Never Forget

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. I realized, as I thought back about the events of that day, that I've never written down the experiences or feelings that I had on that day. I know that someday, one of my grandkids will get the school assignment to talk to their oldest living relative about where they were & what they felt that day. I know that I had an assignment similar to that back in high school. We were supposed to interview a grandparent about the thoughts & feelings they had on D Day at the end of WWII. I interviewed my grandpa. As he was telling me about that day, I was surprised at how much he remembered. He knew every single detail about that day. It was a day that was imprinted on his brain forever. September 11, 2001 is the same way for me. I hope that someday when one of my grandchildren ask me about that day, I'll be able to tell them in great detail about my experience, just like my grandpa did with me about D Day. But, I worry that, over time, I'll begin to forget little details here & there. In fact, I think I've already forgotten quite a few. So, before I forget anything else, I have decided that I needed to write down my experiences from that day. My experience isn't very exciting or miraculous, but it did change me forever.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 started out as a very laid back day for Mike & I. We were living in Lake Charles, LA & had only been married for about 9 months. I was the Chief Meteorologist at my station there & Mike was attending school. We loved Tuesdays that semester because Mike's first class didn't start until 10:30 in the morning. And, since I didn't have to be to work until 12:30, we always slept in on Tuesday mornings. That day was no different. We didn't have a care in the world. Mike's alarm went off at about 9:30 am (Central Time). He got up to get ready for school & I rolled over and went back to sleep. At about 10:00, he came & kissed me goodbye. At that point, I decided to finally get up & get ready. I was supposed to attend a Fall Premier Luncheon in Beaumont, TX to promote the fall programming lineup & to announce the premier of a new newscast that I was to be apart of.

When I got out of the shower, I heard the phone ringing. I let it go to voicemail since I was soaking wet. But, immediately, the phone rang again. I thought that was strange, so I decided just to wrap my towel around me & run to the phone.

I picked up the phone to hear Mike say, "Two airplanes flew into the World Trade Center & both towers have collapsed!"

"What?" I replied. "What are you talking about?"

"The twin towers in New York," he repeated. "They're gone. Someone hijacked some airplanes and flew them into the towers & they collapsed! Everyone here at school is talking about it. Turn on the TV right now."

I ran over to the remote & flipped on the TV. In front of me flashed images of an airplane hitting the second tower, both towers on fire & then the towers collapsing to the ground. They repeated the pictures over and over and over again. I heard Tom Brokaw's voice recapping what had happened over the past few hours while I slept. Two planes had flown into the World Trade Center which had subsequently collapsed. A plane had flown into the Pentagon. And United Airlines had just confirmed that another of their planes had gone down in Pennsylvania. Thousands of people were dead and missing. I sat down on the floor in front of the TV...still soaking wet with my towel wrapped around me. I was shocked that all this had happened.

I was still on the phone with Mike. I repeated to him everything Tom Brokaw was saying. There were four planes down. Were there more? Did these people hijack a few planes, or could they possibly have hundreds of them & there were more attacks to come? Then, I thought of Mike's dad. Mike's dad was, and still is, a pilot for Southwest Airlines. I quickly asked Mike, "Is your Dad flying today?!?" He said that he didn't know & that he was going to call his mom to find out. We hung up & I went back to watching the TV. It was too much to absorb in that moment. I lost it and I began to cry. New York City & Washington DC looked like war zones. Things like this didn't happen in America. Things like this happened in places like Israel & Yemen, not New York & DC.

In that moment, I remembered a conversation I had had with my dad about 10 years earlier at the beginning of the Desert Storm War. I remembered all of us standing around the TV watching CNN broadcast the beginning of that war. I remembered seeing the explosions everywhere & suddenly becoming very scared. I asked my dad if he thought anything like that would ever happen here. He said, "I don't know. But, I know that it would be very hard for something like that to happen here." He went on to explain to me that the US was in a good region geographically. We were bordered on two sides by huge oceans & by allies on the other two sides, so it would be very hard for anyone to attack us because they wouldn't be able to get all their military equipment over here to attack us without us noticing it.

