It's What Fun Is...

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we have been having "our best summer ever." The kiddos have been working to earn tally marks towards fun activities all summer long. One of the activities they picked was Lagoon.   They were able to earn enough tally marks & so we got to spend the day there a few weeks ago.  We couldn't have picked a better day to go.  It was a Monday and there were no lines!  We walked on almost every ride...every time!  Some of the bigger roller coasters had a 5-10 minute wait, but most rides we walked right on.  We did wait in line for 30 minutes for the stupid log ride, but if you've ever waited in that line, you know that 30 minutes is actually not too bad.

Unfortunately, we spent most the day split up into two groups.  The bigger boys just wanted to go on roller coasters all day long.  Cohen would have happily joined them, but alas, he wasn't quite tall enough for most the big rides, so he spent a good chunk of his day in Kiddieland...

I should mention, before I go any further, that 90% of the pictures in this post are of Cohen.  The reason for that is that the parent that stayed with him always had Vivvie & the stroller with them as well, which is where we were keeping the camera most of the day.  So, Connor & Aiden only got a few pictures taken.  The rest are of Cohen.  Exhibit A--Cohen riding Puff the Magic Dragon (all by himself)...

Exhibit B--Cohen riding in a bumblebee...

Exhibit C--Cohen pretending he's Tom Cruise in Top Gun...

And, you'll see many more throughout this post as well.  You'll also see lots of pictures of this gal sitting in her stroller...

She's always sitting in her stroller because she refused to get out.  Early in the day, I made the mistake of trying to put her on a few of the kiddie rides with Cohen.  She flipped out!  And that's putting it mildly.  Sigh...this little girl isn't going to survive in this roller coaster-loving family if she doesn't get some courage at some point!  So, from that point on, she would flip out if we would even take her out of her stroller to hold her.  I'm pretty sure she thought that anytime we took her out of her stroller, it meant she was going to have to ride some torturous ride--like those horrible Baby Boats...

So, she sat happily in her stroller while Cohen rode ride after ride by himself.  Here he is driving like his Daddy on the bumper cars...

And hanging out on Kontiki...

And on the Dinosaur Drop.  Dude, is that girl checking you out?

Oh look!  This is something we haven't seen yet in this post--a picture of Connor & Aiden while waiting in line for one of the roller coasters.  And they're hugging!  {{Gasp}}  Quick--someone take a picture as proof.  Oh wait...

After lunch, we decided (since this was supposed to be a family activity and all) that we should actually spend some time together as a family.  Novel concept, I know.  So, we went on some rides that we could all do together.  Well, sort of together.  Viv of course refused to go on every single one of them, so everyone--minus Vivvie & a responsible guardian of her choice--went on a few rides together.  Here are all the boys getting soaked on Odysea...

Yep, soaked...

Another picture of Connor & Aiden showing love for each other.  I actually plastered this baby all over Facebook & Instagram to prove to the world that they do, in fact, get along from time-to-time...

Here's the entire family (including a very nervous Vivienne) riding the Animal Kingdom Train together.  And, of course, Aiden & Connor are back to annoying each other every chance they can get...

Once Vivvie stopped screaming, she actually enjoyed it--I think...

Is it just me, or is this white tiger a new addition to the Animal Kingdom Train?  He was very pretty...

After our train excursion, we split up into groups again for a little while.  This is what Aiden's hair looked like after riding his favorite roller coaster--Wicked.  Ummm, Aiden, 1982 called.  Flock of Seagulls would like their hairstyle back.  That is all...

At this point, it was the middle of the afternoon & all of us needed to cool down, so we headed into Pioneer Village to do the Log Ride.  This was the one & only long line of the day we waited in.  But, that little splash of cool water at the end made it all worthwhile...

We got just wet enough to cool us off, but not soak us.  Perfect for a makeup & hairspray-lovin' girl like me...

Viv, of course, sat out the ride with Mike.  But, at least he was finally able to coax her out of her stroller for a few minutes...

The boys were disappointed that we didn't getter wetter on the Log Ride, so they all headed to Rattlesnake Rapids next to get dumped on by the waterfall...

Are you cool enough now boys--now that you look like drowned rats???

Connor & I took off after that to do a few bigger rides & Mike stayed with Aiden, Cohen & Viv in Kiddieland.  Here's Cohen & Aiden riding Puff together...

Then it was on to the cars...

Apparently, Aiden is too cool to look at the camera.  Either that or he's concentrating on his driving...

The mini-swings...

Spaceship fun.  Although the girl in front of them doesn't appear to be very amused about the fact that two wild & crazy boys are sitting behind her...

More stroller "fun" for Vivvie...

Once Connor & I got done riding a few roller coasters, it was off to Musik Express.  Connor wanted to go by himself.  Here he is holding on for dear life...

Mike & the other two boys went together--and squished each other like pancakes...

Viv sat & waved to random people as they passed...

Yep, every single one of them.  She's got her beauty queen pageant wave down to a science...

While Vivvie continued to make friends with complete strangers, Connor, Aiden & I went on Colossis...

After that, we ate dinner & then finished the night up with a spin on the Tilt-a-Whirl...

It was a great day!  We stayed until the second they closed.  All in all, we spent almost 11 hours at the park, and we were able to do every ride we wanted to do. We even got to do some of our favorites two or three times!  The boys were happy all day long, and so was Vivvie--as long as we didn't take her out of her stroller.  Best Lagoon trip ever!  Thanks for working hard to earn it boys.  It was a blast! --Mom