So today we decided to brave the crowds and the heat and head down to Fullerton’s annual Railroad Days, held at the train station by The Old Spaghetti Factory in Downtown Fullerton. Fun, right? Hahahahahahaha (maniacal laugh). If only.

Our first mistake was parking too far away. Yes, we like to avoid trolling for parking spaces, and we don’t mind walking. At the start of our adventure, this wasn’t a big deal. At the end of our adventure it almost killed us.

Our second mistake was underestimating the heat. I wore jeans. I was very uncomfortable.

Our third mistake was underestimating the popularity of Fullerton’s Railroad Days. Apparently, more than Fullerton knows about this free event, and by the time they opened at 9 am, ALL OF AMERICA was there. At least 4 out of 5 of our party doesn’t do well in crowds.

Our fourth mistake … we brought NOTHING with us. No water. No snacks. No extra sunscreen, hats or sunglasses. I’m just thankful we had the pacifier!!

In the beginning, it was fun. So many great model trains and happy kids to be out of the house doing something as a family. See below:

Believe it or not, Ella is having a good time. I think. Not sure about the kid behind her.

Wynnie wants to touch the trains SO BAD! (This was actually a strange fact about all the model trains – they’re at kid level, there are a TON of them, but the thousands of kids present have to restrain themselves and NOT TOUCH.)

We got to walk through some train cars, including a caboose! It was actually kind of boring.

Caleb, Josie and Ella waited in line to make the whistle blow on a bona fide Disney train. Again, I’m sure they’re having more fun than Ella’s face is showing. I’m sure of it.

Josie refused to pose. The beginning of the end I think.

We got all three in the same picture! A railroad day miracle!

At this point we’d been here about an hour. Lines were long, it was hot, and there were a billion people to navigate. So we headed to the GIANT tent full of all kinds of model trains that we also couldn’t touch (and notably more than a few “model train enthusiasts,” we’ll call them. They weren’t very sure what to do with all the little people.)

At this point Wynnie is starting to lose it. It’s nap time for her. She’s tired. She’s hungry. Ella wants water. Josie wants ice cream. Mama’s feet are hurting (new shoes – my bad). It’s hot. Did I mention that?

She just couldn’t take it anymore.

At this point we started bribing the kids with McDonald’s, ice cream, an air conditioned car (that was mostly for me). It didn’t matter. The crying, the gnashing of teeth, and the whining/complaining combo had begun in earnest. And I mean EARNEST.

Wynnie was ONLY happy with me holding her … Ella was crying because she wanted water and I couldn’t produce it from my person. And as soon as Caleb took out the camera to take this picture, Josie went running, of course. At the moment, I found the meltdowns pretty amusing, as I usually do. But minutes after this the crying turned to screaming and an all-out protest by Josephine. She refused to walk. REFUSED. She yelled for all to hear “I don’t want to go home!” Oh the negotiating tactics moms must have in their arsenal.

Josie. Pouting.

Eventually, with me carrying Wynnie most of the way, while muttering life-altering threats to my other two children, and admittedly, my husband (for parking so far away), we made it back to the car. A few minutes in the air conditioning, and with Wynnie falling quickly asleep, we made it to the McD’s drive thru (there wasn’t a chance in you-know-where we were going in).

Amazingly, by the time we got home and everyone was sitting down to eat, there was peace among us once again. Josie wanted to pick up dog poop outside so we could have a picnic. I most graciously allowed it. We ate. We laughed. Wynnie slept.

And we are NEVER going to the Fullerton Railroad Days again.