Our youth sponsored a silent auction several weeks ago. One of the items in the silent auction was a dinner cooked by one of our precious college students. (Actually, he's Jack, but just 10 years older.) I really wanted this...you know...for the kids. But seriously, Chandler can cook. He delivered the meal on Saturday and it did not disappoint: Chicken Cordon Bleu, brussel sprouts, roasted vegetables, macaroni and cheese, bread and peanut butter pie. It was delicious!
Saturday my parents came to Bartlett to celebrate Jack's birthday. If anyone is counting this is celebration #2 for the big guy.
Sunday after Fred preached we headed out for Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio. First, Fred and I shared an intimate picnic in the front seat, complete with hummus. Fred likes hummus. I do not. And our picnic was not intimate, but still...it was delightful.
Monday morning Fred went to register at the convention, but the boys and I stayed at the hotel. There was swimming and resting. A good time was had by all!
Tuesday we all headed to the convention for some time with 5,000 of our best friends. I tried to get a family picture, but someone is always not cooperating. I have no words for the youngest child in this photo.
All day Tuesday Andrew was complaining about his arms, legs, and head hurting. Being the sensitive and attentive parents that we are we brushed him off by telling him he was growing. (Possibly that was bothering him in the above picture?!?) Well...by the time we went to bed Tuesday night I knew he was running a fever. I could feel that he was hot, but I also knew because he wanted me to sleep with him on his bed. He said, "Dad gets to sleep with you every night. Why can't you sleep with me tonight?" How could I say no to that?? I should tell you that he was sleeping on a sofa bed. I lasted until 10:35 pm. Then I got back in my bed. When it comes to sleeping I have my limits.
So Wednesday morning we dropped Fred off at the convention and then the boys and I spent the majority of the morning searching for and waiting at a drop in clinic. The nurse confirmed what I already knew. Andrew had an ear infection. We got his medicine and headed to lunch and the Lego Store.
Since the boys had so patiently waited at the clinic (I don't really mean patient, but I'll give them a little grace.) I thought they deserved a fun experience at lunch. Thankfully, we have saved tons of money the entire trip by eating out of a cooler/crockpot, because we used all of those savings at The Melting Pot. Who knew?!? They really did enjoy it though.
Thursday was the day everyone (Okay, mainly the boys) had been waiting for. We headed to Kings Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The last several summers we have taken mini vacations around theme parks. This works really well for my crew. So, when I knew we might be coming to Columbus this summer I researched amusement parks near by and this one came up.
I bought the tickets at Kroger. They were the same price as they were online, but since I bought them at Kroger I was able to use my Kroger card for 4x's fuel points. Score! Thursday was overcast and spitting rain. From the website they told us they did not close the park or refund money. We figured this would just give us the park to ourselves. We were correct. It was awesome! We never waited more than 10-15 minutes. The rain held off until around 5 pm, just when we were taking a break for supper.
We got to the park when it opened at 10 am. The boys were ready to go!
We rode rides on the amusement park side for a couple of hours and then retreated to our car where we enjoyed a fine picnic of PBandJ sandwiches, Pringles and Little Debbie brownies. Does it get any better?!?
Once we were finished with lunch we headed back in to the park to conquer the water park side. We did this for several hours and then decided to go to some water rides on the amusement park side...White Water Canyon and the Log Ride. We rode White Water Canyon (I wanted to call it the Grizzly River Rampage from my childhood Opryland days, but I refrained.) and got absolutely drenched. Drenched. Thankfully our plan was to wear our swim wear and then put on our dry clothes. Once we finished up that ride and were walking the exit it started to thunder so they closed that ride down. I changed my clothes, we grabbed a most expensive meal and then we waited the storm out. The park really cleared out after that. It would rain off and on, but never like it did while we were eating dinner. Finally around 8:30 pm I'd had about all I could take with the rain and the guys were ready to go too. We headed to get some ice cream and then to the hotel. A good time was had by all!
Funny things the boys said on this trip:
Jack to me as I was eating ice cream for the third time on our trip...
"Wow Mom! You must not be counting calories this week!
Andrew to me while we were at the park:
"I fink I feel so bad because I'm just excited." Bless his heart. I think he felt bad because he had a double ear infection.
Andrew to me while we were passing all the games:
Andrew: You know what would make me feel better? A stuffed animal. You know I love them.
Me: No, those games are a rip off. We are not playing.
Andrew: But it would make me feel better.
Me: No
Andrew: Mimi would get me one. She knows it would make me feel better.
Well...we came home without a stuffed animal. Again, bless his heart.
Clayton to me while we were at the park and after we left about 15 different times:
"Thanks mom for planning this trip and taking us to Kings Island. It's been awesome!
Jack to me while I was trying to convince him to ride a roller coaster with me:
Me: You'll regret not riding it once we leave.
Jack: How can I regret something I didn't do?
Me: But this is it. Last chance. I don't want you to be sad. We'll never be back here.
Jack: How do you know we'll never be back here?
Me: Because we have lots of other places I want to travel and we just won't be back to this area.
Jack: You never know. Someday I might come with my WIFE.
Well...okay. I guess I can't argue with that. On a side note, he did not ride the ride with me.
Every time we take a trip together I say this, but I really do love this crew God has blessed me with. We have so much fun together! We only have 5 summers left with everyone living under the same roof. I'm trying to make the most of every opportunity...not just trips.
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