I took Britt clubbing

I saw a TV commercial for something called the Crossroads Kids Club (Music, fun, and prizes for everyone! And it's free!), I was all like, Whee! Let's go!

It's held once a month at a mall on the wrong far side of town and Mikey didn't want us to go, but I thought, hell, we can go once and if it's too hinky we don't have to do it again.

Boy, am I glad we went. Britt had a blast, so it was well worth the 36-mile round trip.

First, they handed out plastic eggs that held a piece of chocolate and a free ticket for the carousel. Then a four-year-old girl got up on the stage and sang a couple of songs. Or, rather, she whispered fragments of lyrics into the microphone while her parents frantically mimed instructions at her.

Then they handed out tickets for the drawing and, guess what?

Britt's number was called! It was the first time she ever won anything.

What she won was a box of 12 plastic "kaleidoscope" eggs, so it wasn't like a million bucks or nothin', but still.

Then Sammy D Salamander came out to say hi and get hugs from the kids, but Britt wouldn't have none of it.

And then, more goodies for everyone, including this cute bunny mask:



Then we used her free ticket for her first-ever carousel ride:



See how serious she looks? She makes the same face when she rides the coin-op horse in front of the grocery store, which is at least 30 or 40 years old and desperately in need of a lube job and possibly some bearings, because the grinding and grating noises are so loud that you can hardly hear the William Tell Overture playing. But the carousel was much nicer, and a much smoother ride. She loved it.

And then she played at the indoor playground for about an hour and then we went home.

Easter came a few days later:



Britt had so much fun hunting eggs over at my in-laws' that we've been hiding her "kaleidoscope" eggs around our yard for her to find.

So they turned out to be a pretty good prize after all.