitely at a minimum.

Kent ~~~ was HOT! and then VERY HOT! for the first two days of the carnival. Saturday and Sunday was a lot better weather and attendance wise. We are definitely into the carnival/fair season which means hot weather and long days. Thursday and Friday we did not start till 1:30 but Saturday and Sunday work began at 10:30 a.m. and did not end before midnight on Saturday and 3:00 a.m. Monday morning. We are holding up well and are thankful for that.

Jump to Olympia actually Lacey for the bone yard and Olympia for Lakefair. The bone yard is at South Sound Mall in Lacey. We are parked right where we did the carnival the end of March. Our day was long with little sleep. We finished up and got back to the bone yard in Kent at 3:30 a.m. Fell asleep about 4:00 a.m. The alarm went off at 7:00 and Ron did all the stuff to prepare for the move outside (we had done the inside stuff when we got home at 3:30 a.m.). Ron told me to go back to bed knowing I had to be at work at 11:00 a.m. The next thing I knew we were driving down the road and I jumped out of bed and asked "did you close the windows?" No, he forgot. So as Ron drove down the road I closed all the side windows. If they are open while we drive it causes havoc on the road. I laid back down on the bed till we got to Cabela's in Lacey. Didn't sleep but did rest. After stopping to dump the tanks at Cabela's we made our way to South Sound Mall and the bone yard. We had been told to be there early as the private rigs are along the fence line and the condo's are in front of us and then we are surrounded by chain link fence with brightly colored plastic covers over the fence. I will try to get some pictures if we can get the camera to work. I think we have to buy a new one as we can't keep the batteries charged to keep the camera working long enough to get more than four or five pictures before needing new batteries. Will be talking to Ron as soon as he gets home from work today...to see if we are taking a trip to the store this evening.

Back to Monday...we got set up by 9:00 a.m. and then waited for Albert & Shawn to arrive so I could get to work. They arrived at 9:45 unhooked their trailer (thanks James for moving the trailer into place) and we hopped on the freeway for Olympia. Arrived at 11:05. Late by five minutes and then had to wait till 12:45 for the trailer to be spotted on the lot and readied for us to use. I could have slept!!! But that is life. While I was waiting with Debbie and Kristy (Theresa's daughter), my personal driver (Ron) went for a walk, found a sandwich place and a cool place in the shade for a nap.

We readied ourselves to begin the hiring. People had been lining up for most of the morning at one trailer (around the corner from where we were at in our show office trailer). Kevin, the white unit show manager, walked over to where they were waiting. Ron was talking to Kevin by then and Kevin asked Ron if he wanted to see something interesting. Ron said sure. So together they walked over to the steps of the trailer where all the people were standing. Kevin said the hiring would be around the corner at the yellow trailer in front of the Burger Kitchen. Kevin and Ron just stood there as a hoard of people turned and ran to our show trailer. Ron described it as watching a herd of cattle on the run. We (Debbie, Kristy & I) knew they were coming as we heard them running and the trailer started to shake. We waited till they all arrived and then Debbie demanded quiet and gave our hiring speel: we hand out the applications and then choose who we want to hire. We do not necessarily hire the first person in line, we hire the people we need to do the jobs that we have available. She told them they had to have two pieces of ID (preferable Drivers License & SS Card) and the requirements for working: clean shaven men, no facial piercings, no long hair on guys and clothing requirements for working: dark blue or black slacks, no jeans, white t-shirt, no writing on the shirts. And then our work began, handing out applications (lost all 10 of our bic pens that we handed out) and then processing them. We hired approximately 80 people for this spot. It took us from 1:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. to hire and process all the new hires. The three of us got a little goofy at times due to our lack of sleep but we made it through the day. Ron worked set up from 1:00 to 5:00 and then hung out under the shade tree waiting for me till about 5:45. At that time I sent him back to the bone yard to get the motor home set up as we just dropped it off and got it level before heading to Olympia. Debbie said she would give me a ride back to the bone yard.

