So I went to the concert and OMG, if there was any doubt in my mind that I love that man, it is no longer! Amazing performance, incredible singing and for a moment our eyes met and it was just the two of us and if it hadn't been for the other 15,998 people in the room, it would have been just perfect! lol Anyhow it was a great concert and a fun night out with my mom, so all was not lost. On Sunday, Brad and I took the kids to a local amusement park and I use the term "amusement park" extremely loosely. The town we live in has this "attraction" called KidStar that looks like it's straight out of the 1950's (and it very well could be) but it's basically a permanent "carnival" with a ferris wheel, carousel, giant slide, a few other small rides and a go-kart track. The kids love it and for your typical family, it's a good time. Now, for our family, it is....well, let's just say it's an experience, as most things we do as a family are. We have been there about 3 other times, each visit with a six month waiting period in between because it takes us that long to recover and forget before we brave it again. And usually when anyone suggests going there the look of pure terror on my face makes it very clear that the answer is NO! But maybe because I was still high from my night with Michael, or maybe because we had set the clocks forward and the loss of that hour of sleep was affecting my thinking I said "Sure!" when Brad suggested we take the kids to KidStar. The ride there was benign enough, except for Camryn repeatedly shoving her white tiger into Brad's face while he was driving, telling him to "smell it". She is obsessed with  having people smell everything lately and it is nothing for her to go up to a complete stranger, shove her blanket in their face and say"smell", which elicits some very strange looks as you can imagine. But whatever, so we get there and as soon as we hit the parking lot, Cam breaks into a brisk jog, Brad in tow.As we walk throguh the entrance, she makes a beeline for the carousel, naturally as she loves to spin. But of course to ride the carousel you need 2 tickets and to buy tickets you have to wait in line and to wait in line with Camryn you have to endure a few minutes of hell. She started screaming, dropping to her knees and biting her hand, you know, the usual. Kids were staring and parents were steering clear, but again, nothing we're not used to. Tickets in hand we head to the carousel and Cam makes a barrels through the crowd headed for the "baa-cheetah" as she calls it or what we would refer to as a cheetah. I manage to get all 65 solid pounds of her on top and buckled in and when the ride starts to spin, the look on her face is sheer delight. When the ride stops spinning however, the look...not so delightful. And explaining to her that the ride is over would be completely in vain as she simply does not care. I awkwardly manage to get her down kicking and screaming and as we walk past the ticket taker, staring at us in all his pimply faced adolescent glory, I say " She really likes this ride" to which he says "Oh", yeah a real conversationalist! We move on to the kiddie roller coaster, which Brad rides with her, because if you know me, you know I don't do roller coasters, kiddie or not. Again, the idea of being strapped in and going in circles really fast brings great joy to Cams and she is squealing and grimacing out of joy. People are staring, but so what. Mason, Natalie and I watch them go around, Cam totally freaking out and totally loving it. But agin, when the ride comes to an end, she is less than thrilled and this time it is Brad who wrestles her out of the seat, completely against her super strong will. The attendant, another greasy teen, just stares at Camryn and when I tell him she's just really excited, he gives a nervous Beavis and Butthead kind of laugh. Brad takes Mason on the roller coaster while Natalie, Camryn and I watch, or should I say while Natalie watches and I try to hold Camryn while she is arching her back and screaming "Wait your turn, wait your turn!" Good times, good times. After the roller coaster, we decide to try the go-karts, knowing full well that Camryn is not going take kindly to going second to Mason. When you have 3 kids and 2 adults the only way to ride go karts is one at a time, as an adult needs to ride with each of them. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but what choice did we have? There were 2 men waiting for their kids to get off and when Brad and Mason got on and Camryn started her antics, I didn't know who I felt worse for, them or me. They were obviously uncomfortable, and not knowing where to look as Camryn fell to the ground screaming, biting her hand and just basically flipping out. I kept telling her "Wait your turn, it's almost your turn" but it was pointless. No kid, autistic or not, likes to wait their turn. But most kids can tell you, even if it is in a whiny sort of way. The point is, they can express themselves in words.This is where Autism puts Cam at a disadvantage, and when words are not an option, frustration takes over, which is why she screams and bites herself. Having seven years of this under my belt, I completely understand, but strangers with "normal" kids don't know what to think and so come the stares and whispers. As I held onto her thrashing body, I looked around at the other families, smiling and laughing and just having a good time at KidStar and for a second I felt sorry for myself, wondering why our outings never go that smoothly. But then it was Camryns turn to ride. Brad buckled her in next to him and he, Cam and white tiger took to track. As they rounded the corner, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at Cams, biting her hand in joy this time, wind in her face, just loving it. Just having fun. As we walked to the car, I was totally exhausted. Autism is not for wusses, that's for sure. We did it though and that's what matters.We went out as a family to KidStar and lived to tell about it. We came, we conquered and we will not be doing it again...at least not for another six months!