Warning: This posts has possibly the most pictures I’ve ever put in a blog post… (I wonder what my record is. Hmm). But there is no better picture than one of a child having fun and that is what Lagoon is all about peeps. So yeah, just know that I know there are too many pictures and enjoy the fact that all of these children are beautiful! Deal!
Way back at the beginning of the summer when the kids were bored out of their mind and we were ALL waiting “patiently” for Gareth’s arrival… Josh promised Traegan we could go to Lagoon after his birthday. To say he looked forward to that day would be the greatest understatement EVER! He asked all the time if we could go yet. Like daily.
Well somehow we managed to convince Josh’s siblings that we should go together and then the kids would have more fun. Then we managed to convince Josh’s parents to get us discount tickets and supplement the admission cost. Perfection!
Traegan was FREAKING OUT that he got to go to Lagoon AND got to go with all his “cousin friends!”
Sunday was the day. (Yes, we are all sinners and we’re okay with it). :) We had a slow start and when we got there we were surprised to find that there were roughly two billion people there. Seriously. We parked in a field. A very full field. Wow.
But Josh and I had no aspirations of riding any adult rides so we were fine with just chilling in kiddie land all day.
We got there and immediately began the day long activity of waiting in line…
We started out with Bulgy the Whale because it’s A. the first one we saw and B. pretty mellow just in case there was going to be any freak outs.
Gareth was just a chilling in his stroller… which he did most of the day… little sweet heart!
Avonelle seemed to understand that she had a full day of fun ahead of her before the ride even started!
And so it begins! Oh the joy!
Then we moved next door to the jeeps. Fun!
Then Josh took the kids on the Tea Cups. At which point I was pretty much convinced that he had lost Avonelle in the time between when they were let in to load the cups and when they actually loaded them. Seriously, I couldn’t see her head the entire time. :)
Then we waited in line to ride the Jumping Dragon; which is Traegan’s favorite ride. When we got up to the front we realized that Traegan was too short to ride it without an adult… as was Avonelle. Since we only had two adults and one of them needed to stay with the stroller, we had a slight problem. One that would likely repeat throughout the day.
Josh waited with a very unhappy Av and a sleeping Gareth while Traegan and I rode it. We hoped some of the rest of the group would want to hang in kiddie land later to help solve the problem.
After that whole ordeal we hiked to the VERY back corner of the park to Pavilion land to meet up with the family. It was pretty darn cool to all be together, I’m not going to lie.
Back row L to R: Jason and Noelle, Scott and Kathy, Josh holding Gareth, Jeremy and Julie, Avonelle and I (I’m on the end because I was running with the timer, I really do love my husband). :)
Front row L to R: Cole, Owen, Jettsen, Traegan, Kylie, Sammie and Chloe
Family is pretty much the best thing ever and I love that I love my husband’s family as much as my own. I hope we can always do fun stuff like this together because I really love each and every one of them! HUGE thanks to Scott and Kathy for letting us do this!
Then we all ventured back to kiddie land to do a few rides together. We started out with the Octopus one that squirts water at you. Kathy and I waited with Gareth after we made sure that all the kids had an appropriately sized partner. :)
Pappa and Avy had to switch sides, but I did get some good pictures before it started. And Miss Belle did in fact wave to me from pretty much every ride the entire day! Love her!
Chloe was a little worried and crying before the ride started, but clearly she enjoyed it once it was going.
Cole and Noelle
Sammie and Julie
Traegan and Josh
Owen and Jason
Kylie and Jett were pretty excited that they were tall enough to ride some rides just the two of them. And tell me this isn't like the greatest picture ever?
Dripping wet and grinning ear to ear. I wish there were words good enough to describe the love I have for this little man!
Then we rode on the BomBora roller coaster (where I was surprised and deafened by Chloe’s “only dogs can hear that pitch” screaming) and then the teacups (where I piled in the PINK teacup with Avonelle, Chloe, and Sammie and had to decide whether to spin it and please two of them or not spin to please Sammie) and then we headed up to Pioneer Village for food! Longest sentence ever. My bad.
After that we headed to ride the train with Jeremy and Julie’s clan and Grandma and Grandpa.
Fun side note, this was the only ride Gareth got to go on. You can see how excited he was. :)
Avonelle princess waved at all the animals. She positively melts me.
After the train we said good bye to Grandma and Grandpa who were for some reason sick of melting in the sun and being suffocated by the crowds. Weird.
Then we just did kiddie land to death!
Each ride Chloe and Sammie would fight over who got to ride with Avonelle. Kind of fun!
This one Chloe and Traegan are in the purple boat and Avonelle and Sammie are in the orange.
Then the helicoters. Kylie was always wanting to ride with Traegan. She loves him. They are pretty cute together.
Chloe was in the back (opposite of where we were standing) when we were waiting for the ride to start. So we didn’t notice until the ride started that she was SOBBING! Turns out there was a bee on her helicopter before the ride started and she COULD NOT HANDLE THAT!
The ride attendent stopped the ride after about two seconds as soon as he saw her crying and let her off. The bee was long gone by then. :)
I’m a horrible Aunt… but I laughed. A lot.
Meanwhile, Sammie didn't want to go up in the helicopter and Avonelle did. So Sammie locked her elbows and held her arms straight out so that Avy couldn't move the bar. Hilarious.
Then Jason and Noelle and boys met up with us and the cousins all rode on the cars.
Then we made the husbands wait in line to ride Puff the Dragon.
Puff. I literally can't look at this picture without snorting. Look at their faces! Especially Avy's (click on it for full effect), she just looks terrified. Oh my sides hurt.
Planes. Traegan and Owen.
Chloe rode this one with Avonelle and had a pretty good grip on the joystick and wasn't letting it go up. But every once in a while, Avy, who LOVES to go up would grab it and move it as hard as she could. Chloe would resist. This would result in the plane bouncing up and down like it was having a seizure and Avy getting this really evil little smirk. Oh how much fun I had watching her!
Traegan is in the elephant and Avy is in the bee with Kylie and loving that Kylie let her go up!
Then we let them ride it again. Traegan was so excited to ride it again that he literally ran INTO the bee. Like full on, cartoon like, flat on the back, feet pop up in the air, ran into the bee. I didn't see it. Josh laughed hard. We're great parents.
But he recovered (and so did Av after Traegan wouldn't share the joystick and I threatened going home) and they enjoyed another go of it.
Then we said good bye to Jason and Noelle and boys and headed for the carousel.
Avy and Sammie watched with much anticipation.
Traegan and Kylie on their horses.
The merry-go-round was positively packed and by the time I got Trae and Kylie strapped in the only thing left was this rocking bear. But once it started moving, Avy seemed pretty darn pleased. :)
Then we rode the jeeps before heading out.
Chloe and Traegan are in the yellow one and even though you can't see their eyes, their faces are priceless. Sammie and Avy are in the orange. :)
Then we were ready to head out and Julie took a family picture for us. A picture that somehow got deleted on my camera. Yes. I'm crying a little.
On our way out, Traegan walked into a pole. Seriously. I was quite sure he had a concussion between that and the bee incident earlier. Then in the parking lot he asked us about what all the rides were made of and Josh said he wasn't concussed.
All in all we had a pretty freaking fun day. I loved every second of it, especially considering that I LOVE rides and didn't get to ride hardly any. I just love watching the kids have so much fun.
Thank you again to Scott and Kathy for the SUPER fun day! I know that my kids had a total blast! (They've been in here while I worked on the pictures telling me about each and every ride complete with sound effects). :) THANK YOU!