As I sat in my living room on September 11th, remembering that conversation, I realized that he was right. These people, whoever they were, knew they couldn't get military ships or jets, or big bombs over here without being detected. So, they used our own airplanes as weapons to attack us.

As I thought about that conversation with my dad, I realized something horrifying. My dad was flying that day! He had been in Houston that weekend to set up a trade show. In fact, he had driven the two hour drive from Houston to Lake Charles just a few days earlier to visit us & to deliver a TV to us...the TV I was now watching these horrific images on. I was running through what he had told me a few days earlier. I was positive that he told me he was flying home on Tuesday. If there were more hijacked planes, he could be on one of them. I ran to the phone & dialed my parents home phone number. My mom answered right away. "Mom!" I yelled, "Where Dad?"

"He's at work. Why?" she responded.

"He's not flying home from Houston today?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "He flew home yesterday."

A wave of relief rushed through me. My dad was safe. My mom and I talked about what had happened that morning for the next few minutes. She asked me if I knew where Rick (Mike's dad) was & if he was flying that day. I told her I didn't, but that Mike said he would call me when he found out. We talked for a few more minutes & then hung up.

I went back to the TV & sat down on the floor again. Mike called a few minutes later, he had just gotten out of his class & had finally reached someone (I can't remember who) in his family & received word that his dad was safe. Another wave of relief. We hung up & I, again, walked back to the TV. I sat there for who knows how long just watching the images in front of me. Planes flying into buildings, reports of people jumping to their death from the top of the towers because there was no way to escape, people running through the streets of New York with pictures of missing loved ones. I cried some more. We had been attacked & America would never be the same ever again. I still had my towel wrapped around me, but by now my hair was dry as could be. I remembered that I had that Fall Premier Luncheon in Beaumont that afternoon. I didn't know if it would still happen or not. Our country had just changed forever, so something like a premiere party seems so trivial at that moment, but I decided I should continue getting ready just in case it was still happening. As I tried to fix my now matted, knotted dried hair into something semi-normal looking, I kept finding myself being drawn out of the bathroom & back to the TV. I was just in shock. When my hair was done, I quickly put on my makeup, got dressed & headed into work. As I was driving to the station, I heard on the radio that President Bush had flown to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, just a few hours north of Lake Charles. He had since left for an undisclosed location, but had taped some remarks while at Barksdale. They started playing the sound of the presidents voice. I remember he said that freedom had been attacked that day & that freedom would be defended. I cried.

When I got into work, I walked into a newsroom that was going crazy. Not only was everyone trying to figure out what exactly had happened in New York & Washington DC, but they were also following up on leads that Lake Charles was going to be put on high alert because of the proximity to the nation's oil reserve. Lake Charles basically sits right on top of them, and there was concern that they could be a possible target as well.

As I walked into the room, I asked one of the reporters if the luncheon was still going on in Beaumont that afternoon. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Don't you know what's been going on?"

I replied that I did know & that's why I was asking if it was still going on or if it had been cancelled. He responded with, "Of course it's been cancelled! The world is basically coming to an end!" Then tears started coming to his eyes and he repeated himself. "Of course it's been cancelled." Then he walked off.

I walked into the dark studio where my weather office was & turned on the TV. All air traffic across the US was shut down & all airplanes had now been grounded, so it appeared the attacks were over. I started to cry again. I cried for quite awhile...probably several hours as I watched the continuing coverage on TV. After I composed myself, I walked back out into the newsroom & into my news director/main anchor's office. She was watching her TV with tears in her eyes. I said, "Hey Kerry, I know that this doesn't matter much right now, but I just need to know if I should plan on getting a weathercast together for the show, or if you just want to blow out weather all together."

