Band Geeks

The band from Rachel's school went to Six Flags and I was able to chaperone.  It was nice to get to know some of Rachel's friends better.  The kids were allowed to split into groups of four.  Rachel has been friends with one of the four since we moved here, but the other two are new friendships she has made in middle school. 

It was also nice to hear how much the band director cares about his students.  Safety was truly his number one priority.  Next year when Rachel is in eighth grade the band makes a trip to Orlando and goes to Disney World.  I don't think PK or I will be able to make that trip and I was really concerned about letting her go.  I still have reservations, but seeing the band director in action away from the school has lessened my fears.

One of her friends won this squid hat.  It was all the rage.

I can't believe that is the only picture I took.  I was trying my best to be reserved and not embarrass the living daylights out of her which isn't hard to do to a middle schooler.

Riding Solo

We bought season passes for Six Flags last fall. Six Flags was running a special offer. We were able to purchase a season pass for the price of a regular one day admission and if four or more passes were purchased a free parking pass was given. Score!

I love season passes because I feel like we can visit the attraction, be it Six Flags, the zoo, etc., and hit our favorite parts without killing ourselves trying to see everything in one day.

This summer has been pretty hot so far. I had been wating for a day where the high was going to be below 90 and we found one. PK had to work so I took the kids for the day.

I was a bit worried about letting Hannah ride some of the "bigger" rides without PK, but once we were there, I felt pretty comfortable letting the kids ride the rides alone. Alone being without a parent. All three of them road all the rides together with the exception of one.

We started with the train that makes a loop around the park. Let me tell you, Rachel was thrilled (sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm). I happen to like the train because I prefer rides that don't make me want to throw up!! I don't really like roller coasters, any rides that spin (I can barely handle the carousel) or go extremly fast. However, I do like things that entertain the kids and I do like to people watch. Amusement parks are a great place for both!

One of our favorite rides is the Monster Mansion. It is a leisurely boat ride through a tunnel of whymiscal monsters. Of course, this is the only ride Rachel likes to ride more than the train (more sarcasm). While we were waiting in line, she asked, "Are we only going to ride slow rides today?" about a thousand times. Sometimes I said, "Yes" and sometimes I said, "No. But we are going to ride rides that everyone enjoys." and sometimes I asked, "Are you having fun?" to which she would reply with the obligatory precious eye roll and, "Yes."

At the beginning of the ride a picture is taken of each boat with the guests making their scariest monster faces. Rachel decided we should practice our faces.


Rachel


Aaron

Hannah

We eventually worked our way around to one of Rachel's favorite rides, The Wheelie. It starts out flat and gradually raises up until it looks like a Ferris Wheel except it goes really fast!! This is the only ride that Rachel road solo.

I could see her face as her car zoomed across the bottom and I could see her smiling. It made me happy that she was having such a good time.

One of our other favorite things is the Bad Bob show. It is a comedy about a sheriff, his deputy and the bad guy, Bad Bob. After the show I had the kids stand in front of the set for a picture. If you think Hannah looks a little afraid, it is because she was. I guess she tought Bad Bob would really get her.

The swings have always been a favorite. This was the first time Hannah was tall enough to ride. She was soooo excited!

Aaron is in the front and Rachel is the orange streak behind him. Hannah is kind of in the middle in the pink tank top. The other people are just blog extras. Ha, ha!

The final ride was the Mind Bender. I didn't actually take this picture. I downloaded it off the web. This roller coaster has one loop that goes upside down. It was the first time Aaron went on a roller coaster that goes upside down. The line was short and as soon as they came off they all begged to go again. They went one more time and then I told them it was time to head out.

I had checked the forecast before leaving home and it said no rain until tomorrow. As we were walking toward the exit, I noticed the sky was growing quite dark. We managed to get to the car and on the highway just before it started storming!! I made the comment that I was glad we left when we did and weren't stuck walking to the car in the storm. Rachel said, "I guess it was God telling you it was time to go. He protects us that way." She was so serious and matter of fact. That was my favorite part of the entire day!!

Six Flags 2010

We had a family day at Six Flags while we were visiting P.K. This was our third trip to Six Flags with the kids. We went last summer and about three years ago. This was the best trip by far. Hannah was tall enough to ride almost everything she wanted to ride and Aaron wasn't afraid to ride anything. Those two facts made for happy kids and thus happy parents.

Rachel has loved "high and fast" rides since her first trip to Disneyland at age 4. That child will ride just about anything. I, on the other hand, am generally happy to hold stuff and people watch. Anything that combines fast and spinny makes me sick to my stomach and I am terrified of heights. So to keep Mommy happy and to make me feel apart of the fun everyone agreed to that we should ride the carousel first.

P.K. and me enjoying the carousel. Yes. This was a no make-up day.

This is me posing with the kids before the ride started.

