Celebrating Summer

To get off to a good start on our summer, I took Marina and her friend Ainsley to the water park today. Marina was so excited this morning that she got up early and was ready to leave before I was. When we picked up Ainsley I heard the same from her family.

When we arrived we found a lot of other people had the same idea. It took us a while just to get into the park. But once we were in, we headed right for the water. We started off on the tallest slide. Ainsley was a bit concerned about the height, but she loved the slide. We relaxed on the lazy river before heading to more slides.

We took a break for lunch which we all needed. Then we went into the wave pool. The girls spent the rest of the time playing in the waves. Once they were done there, we headed home. We got ice cream on the way to finish our celebration. Marina said, "Today was the best day ever!"

Saying Goodbye to Summer

It’s Labor Day weekend and since the water park at the amusement park closes Tuesday, I thought it would be fun for Marina to go one more time. I wasn’t really up to swimming, so I invited one of her friends to go with us. However, when we arrived both girls wanted me to playing the water with them, so I caved in and joined them.

We started by going down some of the slides. The girls we disappointed that the lazy river wasn’t open until later in the day, but they were happy to pass time in the wave pool.

We stopped for lunch and then went to the amusement park for a while. We rode the ferris wheel and then headed over the kids' rides. Marina will be too tall to ride these rides next year, so I told her to make sure she got them all in this year. So they rode most of them, taking advantage of the short lines.

After the kids' rides, the girls wanted to go to some of the other rides in the park. They were very excited for the Tilt A Whirl. The line was so short they rode four times in a row. The last two times they rode with a little girl who had to ride alone. They became fast friends.

 After a few more rides, we headed back to the water park. It had cooled down a bit, but the girls didn’t mind. They started at the wave pool, but the lines were so short that they got to go down one of their favorite slides twice before the water park closed. By then, we were all cold and tired. So, we headed home.

Birthday Amusement

Today is Michelle's birthday, so we asked her what she's like to do. Her choice was to go to the amusement and water park.

We started at the amusement park. Michelle had promised Marina she'd ride some of the rides that my stomach just won't allow me to go on. Some of them she loved and some she said she never wants to ride again.

Today was very hot, so after lunch we went to the water park. That made everyone happier. They started off in the wave pool and then went down a few slides.

No one really wanted to leave, but we had a dinner to attend later in the evening, so we all had to get ready.

Today We Play

Today was a hot one. It was the perfect day for a water park. My sister and I got together to take Marina and her cousins Michelle and Cameron to the local water park. Marina was very excited.

We ate lunch first before heading into the park. Once we arrived in the water park, the kids were ready to play. They started in the wave pool. Marina had gotten upset the last time we were in there. Today she was a bit more cautious. While she played in the wave pool, she didn't go in very deep.

Marina and Michelle wanted to try some of the slides, so we tried out several of them. In between we went back to the wave pool. When  we took the kids on the lazy river they went way ahead of us and we lost them. They were quite pleased with themselves.

We had planned to try out the dry side of the amusement park, but never quite got there. The kids really didn't want to leave, but the dark clouds gathering overhead let us know it was time to go.

On the way home we stopped for ice cream. We were all exhausted, but we'd had fun.

Saige Sleepover

The American Girl store had a premier screening of the new movie Saige Paints the Sky and Marina was dying to go. We invited her best friend Madison to join us and it turned into a sleepover. Last night, Madison came to our house, the girls played and watched the movie Brave together. They slept pretty well but they woke up before 6:00 am. I tried to convince them to go back to sleep, but they wouldn't. I knew they'd be tired later.

After breakfast, we headed out the local water park. Marina hadn't been there before, so she followed Madison's lead. Most of the slide held one or two riders, so the girls rode together and I rode behind them. Madison convinced Marina to try some that scared her a bit, but she loved them all.

After lunch the lines for the slides were longer, so the girls kept themselves to the kid's playground and the wave pool. While in the wave pool, Marina got hit in the face with water. The early morning wake up was showing. So we decided it was time to go. On the way home, we picked up so cold drinks and we relaxed for a while.

The girls got ready to go out. Since the main event of the evening was the American Girl movie, both girls brought their favorite dolls. Marina has two outfits for herself and the American Girl dolls. So she and Madison wore them for the evening. Madison brought her doll, Caroline, and Marina brought McKenna.

Before we checked out the activities at the American Girl store, we had dinner. The waitress gushed over how much they looked like their dolls. That pleased both of them. They both ate well despite telling me they weren't hungry.

Our next stop was the American Girl store. Marina and Madison both hammed it up on the red carpet and they tried out several of the Saige related activities. Two of the horses used n the movie Saige Paints the Sky were also there for the girls to meet. The horses were very tame and both girls were able to pet them.

We spent some time in the store during a sudden rainstorm. Both of them are dying to get the Saige doll. While we were in there, the women in the salon offered to fix up the hair of Caroline and McKenna before the show. They were thrilled.

Once Caroline and McKenna had their hair done, we headed for our seats to watch the movie. By then it was pretty late. While both girls watched the movie, it was clear that their early wake up and busy day were taking their toll. Marina was emotionally tired and Madison was spacing out. Somehow they managed to make it through the movie and we headed home.