She responded, "I want a 90 second weathercast. Very simple, very brief. Just a few basic graphics & the 5-day forecast. Oh, and why don't you mention the weather in New York. They have a lot of work ahead of them over the next few days."

I don't remember much after that. The rest of the afternoon & evening were kind of a blur. I know I watched a lot of TV. I remember hearing Osama Bin Laden's name for the first time. The networks did 24 hour coverage for days & days following the attack.

That night, we interrupted the coverage to do our local newscast. I remember Kerry almost breaking down several times throughout the show, but she was always able to pull herself together very quickly. I was so impressed with her. We ended the show with a montage of still pictures from that day, put to the song "God Bless The USA." All of us broke down. After the newscast, someone recommended that we all fill our cars up with gas on the way home because gasoline prices were expected to rise to over $2.00 a gallon by the following day. ($2.00 a gallon now seems like quite the sweet deal by today's standards, but back then $2.00 a gallon gas seemed unimaginable. I had paid $.88 a gallon just a few months before...one of the perks of living in a gulf coast state so close to the oil refineries.) So, I stopped at a gas station on the way home. Everything was so quiet. There was no one on the roads. The city seemed almost desolate. Everyone was home glued to the coverage on TV, worried if another attack was already being planned by the terrorists.

After filling up, I headed home to Mike. He was sitting on the couch, watching the coverage. I dropped my bag on the floor & fell down into his waiting arms. We sat there for a couple of hours just watching TV & discussing the events of the day. We finally went to bed around midnight.

I went to bed that night a different girl than the one who had woken up 15 hours earlier without a care in the world. The attacks had not affected me personally. I wasn't in them. I didn't know anyone who was in them. I didn't have a miraculous story of survival, or a story of tragedy like we had heard about that day on the news. But, I had been changed forever. Mike had been changed forever. All of America had been changed forever. It is a day that is imprinted on my brain...just like my grandpa's experience with D Day. I think each of us that were alive on that day will remember where we were & what we were doing when we learned that we were under attack. But, I know that as time goes on, 9-11 will become a distant memory for many, and eventually it will become just a page in a history book. That's why I decided I should write my experience down. It truly was the day that changed America. And, I hope we never forget that. --Lindsay

Labor Day & Aiden's Birthday

I've combined these two days into one post because we celebrated Aiden's birthday both on Labor Day & on his actual birthday. On Labor Day, we had the family over for a barbecue/birthday party. We started out by eating a yummy dinner (which I didn't get any pictures of...sorry) & then we just hung out for awhile. We played on the tramp...

And threw the football around...

And played Bocce Ball (not pictured). Nana, of course, hung out with her favorite gal pals...

It was a fun day! Not only was my family there, but Mike's dad & grandpa came too (his Mom was in Nashville, so she couldn't be there.) Here's Vivvie with her Great-Grandpa Judkins. I think she likes him...

Then we moved onto "the opening of the presents" which, in this house, may be just as dangerous as "the running of the bulls..."

Aiden was spoiled rotten...

Again...

After presents, we moved onto cake. Funfetti, his favorite...

After cake & ice cream, as if we weren't stuffed enough at this point, we made a few s'mores around the firepit...

Yes, it's still not done yet. But, at least the cinder block skeleton is rebarred & cemented now. Mike will do the rock facade & finish the flagstone either later this fall or next spring. Notice, we also don't have any trees, shrubs, or flowers in the backyard yet either. That will come next spring. We need another winter to save up more money before we can do anything else. Haha!

So that was our Labor Day! It was a great day, despite the cool, wet weather. We have had fabulous luck with the weather when we have had barbecues at our house this summer (sarcasm font needed here.) It seems like anytime we plan any sort of outdoor party at our house, it rains. Ironic, considering my profession, don't you think?

