The downtown Orlando Public Library was hosting a huge event to promote literacy. The event included a special guest, Glen "big baby" Davis of the Orlando Magic (basketball fans may have appreciated that, I had to look him up since I do not do the sports thing). Also entertaining was Mr. Steve from PBS playing kids songs with his guitar. (needed to look him up as well) So, why were we drawn to this event filled with people we didn't know? Because good ole Super Why was going to make an appearance. Oh yes, I know who that is and only a parent would. Super Why is a character from the PBS show "Super Why," a cartoon all about reading, rhyming and spelling. Our kids love it, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to surprise them.
We woke up early and got them ready, w/o telling them anything about the destination of the day. We planned on leaving bright and early to arrive an hour ahead of time since it was to be a packed event w/ the promise of a free goodie bag including a book to first 800 kids. Don't ask why that very number didn't immediately turn us off. Long story short, on our way out we spotted a hot water pipe leak in our garage that resulted in Brian staying home to wait for a plumber and me leaving at the last minute w/ the girls to hopefully make it in time. That will definitely be another story by itself. On our way into downtown we were stopped at the railroad tracks and got to see a train pass by, which of course was totally cool for the girls.
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| Choo Choo |
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| Whoa! |
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| Maybe a little freaked out |
As we got deeper in, the girls were in awe of the big buildings and were nonstop with the questions of what everything was for. The hospital was a great topic of conversation when I pointed out that would be where Aunt Lindsay would have her baby. The reply was a slew of "why's"?
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| Pointing to a church w/ a large steeple, "a tower!" |
I miraculously made it w/ fifteen minutes to spare and still available parking. I had a friend on the inside saving us a spot (whom originally told us of the event). On our way to seating, we ran into one of our local library storytellers who recognized us from our regular monday story-time sessions and eventually became our go to for information on where to go to beat the lines for the character meet and greets. When Super Why popped up on stage, there was the surprise and Alayna couldn't have had a bigger smile on her face. It was too cute.
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Abby on the other hand, completely freaked out by this larger than life character (mind you he was quite far on the stage at this point) kept screaming "I don't want it, I don't want it" and burying her face into my body. Oh, the meet and greet would be interesting.
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After the ball got rolling, the girls could really care less about Glen Davis reading the "The Gigantic Turnip" and were more interested on arranging the DVDs on the library shelves nearby. Mr. Steve brought about some interest and a little enthusiasm from Abby.
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| Glen Davis reading "The Gigantic Turnip" |
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| Orlando Public Library |
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After quite a few interactive songs, of which they wanted no part, and receiving our free goodie bag, we made our way to the front of the line to await the characters. There were only two: Super Why and Hooper (a big hamster, who I had no idea where he was from. I guess he makes an appearance between shows, but we watch everything through Netflix so he must be weeded out for us) We skipped some songs to beat the line. So with snacks in hand and some library jokes, provided by my friend and her son, we passed the time w/o too much anxiety.
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| Free goodie bag with book to first 800 kids |
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| Waiting for Super Why |
Her son was all too anxious to meet Super Why and gave him a big hug and got an awesome picture with him. Wish I could share it with you. But, of course, Alayna decided to shy up and refuse to get close leaving me to pull on her hand to get her close enough in for the free polaroid they were taking. And, oh yeah, Abby screaming in my ear. It's quite a shot! Decided to forego the hamster and hit the road after paying $4 at the parking garage for the whole hour and half we were there (gotta love downtown prices). All in all, not a bad Friday morning.
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| New books |
-Kristina
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