Quil Ceda Village Employee Day 2012

Friday was the employee day for Dode's work.  They try to make the day fun for the whole family.  The agenda for the day had Dode signing into work at 8:00.  After signing in, he was invited to show his family around his office, enjoy a continental breakfast, and then show up at the Tulalip Amphitheater at 9:30 for the real fun.  Most of the children weren't interested in getting up in time to leave with him at 7:15, but Miriam and Elizabeth were excited to go.

We met Dode and the girls at the Amphitheater.  It is an outdoor event area that was set up with carnival type activities for the children.  There was rock climbing, bouncy houses, virtual golf, airbrush tattoos, caricatures, shaved ice, a photo booth, massage and acupuncture.  They had music and a reptile show.  Everything was free to employees and their families, and our children did their best to get as much out of the day as they could.

Last year I got to get a massage and try acupuncture.  Dode was at the area to sign up for massages and acupuncture three minutes after they opened and everything was already filled up.  Bummer!  One good thing from this year is that William didn't get kicked off the bouncy houses.  William has a really hard time following rules.  If someone isn't watching him every minute, he just does as he pleases.  Last year he was good at noticing when his parents or the bouncy house operator weren't watching him for just a second and kept going head first down the slide after being told feet first only. After a while the guy running the bouncy houses said, "Buddy, you're done for the day."  This year he was able to follow the rules.  We like that!

William getting a temporary tattoo.

Elizabeth and Dode climbing the wall.  The climbing wall was new this year and was great for giving the bigger children something to do.  Dode and Isaac were able to scale to the top of the "hard" side.  The girls could only make it up the "easy".

Miriam on the wall.

Two of our MANY shaved ices.  Anastaya has been looking forward to her Pina Colada shaved ice for a year!

Miriam getting her caricature.  We got one together, I'm already drawn into the photo.

The long line to get their face drawn didn't deter the children.

This year they added a second caricature artist which helped the line go a lot faster.

We overheard the woman staffing the photo booth say that they were charging the tribes $10/photo.  Yikes!

Miriam having fun with her parents.

They served a Mexican all-you-can-eat lunch in the middle of the day. 

The best part?  All-you-can-eat guacamole!

They had a dance contest where you could win an Ipod Nano if you were the best dancer.  We busted our moves but didn't win the prize.

The employees all received a string bag with a "Team QCV" t-shirt and a chance to spin the wheel and get a prize.  Dode got a new pair of sunglasses, an upgrade from his Dollar Tree glasses.

Last year employee day was on a really hot day and we melted.  We had nice weather at this year's event that was much more moderate.  The children are glad their dad works for an employer who provides fun events like these for our family.  They can't wait to attend next year's party!