Jackson loves a good thrill ride. Not only did he want to ride the Sea Dragon, he wanted to ride it at the very top so he would swing higher. He loved Zack's Zoomer - the only roller coaster he was tall enough to ride - and thought it was so cool to go down the hills with his hands raised! I think Jackson and I will still be roller coaster riding buddies in 20 years... by then there will probably be a roller coaster 500 feet tall. Yee Haw!
We spent the afternoon in the water park. Jackson was just barely tall enough to ride the Snake Pit, a water slide where you sit on a tube (and there's only one person per tube) and slide down this enclosed, dark tunnel. Dave decided to take Jackson on while I waited at the bottom. When you got to the top, you could go down one of three tunnels. Dave thought they were all about the same. Dave thought wrong.
I was waiting at the bottom and all of a sudden Dave come FLYING out of this tunnel extremely fast. "Jackson's coming next and this might be bad," he told me. It turns out the tunnel Dave picked had two pretty steep drops and was a pretty intense ride. My heart was pounding, and I started praying that Jackson wouldn't be traumatized for life. The next thing I know Jackson comes SHOOTING out of the tunnel, water flying everywhere. My first thought was "Thank goodness he didn't fall off the tube."
Jackson looked up at me with a HUGE grin, and said "That was fun! Can we do it again?"
I realized that Jackson and I have moved on to a new stage in our relationship... doing things together that we both enjoy. Sure, I love playing Chutes and Ladders, but only because Jackson enjoys it. I would never invite friends over for a round of the classic children's game. The same holds true for running through the sprinkler, watching Elmo, and playing Hide and Seek. I do those things because they bring a smile to my kids' faces, and I love seeing Jackson and Haley happy.
But going to an amusement park is different. I love riding rides no matter who I am with. What could be better than riding them with my favorite firstborn?
Our friends Todd and Michelle, and their girls Hannah and Rylee, joined us for the day, and we are so glad they did. They are an awesome family, and it was fun to have extra riding partners. We even "babysat" each other's kids for awhile, so the moms and dads could ride some of the bigger coasters that the kids were too short to ride. Thanks Todd and Michelle!
We were at the park from open to close. When we got back into the car at night, I told Jackson to rest his eyes. "But I'm not tired," he told me.
Here is a picture of Jackson before we even left the parking lot... literally.
Wow, that tiredness sure came on fast! =)
3 comments:
We had such a great time with you guys! I am so glad the kids loved it as much as we all did, I can't wait to go again.
How tall do you have to be for most of the rides? I do not like rollercoaster rides, but Clay will ride them. We have yet to see which way Caleb will fall. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Good memories!
Looks like so much fun! And I agree, doing things together as a family is always more fun.
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