My amazing amusement park adventure day
started out with a nice long nap while we drove from home to the park; making
up for the sleep that I didn’t get last night.
That was scary for the parents in our group because they had a group of
fully-charged kids and teens to keep up with when it was time to get started on
the extreme fun.
We have a smaller group here this year,
since our collegians didn’t – or couldn’t – come along; Aunt Leanne didn’t want
to try a two-day adventure with Zack and Brianna; and the other parents were
busy with other work – or getting ready for a move into their new-old house. While I would have loved to have everyone here
with us; we managed to have a blast anyway.
Since we only have Mom, Dad, Miranda, and Jacob with us this time, we
also have fewer kids and teens. Lucas
was able to come with Rebecca, but Jenny stayed home – and she was happy to do
that while Joel was working anyway. Ethan
and Ehlana have Naomi and Aiden with them; mostly so they wouldn’t be the only
kids in the group. Michael and I brought
Tim and Rowen with us, and despite his jokes about it; I’ll make it clear that
Tim is not my date for the trip! He did
at least give up on those jokes after Rowen put her arm around Michael, hugged
him, and assured her boyfriend that she didn’t have a problem with being
Michael’s date instead if that’s what Tim really wanted.
Thanks, Rowen – for the laughs and getting
Tim to move on from a joke that got less-funny the longer he tried to drag it
out!
Oh, and just in case you weren’t really
joking too – you can’t have my boyfriend! ;^)
For the mathematically challenged, that’s
fourteen people, and meant that we had two full minivans; which was another
reason we didn’t have extra kids. That
would have meant another vehicle and two parents driving without adult sanity
support. You might be wondering which
teen couple was split up for the trip, and the answer is none because we had
girls’ and guys’ minivans today. I’d
have been good with having my nap while cuddling with Michael, but then there’s
a good chance that we would have been the odd couple out anyway; so that doesn’t
really matter.
We – the teens – did not leave the parents
stuck with the four younger kids all day with no help, and while the teen time
we were allowed to have was great; we had a lot of fun with my brother, sister,
and their friends. The park was crowded
right from the time it opened, so starting our play time with the kid-rated
rides and shows didn’t make a difference for the line-ups we had later at all
of the major thrill rides. That first
few hours wasn’t all kiddie rides for the teens and parents; and we took turns
going on a couple of the roller coasters while at least four of us kept the
kids entertained and supervised.
I won’t add the details for every ride and
show; since all that really matters is that we had an amazingly fun day. My favorite rides are still all of the roller
coasters; the vertical towers that either drop you or blast you into space; and
the freefall sky dive ride that still has me wanting to try bungee jumping some
day. Yes, I’m apparently a thrill
junkie, but does that really surprise you?
I have fought Dark Magi a few times; so a roller coaster is tame
compared to that.
Moving along and away from not-so-happy
thoughts; we all played together for a few hours; had lunch together while
watching a stage show; and then it was teen time for six of us until we met up
again for dinner. We went on as many
thrill rides as we could considering the long lines, but didn’t get to nearly
all of them; so it’s a good thing that we have a second day to enjoy. The only damper on a near-perfect day was a
thunderstorm that rolled through the area mid-afternoon. We had to take cover during it, and all of
the outdoor rides were temporarily shut down, but it didn’t last long; and we
were soon back to playing again – and managed to be among the first in line for
one of the coasters when the rides re-opened.
The meals at the park are of the
too-expensive fast food variety, so there was minimal nutritional value
involved; but I’m sure we all worked off the extra calories with the miles of
walking and hyper-active fun. Our dinner
meal was also accompanied by a stage show for entertainment; and then we stayed
together for the rest of the evening until the park closed. The mix of kid rides, shows, and thrill rides
was similar to our morning adventures; though we stayed away from the water
rides so that we wouldn’t be cold and soaked when it was time to head over to
the hotel.
At least six of us were very interested in
the parental plans for the hotel room assignments; though I was not even
remotely surprised to find out that Michael and I were put in rooms with Ethan
and Aiden, and Ehlana and Naomi respectively.
Rebecca and Rowen have a room together, and ditto that for Tim and
Lucas. Are they in those two rooms in
that pairing as I write this? I don’t
know; but I certainly hope not! Michael
and I couldn’t do that too, but we did get together with all four kids in the
boys’ room to watch a movie; and I’ll guess that our friends were enjoying some
couples’ alone time while we were doing that.
If they aren’t doing a roommate swap tonight too, I’m going to have
something to say to Rebecca and Rowen in the morning; since one of them could
have stayed with Ehlana and Naomi instead so that Michael and I could have
cuddled together all night.
By the way, when you read this someday in
the distant future, Naomi, I love you; and really appreciate the entertainment
you provide as you continue to lay claim to Ethan as your future boyfriend and
husband. I doubt that you’ll have
forgotten, so for everyone else reading this; I’ll mention that Ethan and Naomi
were adorable as they cuddled together during the movie – and fell asleep
together. Mom and Miranda both took
pictures of that when they checked in with us after going out to the hotel
piano bar for drinks; and sent those pictures on to Liz and Hannah. I’m sure that it was just random chance that
those pictures didn’t show the rest of us in the room, or that Ehlana and Aiden
were in the bed and sleeping too.
Looking so adorable as they slept did not
keep Dad and Jacob from moving Ehlana and Naomi to our room before heading to
bed too; so that was the end of my coddle time with Michael too. Before I wrap this up, though, I’ll also
report that Naomi had a sleepy goodnight kiss for her favorite cuddle buddy
before letting Dad carry her away from her prince charming. She had a little kiss for him too; and
wrapped my father around her little finger just a bit more than he already has
been for years.
There isn’t much else to add for
tonight. Ehlana and Naomi were back to
sleep before Mom and Dad left us for their room; I got ready for bed; and have
been doing my usual nightly computer and email checks since then. I had a bit of family business work to do
too, but that didn’t take long; and I spent more time on email than work. After hearing nothing at all from Stephanie
during the first week of her honeymoon, I had a second email to read from her
tonight in response to the one I sent her last night. She isn’t sending the details I don’t need to
know about; and I’ll just be glad that she and Jake are having an amazing start
to their marriage. They still have more
time to explore southern Europe before they’ll need to settle in for their
first semester at two different schools; but their homes away from home for the
next ten months are furnished; so they won’t need a lot of time to get settled
in ahead of the start of their junior year of college.
Stephanie’s email tag with me is mostly due
to the time difference and when we’re each busy doing other things; but I’ve
also had a bunch of emails from Dawn, Jillian, Jaimie, Kaitlyn, and a few of
the Johnson-McEwan cousins too. For
some, the messages were quick updates or responses; and others were about the
upcoming holiday weekend. With so many of
the family teens heading off to college before Labor Day, we aren’t going to
have the full gang home with us; and I’m going to miss not getting to see
everyone for what is usually the last chance to do that before
Thanksgiving. I’d say more about that,
but if I think about it much; we can’t say much about everyone else being too
busy when it’s been too long since we’ve done any family visit trips to
Woodvale, Granite Park, or anywhere else.
Add that to the list of things that we
should do more often and never seem to have time for; and then I’m going to
move on because it’s time for me to get some sleep so that I’ll be ready for
the second half of our amusement park adventure.
We really have had an amazingly fun day; I
doubt that I’ll ever get tired of thrill rides and amusement parks no matter
how often I visit them; and I can hardly wait to share another day of adventure
with Michael, our families, and friends!
Now that’s a happy thought to take with me
into dreamland, so that’s all for now; and, until next time...
...May the Magi Force be with you!
