But then I had The Ocho. And then the Ocho got older. And then the Ocho spent a week with the Ellis family at the beach. And the Ellis family took her to her first water park.
She went on and on and on about it. So Handiman and I found a deal online (thanks to Anna Bell for the link on FB!) and purchased tickets over a month ago. We figured since we couldn't take a family vacation this year it would be a nice compensation. Of course, we had to schedule it around the Ocho's many trips to the beach with her grandparents and Handiman's work schedule so as is our custom, we ended up waiting until the last possible day of summer vacation to go. Then we sat back and watched the weather forecast predict doom and gloom all week long. We didn't see the sun or feel temperatures out of the 70's for most of the week and I was beginning to panic.
But God showed mercy on us. The sun decided to show itself yesterday and by mid-day we were in the 80's. The occasional cloud cover ended up being a blessing and the crowd wasn't as big as it probably would have been. We descended on the park around 10:30 with the intention of having big fun. And did we ever!
We started out by riding every waterslide once to find our favorites. We began with the mild tube ride, The Twin Cyclones then we moved on to the more advanced body slide, The Tennessee Twister, which would give me that "suddenly plunged into a large body of water at lightning speed" experience I was sooooo looking forward to. But I didn't drown. I actually kinda liked it. From there we got in line for Thunder and Lightning, another tube ride that's completely in the dark. The Ocho and I grabbed a twin tube while Handiman grabbed a single. We were halfway up when a lady told us that double tubes weren't allowed on the ride but we could ride The Big Scream instead, which was on the same platform.
It wasn't until we got to the top that we realized The Big Scream might not be the ride for us. But it was too late. Handiman watched from the top as The Ocho and I plunged down at a 90 degree angle and then up the other side, all the while screaming (appropriately enough) and freaking completely out. It was seriously scarier than most roller coasters I've been on. Needless to say, that one wasn't a repeater for us.
We loved Thunder and Lightning so much we rode it three times and took another turn on the others as well. Handiman rode The Music City Racer twice and won both races. He claims his method of pushing off was superior to his competition.
Besides the slides, we swam in the pool, got drenched by The Big Bucket and Handiman and the Ocho and took a ride around the lake in a kayak. Somehow we managed to pack an entire family vacation worth of fun into 4 1/2 hours.
And now, some photos.
It is virtually impossible for our family to pass one of these things without taking advantage of it. It's just who we are.
Me & The Ocho in front of our favorite ride of the day, Thunder & Lightning.
Handiman & The Ocho in front of The Big Bucket
Handiman & Ocho decided The Lilly Pads reminded them of their favorite summertime show "Wipeout" so they both took a turn. Shortly after this photo was taken The Ocho did indeed wipeout.
Handiman actually made it across but injured his arm in the process. Of course.
So, the Wood family sent the summer out with a big bang instead of a big whimper. And the fun didn't stop there, at least not for The Ocho. Afterwards we came home and packed her up for a slumber party. But not just any slumber party. This one was held at her school Principal's house and involved 10 of her closest school friends. Details on how that all came about are coming soon.
Adios Summer 2009. Thanks for the memories.
1 comment:
You're welcome. Looks like y'all had fun!
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