Aiden's actual birthday was yesterday. He turned six-years-old! We had a Transformer birthday party with all his friends from the neighborhood (14 to be exact, if you count Connor & Cohen too.) Those of you who live in our old neighborhood & those of you who have followed this blog for the past couple of years will recognize a lot of the stuff we did. But, for those of you that don't know, Aiden had this exact same party two years ago when he turned four-years-old. We figured that since none of the kids from our new neighborhood had attended that party, we could repeat a lot of the same things, starting with the invitation...


All I had to do was change his age & the address (the address has obviously been changed for the blog as well.)

We started out the party with an obstacle course where the kids had to carry "the cube" through several different obstacles to protect it from the Decepticons. Here are our Autobots ready for action...

First they had to go down the rock steps & jump across the trampoline...

Then they had to walk on a "tight rope"which was just an extension cord spread out across part of the yard. Then they had to take the cube through these tubes...

Then bounce around in a circle (not so easy with a cube in your hand)...

Make a basket (again, not so easy with a cube in your hand apparently)...

And then run back to the beginning where they would pass the cube to the next person in line.

After that, we did the game where you tie balloons onto the kids ankles & then they try to pop everyone else's balloons. We did two teams, The Autobots & The Decepticons. I believe The Decepticons actually ended up winning. We had several "balloon malfunctions" before the game even started, but once we got those taken care of, the kids had a great time.

Next, we moved on to the pinata. We couldn't find a Transformer pinata, so we got a truck pinata & put Decepticon decals on the sides of it, so that the kids could beat up a Decepticon. And, boy did they ever beat it up...

Usually with pinatas, the kids will hit it & hit it, but a parent finally has to be the one to break it open. Not this time! Candy was falling out before everyone had even had a turn. Who knew five- & six-year-olds could be so tough? Once the pinata broke open, the kids went crazy for the candy...

Then it was on to a totally nutritious dinner of hot dogs, chips, grapes, etc. Obviously, Aiden's choice. Next it was presents & then onto cake and ice cream at the end. Here was Aiden's Transformer cake. I still can't figure out what the big round brown ball is in the corner. Is it supposed to be a planet or something?

Oh well, Aiden thought it was great. That's all that matters, I guess...

Overall, it was a really great party. A little chaotic at times, that's for sure. But, I think that's to be expected when you have 14 kids & only 2 parents. Aiden had a great birthday & he's so excited to finally be six-years-old!

I wrote Aiden a letter for his birthday, so I'll have to post it on here. I still have to post Cohen's letter now that I think about it. So many things to blog about, so little time! Happy birthday Aidenator! I am so happy that you are my son. You have made me smile everyday for the past six years. Thank you for being the comic relief in my life! --Mom

Dear Vivvie #6

Dear Vivvie,

Yes, I'm late again. But, I'd hope that by this point, you've given up on the hope that I'll ever write this letter in time. It's been a crazy & fun month! You are getting so big & starting to do so many new things. And, your cute little personality is really starting to show.

We went to the doctor for your six-month checkup & shots the other day. You handled the shots so well! Maybe you're just getting used to having pain inflicted upon you after living with your brothers for over six months now. Here are your latest stats:

Length: 25 inches (22nd percentile)

Weight: 14 lbs. 7 oz. (18th percentile)

Head Circumference: 42 cm (32nd percentile)

Obviously, you're still a little girl, but you are probably our chubbiest baby yet! I love your cute little fat rolls! They make me smile & want to squish you with hugs all day long...

You obviously look cute in a bikini (evidence pictured above) & you're great to hang out with. You are so mellow & just love to take in everything around you, while sucking on your thumb (a habit your dad isn't too fond of)...


This past month, you have started sitting (while leaning forward on your hands for balance) on your own for short periods of time, as in 5-10 seconds. Anything longer than that & you topple. You have also, just in the past few days, started scooting around. Up until this point, you would just roll to get to where you wanted to go. Then, a few weeks ago, you realized your could scoot backwards & turn yourself in a circle. But, now, you can do it all. Let the baby proofing begin!

