On the actual day, Friday, Daddy took us to Silver Dollar City. It took awhile, but after several false starts, and running over to Mom at work to get our passes, then McDonald's to get some lunch, we were finally there! It was a good thing the park was open late that day, or I would have been seriously upset. :-) As was to be expected, Daddy got a phone call right as we walked into the park. During the discourse that ensued, us kids had fun taking some crazy pictures. Occasionally a fiery phrase reached our ears, but it was no matter. Once you started Daddy on government, it was hard to get him stopped. So we patiently waited.
Finally we were able to walk through the turnstiles. As everyone went in front of me, the lady would ask them what their birthday was. She came to me, "Today!" I said excitedly. "Oh my goodness, yes! I was looking right at it, and I didn't see. Happy birthday, my dear."The others wanted to ride Wildfire, so I volunteered to sit with Suzers. Then we went and did Fire In the Hole. On our way to the City we had noticed some dark clouds, so when we came out of Fire in the Hole and raced over to Powderkeg we were not surprised to hear that lightening had been spotted, and the ride was closed. No problemo, we figured, let's just go on Thunderation. We arrived just in time to see an employee hooking a cable across the entrance. After suitable inquiries we discovered that all rides were being shut down until further notice. So we walked down the hill to the glass shop, where us girls oohed and aahed while Daddy listened to his radio. By the time we were bored of looking at all the untouchable glass things it had started sprinkling slightly. I asked Daddy if we could go to the pottery shop, since we could watch the potter work, and he agreed. It was raining a little harder as we walked down, and soon after we walked in the front door it came down in sheets!
John and Britt had raincoats on, so they were brave (or foolhardy, depending on who you are) and ventured out in the rain. So we waited, and waited, and waited some more. I reflected that we could very well be here for the rest of our lives. Fortunately Daddy had had the foresight to provide us with nuts, so we wouldn't starve. Finally it stopped raining, and we waded out into a stream of brightly colored ponchoes. The park employees had informed us that no rides would open until the storm was at least 15 miles away, so we went across the swinging bridge and into Grandfather's Mansion. 
We couldn't find the lease, so we headed over to Fire in the Hole again, to go help get rid of those pesky Baldknobbers. We emerged, shaken from our near run-in with a train, to be greeted with more rain. The Saloon being nearby, we stepped in on the porch for a bit. Daddy got hungry (big surprise), and we scittered across to the Lumber Camp and purchased a funnel cake. It was devoured in seconds, and we waited about ten minutes more. Finally, out came the sun and dried up all the rain, so the eensy weensy spider went up the spout again. But instead of climbing up the spout we were finally able to enjoy our lovely day at the park. 
By this time, most of the people had left, so we were able to walk right on to every ride. On Thunderation we met a Mr. Matt, who assured us quite gravely that his name was really Ttam. Suzy discovered a hearse in the Fireman's Cemetery and was rather tickled. Daddy taught us all how to jump and click our heels together. Suzy and I raced against John, Britt, and Chrissy on the teacups; we didn't win, because I was laughing so hard I couldn't spin the wheel (which was probably a good thing, because I felt slightly seasick at the end). And I found this crazy lady in a pavilion. Altogether, it was a pretty awesome birthday. 
