Ken Melendez

The long-awaited moment finally arrived as monster trucks from across the land gathered together in Cleveland, Ohio for Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live. Our 3 year old son has been looking forward to it for a full 7 days, which in kid time is at least a year long. He would ask us when we were going at least 5 times a day, some days more.

Of course, the night before, it had snowed about 4 inches, causing the roads to be filled with slush and ice. We dropped our youngest at the grandparents house, then realized that we forgot 2 pair of over-ear sound blockers at home. We then turned around, backtracking our way to our house to retrieve them (again, in the slush and ice).

Once we arrived in Cleveland, we still had enough time to go down on the floor of the Wolstein Center to view the trucks and the drivers up close...

This is what it looked like before the show started. Anyone could bring their kids down and experience the trucks, as well as toy areas they could play in to keep them occupied.

This particular monster truck is the one that Jonah, our oldest son, enjoys the most. It definitely lives up to it's name, Tiger Shark.

This truck is called Hot Wheels Racing #1. The boys got handouts that listed each truck by name and photo. We had the option of getting them autographed by the drivers but the kids didn't really care much about that part. They were there for the trucks.

At one point before the show started, I had gotten them cotton candy. The price was $5 per bag, but I was able to talk the man into giving me 2 for $9. I know, I'm a haggler. (not really, just that one time)

Jonah loved his racing flag that we got him. You can still see the blue shine on his lips from the cotton candy. He ate at least half the bag.

Selfie of my wife and our two sons. Isn't she beautiful? I know, I definitely married up. To our surprise, our seats were front and center, right up close to the action.

A nice gentleman behind us offered to take a photo of our entire family. This is us next to the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Champions trophy.

It was a great time. I mean, half way through the show I was falling asleep, but it was still good. The kids had fun and that's all that matters. Plus, it was a nice bonding experience with our whole family (minus Elias back with the grandparents).

Precious moments with my boys...

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