You also love to play with toys. You can shake, squish, bang, kick & throw them like nobody's business.

We started you on solid foods this past month. Let's just say you're not much of a fan of solid foods yet. You always seem to enjoy the first few bites & then you freak out and have a meltdown until someone picks you up out of your chair & saves you from the wretched solid food. I don't get it...things like bananas & applesauce MUST taste better than that nasty formula, so why don't you like them? Maybe it's just too much work. Who knows?

You're also not sleeping very good lately. You've been waking up pretty consistently the past few nights at around 4 or 5 am. I thought maybe that meant you were teething, but I can't feel any teeth yet. Whatever is causing it, I hope it changes soon. I miss my 8 hours straight that I've become accustomed to again over the past few months. You usually just eat & then go right back to sleep, so it's not too bad...but still, I'm not a fan.

You have the prettiest fingernails I have ever seen! They are long & skinny. I can tell they are going to be beautiful when you are older. My fingernails are short & stubby, so I'm mega jealous of you already. You also have the curliest eyelashes I've ever seen in my whole life! They're not as long as your brothers lashes, but they curl so perfectly! You won't ever need to use an eyelash curler if they stay that way.

Your hair is getting a little longer these days, but there's nowhere near enough to do anything cute with it yet (and I'm sure there won't be for quite some time), so we'll stick with the headbands & huge bows until then. Speaking of the bows, would you please leave them on your head? You're constantly pulling them down around your neck. Is this your way of telling me you want to wear jewelry? Are you trying to turn your bows into necklaces?

You are the smiliest baby ever! Your smile is huge & always shows off your cute dimples. I swear you have a smile on your face 90% of the time. I'll be working on something & look over at you to find you looking at me with a gigantic grin on your face, for no reason at all! I love it!!! However, when it comes to taking pictures, you're not much of a smiler. The second the camera comes on, the smile disappears. We have to have your brothers do cartwheels & all sorts of shenanigans in order to distract you from the camera & get you to smile. Otherwise, we get lots of pictures like this...

You continue to be the happiest baby I know! You are so mild mannered & patient, it is incredible! Everyone who meets you comments on what a good, happy baby you are. You are just awesome! Your brothers adore you...sometimes a little too much! You are the sunshine of this entire family! We love you! Thank you for making our lives so happy the past six months! I love you more than you will ever know! --Mommy

Swiss Days 2011

My mom, sister & I got up at the butt crack of dawn on Friday to go to Swiss Days. My mom & I went last year & had a great time, so Kristin decided to join us this year. I picked Kristin up at 5:55 am & then we met my mom on the way up to Midway...


We got there at about 6:35 am. Swiss Days doesn't officially open until 8:00 am, but if you want a decent parking spot, you have to go that early. Many of the booths actually open that early because so many people get there before the festival actually begins. We had so much fun together, even though it was 45 degrees when we got there, and someone had decided to wear shorts & flip flops. Oops! Hey, at least I remembered to bring a little jacket, right? We had a great time! We shopped, talked, laughed & ate yummy scones...

Last year, when I went to Swiss Days, I was pregnant with Vivvie, but didn't know she was a girl yet. I kept seeing all these cute dresses, hair bows, etc. for baby girls that I wanted to buy so bad! I even thought about buying them & then giving them away as gifts if it turned out I was having a boy. But, I decided against it. I figured that, if the baby was a boy, it would be like pouring salt into a wound every time I went to a Baby Girl shower & had to give one of the cute dresses away...a dress that was supposed to be for my little girl...the one I never got...the one that I wanted so badly. So, I didn't buy any of the cute girly things & just stuck to buying ties for the boys, jewelry for me, wrapping paper for Christmas, & a gender-neutral diaper bag. I still had a good time, but I was so jealous of all the moms that were able to buy frilly dresses & feathery hair bows.

