Ferris Wheel at the Exton Square Mall Spring Carnival

Earlier in the week, while driving near the intersection of Rt. 30 and Rt. 100, I noticed that something was going on in one of the parking lots at the mall, and for the must part, thought nothing about it.

The next day, when I drove by, poof, there were rides and things all setup, but since there were not signs, it was kind of hard to tell what was going on.

Later on, once at home, I posted something to my Facebook wall, asking if anyone in the local area knew what was going on. Several other folks, also commented that they were wondering the same thing.

In doing some more research, it turns out that Powers Great American Midways was hosting the Spring Carnival at the Exton Square Mall from May 4th – 8th, which included Mother’s Day!

Needless to say, the kids wanted to go, so after a lazy Sunday Mother’s Day morning, we headed toward the mall to have some fun!

Not being sure where to park, we snaked our way through the various roads near the carnival, and were able to find easy parking right next to the main entrance!

Blue Fish Bowl Game at the Exton Square Mall Spring Carnival

As the four of us started to walk in, we were taken back at first with the lack of a crowd, and that none of the rides were operating yet, so it gave a chance to walk around and scope out what was available.

The vendors were scurrying around preparing for the day, setting up games, replenishing the prizes and cleaning up their areas.

Madison seemed to want to go on everything and Logan was eager to follow, but like many kids his age, he was going to be limited because of height requirements.

Because it was so early, the kids were easily able to go from ride to ride, and only pausing to grab tickets from us, and then running to the next gate.

Then came the bumper cars, and of course the kids wanted to go, but Mom had some reservations, but gave up when I handed the tickets over, and they were off like a shoot.

At the edge of the rides, both Amy and I watched as the two kids found a car, and buckled themselves in.

Finally, everyone was in their cars, and the main power was switched on.

It took Madison a moment to find the go pedal, followed by a giant lurch forward, and two kids twisting their necks to look at each other in a combination of “Did we do that?” and “This cool!”.

Moments later, they crashed into their first car and smiles and laughter erupted.

Eventually, the ride was over, and we headed further into the food and games area.

Yellow Rubber Ducks at the Exton Square Mall Spring Carnival

We stopped at one of the drink stands, got some lemonade, and rested as we plotted our next adventure.

The Ferris wheel as a family!

We got into one of the pods, and were slowly raised into the air as other folks got on an off the ride.

Madison and Logan, gitty with delight as they looked all around as we got higher and higher.

A view from the Ferris Wheel at Exton Square Mall Spring Carnival

Once the wheel was ready, we began to go around and around, each time finding something new as we looked over the landscape.

What was once fear of going so high, transformed into excitement of seeing things from a different point of view.

Finally, the ride came to and end, and we disembarked, and took another walk around the carnival, eventually we all agreed it was time to go home.

As we found our way back to the parking lot, we realized that their Amy nor I had the keys to the car.

We began to panic…

Where could we have lost them?

When we got to the car, I looked in, and there were the keys!

In the ignition…

Just sitting there….

Happy Mother’s Day!