A Few Lagoon Highlights

Going to Lagoon in July is hot.
And all the lines make everybody horribly thirsty.
I had planned ahead and packed a cooler full of cold drinks and sandwiches,
but they were in the car,
and sometimes we were just too thirsty to wait.
In the middle of the day, I got one bottle of water
($2.50 for a 20 oz bottle of water- aiee!)
and three straws-
and the kids slurped that thing flat in seconds.
(So I got another one so I could share...
the first time I was having too much fun with the photo op.)

We all have our favorite rides at Lagoon.
Here is an old favorite of mine-
I remember riding this 30 years ago-
the Paratrooper.
Griffin liked it,
but I'm not sure Ethan was enjoying himself...

All of us who tried the Wicked rollercoaster really loved it.
Griffin rode it six times.
If you enlarge the picture,
you can see his fire-red hair in the front row
(he's the guy with his hands in the air)...

And at the end of the day when we were all tired out
(and Griffin had gone back
to ride the Wicked rollercoaster one more time)
the rest of us sedately rode on the Carousel.
I remember riding on this on my fifth birthday!

Lagoon Bandits

I have always had a great weakness for old fashioned dress up photos.
When I was a kid I always longed to get such a photo taken
at Lagoon's Pioneer Village,
but my parents demurred
(and having seen the prices there, I now now why.)
But this year, when I took the kids to Lagoon,
I was determined to go ahead and have fun.
We all decided to be bandits.
I purchased both a sepia-toned print
and the five digital photos they took.
All were pretty good,
but this was my favorite.
(The digitals remain in color,
and it will be easy to make them sepia-toned in Photoshop if I want).

Evening at the Pool

One of the best things about living in a condo,
is that there is a clubhouse and pool.
This gives us pool access virtually any time,
but not the bother of cleaning it ourselves.
It's also great to take the kids to the pool when they come visiting.

Aunt C. with kids
and a closeup of a whale spout trick:

It was a gorgeous evening for the pool!

21st Century Kids

We love to read in this family,
and it is heartening to see that the kids love it too.
However,
there are moments when the kids are definitely
Children of Technology.
Take this example.
My niece, having an ingrown toenail,
has to soak her feet in a special solution every night.
It pretty much roots her in place.
So when she wants her dad and she's stuck soaking her feet,
what does she do?
She TEXTS him.
Even though he's in the next room.

Fellow Snake Afficianado

It is very gratifying, when one has a beloved pet,
to find someone else who is as nutty about her as oneself.

My brother and kids are visiting,
and my 14 year old nephew just loves snakes.
(He also loves creative hair, too.)

Mohawk in the morning...
I must say,
the snake definitely adds a touch of originality.

Both snake and nephew appear very pleased with themselves!

Parade Highlights

Fire engines are very loud...

Sun is awfully hot and bright...
(I had pre-frozen the drinks the night before,
so they doubled as coolers...)

But the missionaries are out,
high-fiving all the kids...

And look, it's Paddington Bear!

I always like the floats and the bands a lot, too,
and my favorite are the bagpipers.
This year there were THREE bagpipe bands!
Also, the historic hearse made its annual appearance,
which made me very happy, too.

My idea of the perfect fourth of July:
get up early and go for a balloon ride,
(never done it, but some day I will!)
and then go to see a big parade with lots of family,
especially kids who enjoy it,
and have lots of cold drinks and icy things to keep us cool,
followed by a lazy afternoon with a picnic,
or barbecue,
in a shady park somewhere,
with games for the kids
and naps for all the adults,
ending up with a big fireworks display
that is near enough to see very well,
preferably while lying on a blanket,
as they explode seemingly over our faces.

I had a very nearly perfect fourth of July this year!
Parade, nap and fireworks,
and of course, my family!

Colonial Reenactors (July 4)

Very near the parade venue, downtown,
a "Colonial Village" was set up for education and fun displays.
The candlemaking and so on was cheek by jowl with those inflatable bounce rooms for very young kids, but the displays were interesting anyway.
It was mobbed just after the parade and so we didn't stay,
but luckily before the parade started,
one of the reenactors was already busy setting up
and we got to talk to her (and photograph her) without a huge crowd in the way.
I had never seen this kind of lace making,
using a pattern of dots on paper to place the pins,
and a number of thread-holding bobbins,
that are wound and twisted in different ways,
to make the lace patterns.
It was really lovely to see
(and mind boggling to think of all the work that went into lace making by hand).