This year, I got to be one of those moms that buys all the cute girly things! I bought several darling dresses for Viv, some cute bows & the cutest hot pink ruffled jumper I've ever seen in my whole life. Let me just say that Swiss Days is a lot more fun when you have a little girl to shop for!

Once we had seen everything that Swiss Days had to offer, we drove into Heber & grabbed some lunch at a little deli there. It was such a fun day with some of my favorite girls on the planet, even if it did start at a ridiculous hour. Can't wait for next year! --Lindsay

Aiden's First Day of Kindergarten

The Aidenator started his journey through the public education system yesterday! Seriously, how is it possible that he is a Kindergartner already? He was so excited to finally be going to "the big kid school"...and to wear his Spongebob backpack. Here he is outside his classroom door waiting to go inside...

When we got inside, the teacher instructed the kids to find the seat that had their name on it & start reading a book. Aiden did what he was told, but when I tried to get a candid picture of him reading, he started cheesing at the camera again. I told him that I just wanted to get a picture of him reading, not smiling, & that he should just pretend like I wasn't taking a picture and try to look natural. This was the result...


Funny kiddo! I love this little man & I know he is going to have a great year! His teacher is Mrs. Parsons. One of my neighbors was Mrs. Parsons' teachers aid for part of last school year & she told me that she is a fabulous teacher. She gets down on the floor with the kids & just really shows them how much she loves them. That made me happy. Aiden has several good friends in his class too, which he's really excited about.

Aiden said he had a great first day! He told me that he learned about the class rules and "a bunch of other stuff." He also told me how awesome it was to finally have recess! The preschool my kids attend doesn't do recess, so it was a first for him! But, he did say that he can't wait to be in 1st Grade so that he can play on the big playset, instead of just the Kindergarten one. He's already wishing his life away. Haha! I think he'll have a great year.

Now that Aiden has started school, it means that all the boys are at school at the same time two mornings a week. That means I only have one child for two mornings a week! Vivvie & I had a splendid time at the grocery store all by ourselves! She enjoyed looking at all the brightly colored boxes & cans. I enjoyed being able to shop in peace without hearing, "Mom! We NEED this" every 2 seconds. It was heavenly! Life is so easy with just one child! I wish I could go back in time about 8 years, when I thought my life was SO HARD, & tell myself that.

This school year is going to be a tricky one. I have three kids at two different schools with three different schedules. First Connor goes to school, then Cohen goes to school one hour after that, then Aiden goes to school 15 minutes later, then Cohen needs to be picked up 2 hours after that, then Aiden needs to be picked up 45 minutes later, & then Connor comes home 2 hours and 15 minutes after that. It makes my head spin just thinking about it! If you need to find me anytime in the next 9 months, I would check my car first!--Lindsay

Connor & Cohen's First Day of School

These two kiddos started school this past Tuesday...


Connor is a big 3rd Grader now & Cohen started Preschool...


Aiden's going into Kindergarten & they always start a week later than everyone else, so he got an extra week of summer vacation this year.

First, we took Connor to school...


Here he is in front of his new classroom...

His teacher this year is Miss Funk. She seems like a great teacher & I've heard good things about her. The principal told me that she is so good that he put his own son in her class last year. What does that tell you? So far, Connor absolutely loves her! And, he thinks she looks kind of like Carly from iCarly which he thinks is awesome! He has a bunch of friends in his class & has already made some new ones too. I think he's going to have a great year!

After Connor was at school, it was time to take little Cohen to school...

