Holiday World

We headed out to Holiday World early Monday morning.  We drove and drove.  Shortly before we got there we passed this...

Andrew piped up from the back seat and said, "Hey, wook it's where the clouds come from."  Too sweet. 
We arrived at Holiday World, had a little picnic and then headed in.  It was amazing.  I cannot brag on Holiday World enough.  It was the cleanest park I've ever been to.  All the workers were top notch.  Simply amazing.  
We actually rode the tram in from the parking lot.  Upon exiting the tram Andrew said, "That was a fun ride, mom."  Ha! Maybe we should have just let him ride the tram all day since it was so much fun instead of buying him a ticket...just kidding. :-)

We rode all kind of rides.  Andrew found the kiddie area and he was set.  He climbed up and slid down with the biggest grin on his face for hours. 

We would take turns riding water slides with the big boys and staying with Andrew.  Then

 

we headed over to the amusement park side.  Andrew wanted to ride the log ride.  I was more nervous than him, but he loved it.  Jack's favorite ride was the swings (The pic below is of swings that went 20 feet in the air and then went round and round.  Jack really preferred the old school swings).  Andrew liked the antique cars.  Clayton liked the log ride. 

One day Clayton and I waited in line for about 45 minutes.  I was worried that Fred might be missing us and that it was taking too long.  Right as we got the front Clayton looked up and me and said, "Mom, I'm glad we waited in this line together.  This is going to be so much fun!"  Worth.every.minute.of.wait. 
When we got home Tuesday night around midnight Fred lifted a sleeping Andrew out of the car.  He looked at Fred and said in a half asleep voice, "Can we ride that again, dad?"
Jack rode the bumper cars.  He grinned from ear to ear and giggled.  He kept getting turned around and then he would get tickled.  It still makes me smile just remembering his face.  I hope I never forget it. 
The hotel we stayed in had a free breakfast:  waffles, eggs, sausage, muffins, etc.  We walked in Tuesday morning and Jack said, "Mom, you know I'll eat ALL of this, right?!?"  Loves a breakfast!  Dream come true for the big boy.

Lessons learned at Holiday World:
1.  Fred is still the only one in our family that likes a roller coaster.  He rode them alone. 

2.  Rides that go round and round make me and Fred sick.  We are too old for a scrambler.  I rode the swings with Jack and was green.  Green. 
3.  The pavement is super hot and rough.  You must wear some kind of shoes.  Even with shoes though you still get blisters, lots of blisters.  (By you, I mean the adults, not the kids.)
4.  Being at an amusement park is exhausting on adults.  Exhausting.  I just wanted to lay around when we got back.  The boys were ready to go.  In fact, Clayton asked if we could go to the pool.  I politely said, "No."  Seriously, my legs are still tired and it's been 3 days since we got back. 
5.  One of our big boys does not like waiting in a line to ride a ride.  He gets extremely irritable.  After waiting for 20 minutes or so he might even punch the other brother in the head that is annoying him.  Then you have to leave that line, go find his dad and explain the situation.  All the while adding more blisters to your feet.  Whew, the feet. 

We are hoping to head back next year.  Mental notes are being made and I'm sure a good time will be had by all!!