No offense, but....Im just sayin'.........

Tonight was the magical summation of all that my little swimmers have accomplished this summer. It was the Swim Team Banquet.

Last year, Pooper got a medal (not this year, because he is in a higher age bracket...so swimming with older kids now.) This year, no medals, but fear not! every child get's a trophy (at least they did last year.)

So, the banquet is held at a community park...there is a playground, a few tables (to hold the food), the necessary public restrooms, and a large grassy area where everyone gathers round with blanket and chairs and umbrellas.

First things first...we have a new "pop up" thingy. Those things that you sit under to block the sun. We got one for 4th of July, because, hello....not sure how we ever survived any of the previous Independence Day bashes without one...especially 2 years ago in the smoking heat when I was just a few weeks away from deliving Little One, and could barely walk....but I digress.....

We put up the "pop up", and realized that it only works between noon and 12:30. because, if the sun is anywhere besides directly overhead, it doesnt do much to block it.

Take tonight, it began at 5pm. Here in S. CA, we have the sun in full bloom til 8pm. however, it's not overhead, and the pop-up is pretty much worthless. So, after putting it up, and scooting it here and there, hoping to create a patch of shade to sit in, we gave up. And, we sweated a bit in the sunshine....it was in the low 80's and felt about 1 degree warmer than it actually was (according to weather.com) but it was also humid, and, Im not into that.

Then, the kids got their "trophys" which, this year, were medals. They were really cool, and engraved, and my kids love them so much that they are sleeping with them on....but, later on, they wanted to know when they were gonna get their trophy.

Um...you have it on. The medal is instead of a trophy. The both looked at me puzzled, and I went on about the Olympics and gold medals, etc. and they smiled and ran off with friends.

Now, typically, we eat....and then the awards are given, coaches gifts are passed out, etc. culminating with a slide show at sunset.

Tonight, however, there was a change up.

You see, the "taco guy" , as he came to be known, was a bit "late".....

By 5:30, he still wasnt there, and our coach decided to go ahead and start with the awards, and eat later. Fine.

After the awards, there was a lot of mumbling about the "taco guy" ...and, apparently he was coming from Los Angeles and was stuck in traffic.

Now, this was curious to me. Ok, not curious, it was more like, "HUH???? LOS ANGELES?????"

We had this guy last year, and the tacos and trimmings were FANTASTIC. BUT, we live in Southern California...and besides being a good 2 hours from Los Angeles (maybe 3 or 4 during rush hour)....we have tons of delicious, inexpensive Mexican restaurants and catering joints....many within a few miles. Seriously. Why did we hire a company hours away? I could have guessed he would be late.

So, anyways, the kids played, and the parents chatted....and the coaches gifts were given out, and the mumblings about the "taco guy" continued, like, "Where in the heck is that taco guy???"

People began to talk.........Some people had heard that we had already paid him $400, and the check had already cleared....maybe he had taken off with the money. Or, maybe he was broken down on the side of the road (and all I could think of, was some guys sitting on the freeway shoulder, EATING TACOS.) Apparently, he must be the one guy in the USA who doesnt have a cell phone to call us, because nobody had heard from him.

7pm came and went, and we were starving (ok, not STARVING as in our Colombian Family "starving"...but, you know what I mean.....)and we decided to join the other 3/4 of the swim families and call it a night....by going and getting some food elsewhere!

The coach felt bad, the banquet-organizing-ladies felt bad.....but, hungry is hungry, and we just didnt want to hold out any longer.

As a "plan B" they ordered pizza....but, how long would that take...both to arrive, and to get through the line of families?? So we left.

So, If you are reading this coach....or banquet-organizing ladies....I dont mean any offense, it was a great banquet (minus the food)....but, maybe next year we can get our food from someone that lives closer to home, like, less than 100 miles from home (since, we dont live in Minnesota or anything).....Im just sayin'.