Lemonade stands and ToysRUs

I know it's January, but we live in So. Cal and the kids decided to have a lemonade stand today.
It was awesome. It was their first time running their own business, so we had to teach them a few things, but Luc caught on pretty quickly.
I have fond memories of having lemonade stands out in front of my house in West LA. My friends and I would pick lemons from the tree in my backyard, add too much sugar and happily taste the concoction and add ingredients until it was just right. Then we would set up shop right outside my front door. We always had plenty of takers... the event must have gone well the first time, because I did it more times than I can count on my two hands.

Today's event was a success. We had two neighbor girls join our kids to help out. A few minutes after they had purchased drinks and cookies (yes, I made cookies and lemonade) they headed back to the stand with their own sign. They wanted to join in on the fun. I think that having a gaggle of kids helped with our sales. People couldn't pass up three adorable girls and one crazy boy. After about 90 minutes, the kids walked with a total of $16. For the record, we charged 25 cents for lemonade and 25 cents for two cookies. The kids got a lot of tips.

After we split up the profits, the kids wanted to spend their money immediately. We were already going to head to Toys R Us to procure a present for cousin Ben's birthday party (tomorrow), so we told them they could each put $10 in their wallets and pick out a toy. Man... I freakin' hate Toys R Us. Not because of the funky smell or all the rotten kids in there. I hate it because it is filled to the ceiling with crap. CRAP! If I never go there again it will be too soon. There are zero quality toys contained within the walls of this store. My kids picked up two toys and we couldn't decide on something for cousin. Everything is such a piece of junk. And I shop as a parent. I know what shit I would hate for my kid to get. I know what will be played with once and then cast aside into the toy chest, never to see the light of day again. So, we decided on some small trinket and a gift card. Let my sis-in-law decide what piece of junk she wants to let into her house.

Please, please let me remember this experience. Let me plan better for the next birthday party and give myself at least 10 days to look online for a quality (perhaps even made in the USA) toy for the birthday kid. I never want to go to Toys R Us again.