Monster Jam 2015

Monster Jam seems to have become a family tradition. We've taken Grant to it every year since 2012. Much like I said last year, monster trucks no longer top the list of Grant's favorites...but he does still love them. We don't watch them on TV like we used to but he still plays with all his monster truck toys (and continues to collect them) and he still knows their names and what-not. And as he gets older, it's even more fun to take him to the events and watch his reactions.

This year's show was on Valentine's Day. I know, I know. Nothing says romance like being dangerously close to over-sized trucks and shouting at each other in an arena so you can be heard through your ear-plugs, right? We've never been a Valentine's Day couple, so Monster Jam really was much more exciting than what we would have done (called for pizza and watched TV). I had been out of town at a conference for work so we had to go to the evening show instead of the afternoon. Grant was napping when I got home so I got to wake him up. He jumped up, said "Mama! You're home!", and then "Are we still going to Monster Jam?" Priorities.

Excited and waiting not so patiently!

This year they had 10 trucks there instead of 6, most of which Grant had never seen in person so that was exciting. Plus, we had really great seats.

Carolina Crusher, Grave Digger, and Gun Slinger

Monster Mutt Rottweiler (my favorite) and Extermigator behind him

Scooby Doo!

El Diablo (Grant's new obsession)

Ice Cream Man!

There were also ones called Full Boar and El Toro Loco that I only got crappy pictures of because I only had my phone.

Grant kept calling the El Diablo truck the Zombie truck. We've seen the Zombie truck on TV (google it, it has big floppy arms that wave all over when he jumps and it's hysterical!) and he loved it. We explained that this was a different truck. He didn't care, he loved it. And I think he was cheering for El Diablo more than his favorite, Grave Digger. At one point he said "I love that truck! He looks like this!"

We were cracking up!

So first they do the wheelie competition, then "racing", then donuts, and finally freestyle. In between all that they do 4-wheeler races and they had "The Human Bomb" who blows himself up along with Mr. Bomb's wife, "Cannon Lady" who shoots herself out of a cannon. 

Have you ever seen a giant ice cream truck do a wheelie?

Extermigator

El Toro Loco

Monster Mutt Rottweiler

El Diablo

Uh oh!

Guess what? He won.

Grave Digger.

I think it was after wheelies that they did The Human Bomb (maybe, I was very tired). This man gets inside a box with - supposedly - the equivalent of 5 sticks of dynamite. Also with very little protection. However it happens, he comes it out of it perfectly fine. But it does make a very, VERY big boom. We're always armed with ear protection and we told Grant right before it happened that it was going to be very loud. He said OK and held our hands. When it was over he said "I did NOT like that. I don't want that to happen again."

So then, racing. Which isn't much of a race and I didn't get good pictures.

First one over the hump and across the line wins.

Having fun!

After the racing there was an intermission so we walked around some and got a snack before heading back in. Once back at our seats...there was a cannon set up right in front of us. When Grant finally asked why it was there and found out that a person was going to be shot out of it, he started crying. And didn't stop until it was over. It happened pretty quick, so that was good.

And then there were donuts.

Some were really neat to watch...others, I wasn't actually aware they were doing donuts. I'm so critical, huh?

And then freestyle, which I really didn't get any good pictures of except El Diablo who really got going and was losing parts off his truck left and right. Grant kept yelling "He lost his tongue!" It was the El Diablo truck that won that competition. They always give out their trophies to someone in the crowd. The driver came over really close to us, I thought Grant might get it!

I guess he wasn't as enthusiastic as the other kids.

But he didn't. Oh well. Grant was so excited about everything going on that it barely registered with him that the driver was right there in front of him. After that, it was time to go. 

He had a good time :)

We thought he'd conk out on the way home given how late it was. WRONG. He talked about the show the whole way home. I'm glad he had so much fun!