Back at the bone yard Ron got power and water to the motor home as well as set up the satellite dish for the TV. I think luck was on his side as he set the satellite from the top of the motor home without any help. Hmmm....maybe I won't have to help with that job any more :).

I arrived at the bone yard about 8:15 p.m. I was starving and so we walked over to Applebees and had a delightful dinner and just relaxed. It was $5 burger night so I had a Philly Steak burger with a house salad and Ron had the Cowboy burger with seasoned fries. After a nice dinner we walked back to the motor home and settled into bed. It was 10:30 p.m.

Ron was up at 6:00 this morning as the show van was leaving at 7:00 a.m. to go back to the lot to finish setting up the rides. I did not have to work today as there are only two computers set up so Debbie and Kristy made plans to be at work this morning at 6:00 a.m. so they could be out of there by noon and have some time off this afternoon before the rush starts again tomorrow.

I knew I was tired but did not realize how tired I was. I slept till 10:00 this morning and then got up and made a trip to Albertsons. I told the guys I would make a good dinner for them for tonight. I picked up stuff to make potato & macaroni salad, a watermelon, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and a ham to put in the crock pot. I turned right out of the parking lot when I should have turned left so had to drive about a mile out of the way to find a place to turn around. Made my way back towards the bone yard stopping at Target to pick up some socks and t-shirts for Ron. Also found a couple of white tank tops for me. Then back to the bone yard to put the ham in the crock pot. Finished that and crawled back into bed about 11:45 a.m. and went back to sleep. Woke up about 3:00 p.m. when the power went off. I jumped out of bed and wondered what was going on. About 5 minutes later the power came back on ~ yeah my dinner was saved. I felt so much better and ready to start my day.

Right now our jobs this week will be as ticket sellers. We are flexible though and will do whatever jobs we get assigned to.

I finally got back on line ~ the first time since Saturday morning. I have posted a couple of posts on Facebook via my phone just to let people know what we were doing. If you want to be my friend on Facebook under Alice Nelson Workentin. Send me a friend request for another way to connect with us.

I read all 75 messages waiting for me in my email account and then decided to catch you all up with a new blog post.

We will be in Lacey/Olmpia till next Monday morning. The carnival hours are long here: we open at 11:00 a.m. each day and go till sometime between 10 & midnight each day so don't know if I will be able to post a blog or not. I will update as soon as I can.

Better close for now and put the final touches on dinner. Expect to hear from Ron soon that they are on their way back to the bone yard. I am sure they will be hungry after working all day.

Praise & Prayer Requests ~~~

Praise that the weather cooled down on Saturday & Sunday and that we had a couple of good days with the carnival.

Praise that there were no injuries in Kent. Always a concern after working all day and then having to tear down all night.

Praise that the report about Theresa was good this week. Last week her and Rick went to the ocean for a few days before she started her chemo. She had her first chemo treatment yesterday. Her and Rick are hoping to be able to bring the trailer up for the weekend but that will depend on how Theresa is doing. Thank you all for your continued prayers for them. It was good to catch up with Kristy yesterday. She said there have definitely been some rough days but also some good days and for that they are thankful.

Please lift our friend, Deb Cummins, up in prayer. She is battling a rare cancer and has recently been told that there is nothing else the doctors can do for her. Please pray for strength for her to deal with things as they come and to continue to put her hope and trust in the Lord. She is in great spirits most of the time and we are thankful for that. Deb is a friend of ours through the Blaine School District.

Continue to lift Theresa and Rick up as Theresa begins her chemo treatment. Many of us try to send her uplifting and funny cards and words of encouragement.

Thanks for your continued prayers for Ron and I as we continue on this journey of working/living/traveling with the carnival. Specifically pray for our stamina. That we will have the energy to do what we need to do and to do it with a joyful and pleasant heart.

Thanks for visiting with us again. Hope all is well with each of you. Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you down the road.

Alice