Thursday, August 1st

Our SASCH (homeschooling) group had plans to hit up Six Flags on Thursday.  We were not signed up to go, as the price of tickets + parking + food was just way too much for us right now, especially considering that I was not sure how much they would enjoy it.  However, on Wednesday afternoon my friend Kimberly contacted me and asked whether we'd go if we were able to get tickets for $4.99/each *and* free parking - she could hook us up with some special priced tickets, and we would just need to pay for food while we were there.  I went back and forth about it for a while and talked with Jim, before deciding we would be fun and spontaneous and just DO IT! :-)  The kids were ecstatic!  Overall, it was a very fun day, and I will look forward to doing it again next year.

Lincoln, Scarlett and Victoria - ready to go!

Love my crazy crew, and how the baby is smiling about how totally cool she is in her shades :-)

Of course since Scarlett got to hold the baby, Victoria needed a turn too ;-)  She always wants to do it, but Waverly gets heavy pretty quickly for her! lol

On our way!  We met up with the group at one location and all caravanned over to Six Flags together. 

Scarlett, Victoria, and their friend Olivia dancing outside the ticket area. So excited to be there!

I was so thankful that our friends next door loaned us their baby stroller!  We just hadn't purchased one yet, and are currently using a (borrowed) snap 'n go stroller that you just plop the carseat down into.  I knew I would need something much more comfortable for hours at the park, and this one from our neighbors was perfect!  Thanks Youngs! :-)  Waverly was content in it all day long.

Our group!

The kids were all patient to let us take a group picture, and then after I snapped this one, it was immediately "WHERE ARE THE RIDES?" haha

Scarlett and Lincoln wanted to ride this one - but not Victoria, as she thought it looked too scary when it dropped down (at first; later she did ride and loved it).  Scarlett got on it the first time around and had her hands up the whole time.

Lincoln was really excited to get on... but then he didn't look too sure as it started going up and up and up.  A little shaky smile...

Then it dropped about four feet and bounced back up - he LOVED it!! Huge smiles and his hands went up :-)

Then he turned to the girl sitting next to him and yelled, "THIS IS AWESOME!" The huge smile never left his face for the rest of the ride.  He did it twice.

Waiting in line.  It's tough to be patient, but mostly the kids all did well.  There was some frustration with them trickling out of line and then realizing they had to go to the back again.  Of course, they are still little, and as homeschoolers, they have not had lots of practice queue'ing ;-)

My friend Kimberly is always prepared!  She had an extra little personal fan and a handy D'ring clip, so she got Waverly all set up with her own little on-demand breeze.  Much needed, as the day was cloudy (a blessing for sure!) but extremely humid and the air was still with no breeze.

Airplane ride! Judd in the front, and Lincoln at the rear of the plane.

Scarlett and Victoria's plane.

I think she stayed in her outfit for about an hour before I stripped her down. She was much happier this way!  Look at that cute belly!!

Lunchtime was a bit of a fiasco.  The kids were tired, hot, hungry and there was drama about who was going to sit where, and it took an unholy amount of time to actually order, pay for, and receive our food  (forty-five minutes!!!).  Fortunately, everyone did eventually get food in their bellies, order was restored, and we were able to move on!

Waverly decided she needed lunch at the restaurant, too!  She received lots of "ooho!"s and "awww!"s.

Post-lunch those in our group who hadn't gone off their separate ways decided to hit up a junior roller coaster.  Just before doing that, we made a potty break and the kids decided to walk along this little wall.  I suggested they squeeze in and I would snap their picture - Lincoln's expression is priceless.  He was NOT interested to join in at all.  He'd had his feelings hurt at lunch, then fell down in the bathroom, and was just out of sorts for the next little bit.

Striking a pose!

Waverly had done an awesome job all morning long in the stroller, but after lunch she was ready for some major snuggles, so I donned the wrap and got her all bundled up.  She was super content in there during our long wait in line for the kid's roller coaster.

The girls did a terrific job waiting in line!  There was some major silliness and of course huge amounts of climbing the bars, sitting on the bars, leaning over the bars, and so forth and so on.  Victoria and her sweet friend Maya demonstrating one of their favorite bar positions.

I made the fatal mistake of not bringing water along in line for the roller coaster - what was I thinking??  Sadly, I was not alone and none of the other three moms with me had brought water in line either, so I couldn't even mooch off anyone.  Lincoln told me, "I'm thirsty and need water" approximately 138 times. He must have drank a good 8 oz. when we finally got through the line and back to the stroller!  He was then in a much, much better mood for the rest of our day :-)

At this point, a good portion of the crew we had spent the day with took off - it was 3:00-ish, and super, super hot.  The temp only read in the mid-80's, but the "feels like" temperature was in the 90's and it was muggy!.

Those of us left trekked over to the water rides area, only to be confronted with majorly long lines.  We decided it was nearly time to call it a day, but not before a special ice cream treat.

Scarlett was looking pretty worn out, and Victoria was seriously concerned about some bees buzzing around that were interested in her chocolate ice cream. 

There's my happy boy :-)

Once the kids had a few minutes to sit (and me too!), I decided I wasn't ready to call it a day just yet.  I knew we wouldn't be returning to Six Flags anytime this season, and since we were already there it seemed silly to not squeeze in a few more rides.  The kids were more than enthusiastic about that plan!

A few more rides and then onto the carousel - it's amazing how much kids love these things, no matter the setting.

We were finished with rides, but it was agreed to let the kids cool off by standing on a bridge that overlooked a water ride and guaranteed a big splash.  It took a couple of times before a really big splash almost plowed the kids over and had them all completely drenched!

Soaked :-)

Wet from head to toe, they were cooled off and in good spirits on the trek out of the park.  Several drinks of my (usually forbidden) icy cold Coke helped perk them up, too ;-)

Almost to the front of the park, the kids stopped to cool off further in these awesome spray-misting stands. 

What a good day at Six Flags!  We made it out of the parking lot, and it starting POURING rain!!  I was so thankful we didn't get stuck in the rain at the park, and that we'd had such fun with our friends.  Til next year, Six Flags!