Amusement Park Adventure

We took Sam and Anna to their first amusement park this weekend... a few co-workers of mine clued me into this place where a family of 4 with small kids can get a good half day (before naptime beckons) of fun with under 10 dollars.  It is a good drive away from our home, but totally doable for a day excursion for us.

We left after Sam and Anna woke up and ate breakfast in the car.  They have been sleeping in over an hour later most days this summer (and Mama thanks them for that!) so eating on the way helped us get there a little after they opened for the day.

Our first ride?  The Ferris Wheel!  Funny enough, I was slightly worried that either one or both of them would get scared by the ride or by being so high, so we split kids and rode one child per grown up... except, I ended up more scared than either one!  I have a little fear of heights, but I like pushing myself to challenge that fear every once in a while.  I was a little surprised to realize how uncomfortable I was at the top- I said, "Oh, Jake!" when I discovered that I may have made a bad choice to attempt it with a wiggly Sam next to me.  It was definitely outside my comfort zone!  Then Sam became my parrot and said 'Oh Jake!"  every time we got to the top.  It was hilarious.  He must have thought that was what you do.  We did hear a lot of Wee! and Yay! from both Sam and Anna during our times around the Ferris Wheel too.  We only went on it once, so I don't have a photo to share.

We had a little drama moment after the Ferris Wheel though... remember when you have a newborn (or two) and you tote changes of clothing everywhere you go in the diaper bag?  Then one day you decided you haven't needed it in such a long time, that you take out the stuff that doesn't fit anymore anyway, but don't replace it with a new set?  I can't even say how long ago that was for us.  Unfortunately, Anna had a big blowout on that Ferris Wheel ride, and needed new bottoms.  Except we didn't have new bottoms for her to put on, and the souvenir shop didn't sell any.  Whoops.  I used our GPS to find somewhere nearby we could buy some, and then we returned to the amusement park.  Probably needless to say, I learned my lesson, and now there are two sets of spare outfits in the diaper bag just in case.

The rest of our time at the amusement park was uneventfully fun.

We went on a helicopter ride.

And we went on the train ride, twice.

Sam and Anna rode the lady bug cars.

And they rode the boats, a lot.  Anna rode one more time than Sam, because one time, Sam told me he wanted to "go swimming" in the water around the boats, then made a lunge for it.  I talked to him about it, but I wasn't convinced he wouldn't try while the ride was going, and since they rode without an adult, I wasn't going to put him on it unless I was sure he was going to stay put in that boat!

Finally, we went on the Carousel.  Sam had a hard time deciding what to ride, but settled on the chicken.  Only my child would pick riding a chicken over a horse, zebra, etc.  When the ride started, he joyfully chanted: "I on a chicken!" "I on a chicken!"  Silly boy.

Judging by the fact that two days later they are still taking about riding the blue train, I'd say they had a blast.  I'm sure we'll be going again, sometime soon- but next time, with a change of clothes and I'll be taking pictures of the rest of my family enjoying the Ferris Wheel without me!