It seems so weird that it is already time for him to go to school! Connor & Aiden both have fall birthdays, so they are some of the oldest in their class. Cohen's birthday is in July, so that makes him one of the youngest. It seems weird to be sending a child that is barely three-years-old to school because Connor & Aiden were both almost four when they started going. He looks so little compared to the other kids! I've thought about holding him back a year so that he would be one of the oldest. I talked to the director at the Preschool & she suggested that I enroll him for both this year & next year. Then, halfway though next year (when it's time to make the decision about whether to register him for Kindergarten or not), I sit down with his teacher & talk about how he's doing compared to the other kids in all areas (academic, social, physical, etc.) and then make the decision based on that. If I decide not to send him to Kindergarten when he's supposed to go, then he can just do a third year of preschool. With the way his preschool is set up, he wouldn't have to repeat all the same things in that 3rd year, he'd be able to continue to progress in his reading and other areas from where he left off the year before. That way he wouldn't get bored. That's why I love, love, LOVE this preschool! All my boys have gone to it now.

It's going to be tough to decide whether to hold him back or not! I hate making decisions like that. You know what I'm talking about...the decisions that will affect every aspect of your child's life. It will affect who he is friends with, who he dates, whether he gets a year of college in before his mission or not, etc. Sigh... Wish me luck!

Wow! That was a huge tangent. Okay, back to the first day of school. So, I was kind of worried about Cohen's first day. Not only is he one of the youngest, but he's also my shy child. I thought he might flip out about me leaving him with a bunch of strange kids & a strange teacher. But, he did great! He gave us hugs, walked right in & never looked back...

Woody was his show-and-tell for the day, FYI. When I went to pick him up, they weren't quite done yet, so I peaked in the little window in the door. He was sitting quietly on the floor listening to a story & being so good! I talked to his teacher, Mrs. Covington, afterward and she said that he did great! He did everything he was supposed to do & wasn't all that shy around the other kids! Yay Cohen!!! I think he's going to have a great year! Mrs. Covington is an absolute doll! When I told the director of the preschool about my concerns with Cohen being so young & shy, she told me that she would put him in Mrs. Covington's class because she is such a great teacher & does such a great job pulling kids out of their shells. Yay for great teachers!!

So, that was Connor & Cohen's first day of school for the 2011-2012 school year. I'd consider it a huge success!! Now, Aiden will start school this Tuesday. After that, it will be just me and Vivvie two mornings a week. I may actually get something done for a change! Imagine that! --Lindsay

LAGOON!!!

Earlier this summer, my station took all their employees and their families to Lagoon on a Saturday. So, for those of us who work on Saturdays, they gave us tickets to take our families another day. We finally got a chance to use the tickets on the Friday before school started. I thought it would be super crowded since it was the last weekday they were going to be open, plus Friday just tends to be a busy day. But, I was pleasantly surprised! In the morning, we walked on almost every ride. By afternoon, it got a little busier, but our longest wait was only about 20 minutes. Everyone decided to show up that evening, so our waits were a little longer, but the longest line we waited in all day was 45 minutes...for the stupid log ride. Sigh...we shouldn't have wasted our time.

My mom offered to watch Vivvie for the day. She obviously wouldn't have been able to go on any of the rides & she would have just been hot & sweaty in her stroller all day, so my mom said she would just watch her at home, so that we could have a good day with the boys. Thanks Nana!

Connor wanted to start with his favorite roller coaster in the whole world, Wicked...


When we got there, we realized that Aiden was about 1/4" an inch too short to ride it. But, we figured we would try to sneak him on. And, we were successful! That was about the only ride we were successful at sneaking him on though. The employees working the other 46" rides were a little more strict & wouldn't let him on. We thought it was funny that he could ride Wicked (a totally crazy roller coaster), but not some less-scary rides like Wild Mouse & Centennial Screamer. Here's a picture of me, Connor & Aiden on Wicked...


Aiden's face was absolutely priceless! I glanced over at him several times during the ride to see how he was doing & he had this look of absolute horror on his face! I thought he was HATING it, but when the ride was over, he was jumping up & down and talking about how much fun it was! Haha! Funny boy.