This was my favorite ride. It was called the Buccaneer something-or-other. It was a leisurely ride on pirate boats that had four water cannons mounted on each side. As you floated past people watching from the sidewalk you could squirt them with the cannons, but they could also squirt you.

Hannah was so excited to finally be tall enough to ride the swings.

This was one of P.K.'s favorite spots. He talked about it for days before we went just like the kids do.

This was one of the coolest activities ever! We had to pay separately from the regular admission price, but it was well worth it. We being P.K. and the kids...note the aforementioned fear of heights...spent over an hour climbing around.

It took Aaron a while to decide it was safe, but once he felt secure he had a blast.

The girl in the light blue shirt in these two shots is Rachel. She went all over all by herself. No fear.

All the kids, big and little, got harnessed up.

Hannah wouldn't get too far from P.K. or the man working, but she wasn't about to quit.

I rode the equivalent of the Teacups at Disney with the girls. You sit in a car that spins independently while the ride spins. You can turn a wheel in the middle to make your individual car spin faster. I am not afraid to ride this particular ride, but I remembered afterward that those kind of rides make me feel sick.

The kids love to watch Scooby Doo so they were thrilled to have their picture taken with Shaggy. I know our days of having Rachel pose with characters willingly are very numbered. I was surprised she jumped in this one without any pleas or threats from the parental units.

Rachel wanted to stop for a picture with these Tasmanian Devil statues on the way out. Oh! Wait a minute. The one in pink is just Hannah. Sometimes it is hard to tell.

One of the joys of having a digital camera is you can waste shots. P.K. took this one on the way in so we could easily remember where we parked. What a smart man!

We had such a great time that P.K. said we should get season passes next year. We have a Six Flags not too far from where we live.

Milking Summer For Every Last Drop

We took a trip to Six Flags for our last day of summer vacation. Rachel and Aaron earned free tickets through a reading program at school last year. We saved them until P.K. got home. I don't do roller coasters which is Rachel's favorite part, so we really needed Daddy for this trip.

P.K. and the kids started the day off with a roller coaster called the Dahlonega Mine Train. It was a moderate roller coaster. They started small and worked their way up. Aaron and Hannah are starting to enjoy roller coasters. I think Hannah has acquired Rachel's love for them. Aaron is a bit more reserved. Rachel has loved thrill rides since she went to Disneyland when she turned four. She called them "high and fast" rides then.

After their first roller coaster, I suggested we take a family trip on the sky buckets. Apparently, I had a temporary loss of sanity. I am terrified of heights. I was thinking it would be a fun family ride across the park. This picture above was taken when the family decided to ride again without Mommy.

This picture of Hannah is from the first trip across. The look on her face is of concern and fear as she watches her mother trying not to hyperventilate.

P.K. and Jody with Bugs Bunny.

Rachel and Aaron on the swings.

P.K. and Rachel were getting ready to ride the Ninja. Hannah wasn't quite tall enough. The Ninja reaches over 12 stories tall in places, reaches speeds of 52 mph, has five upside down turns, upward spirals and corkscrew dives.

P.K. and Hannah with Foghorn Leghorn.

This is the last roller coaster P.K., Rachel and Hannah rode. It is called the Mind Bender. It is eight stories tall at the highest point, reaches speeds of 50 mph and has three loops. The girls loved it so much, they took a second trip. P.K. was able to get this picture of them.

This is Hannah telling me all about the Mind Bender and how she got to ride alone with just Rachel.

A picture of the Mind Bender from outside the park.

One of my favorite rides was the Monster Mansion. It is a slow boat ride through a tunnel filled with whimsical animated monsters

The fam waiting in the very long line for Sky Water Falls.

Hannah trying to scale the wall while P.K. was distracted by his wife who was talking to him from the walkway above.

This ride climbs slowly up five stories, makes a quick turn and then plunges down. Yeah! They got wet!

Rachel and Hannah

P.K. and Aaron

Aaron loved Thomas the Train when he was younger. He even had a Thomas bedroom. Once in a while he will still build tracks, but it is more of the boy urge to build than out of a love for Thomas. Thomas Town is one of the areas at Six Flags. I'm posting these pictures for my friend Kristy. Her little boy loves Thomas and I thought of them as we went through this area.

Aaron and Hannah with Harold.

This ride is called the Wheelie. It rotates to a really high speed and then lifts to a vertical position as it spins. It kind of looks like a Ferris wheel on extreme caffeine.

The camera took a great picture. The Wheelie was actually spinning so fast at this point that I couldn't see Rachel at all. She is actually in the lowest car in this picture. I could see her when I blew it up.

Aaron, Hannah and I rode the bumper cars. Aaron was able to drive one himself. Hannah did her best to direct me to bump into her brother.

We had such a great day. We left about 6:30 knowing the kids had to be up and ready for their first day of school the next morning. We stopped for dinner on the way home. It was such a great way to spend our last day of summer vacation.