Another funny thing happened while we were on Wicked. About halfway through the ride, I got this sharp stinging pain right in my rear end. It felt like a huge electric shock. I had no clue what had happened. All I knew was my butt hurt really bad & was getting worse by the minute. I told Mike that it felt like I had been shocked really bad while on the ride & he suggested that I go to the bathroom to check out what had happened since I was in so much pain. I was wondering if I had been shocked so badly that I was burned or something. That's how bad it hurt. I got to the bathroom & surveyed the damage. It wasn't a burn at all...it was a bee sting! A bee must have landed just as I sat down on the seat & got trapped in between me and the seat, and stung me in his attempt to get out. Stupid bee! Luckily, I'm not allergic to bee stings & it started feeling better about 5 minutes later. I felt really stupid afterwards that I had been so wussy about a bee sting, but it hurt like H-E-Double Hockey Sticks! OUCH!!!

After that, Mike took Connor on some of the crazier roller coasters while I took Aiden & Cohen on some of the kiddie rides. First up, the airplanes...


I'm not sure if you can see Cohen's face very well in the above picture, but he is crying. As in sobbing his eyes out...

He was scared to death of those little airplanes! My theory is that Legoland destroyed him. He got so used to having a parent right beside him on every single ride while we were there, that it freaked him out to be going on a ride all by himself. Eventually, when the ride began, and he realized he wasn't going to die, he calmed down & actually even smiled a few times.

After that, he was good to go for the rest of the day. He loved all the rides...

He really liked driving his own car...

And, we even took him on some bigger rides like Tidal Wave...

He even went on the new roller coaster, Bombora, and he LOVED it! In fact, all of us really liked it. It's a little on the mellow side, but they play Beach Boys songs through the speakers in the roller coaster & it has a surf theme which makes it cute & fun.

For the rest of the day, Mike & I took turns doing stuff with each of the boys. I would take Connor & Aiden on some of the bigger rides while Mike stayed with Cohen in Kiddieland for awhile, and then we would switch. It ended up working pretty well because everyone got to do what they wanted. Connor & Aiden got to do their crazy rides & Cohen got to pretend to shoot other toddlers with a gun that apparently has a scope. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the child that is totally into pretending to shoot your childen belongs to me. Sigh...

When it was my turn to go on rides with Connor & Aiden, we obviously had an odd number which means one person has to be the dreaded "single rider." Well, apparently, it's not so dreaded for these kiddos. They were fighting over which one of them got the PRIVILEGE of being the single rider. I remember when I was younger HATING having to be a single rider. There was nothing more humiliating than the ride attendant trying to find another single rider to sit by you. I still cringe just thinking about it. Anyway, at the beginning of the day, I made some comment about how either Connor or I needed to be the single rider because Aiden was too small to go on rides by himself. BIG MISTAKE!!! You don't ever tell Aiden he is too small to do anything because he will prove to you that he ISN'T too small to do it. So, we were in line for a ride & at the last second, Aiden somehow secretly switched places in line with Connor. Before Connor & I ever realized what had happened, the ride attendant put Connor with me, and Aiden was the in the row behind us. He was grinning from ear-to-ear. Mission accomplished! Well, Connor saw this as Aiden stepping on his "older brother territory" and the war was on from that point forward. "I get to be the single rider!" "No, I get to be the single rider." ALL.DAY.LONG! Sigh... At least the fighting stopped when the actually got on the rides...

The bumper cars were a huge hit, literally...

And, Cohen apparently picked up some random chick on the spaceship ride. Hey, at least he has good taste in girls. What a cutie...

After that, we headed into Pioneer Village to do some of the water rides to cool off. Here are the boys on Rattlesnake Rapids. I love how Cohen is bored out of his brains & laying down on Mike's lap...

Little does he know that he's about to get dumped on by a massive waterfall & look like this afterwards...

Hence why I didn't go on the ride. After that, we decided to cool down some more with some of the delicious old fashioned ice cream they sell in Pioneer Village. So tasty...

We ended up staying at the park until about 9:00 & then headed home to see our Vivvie girl and get a good night sleep. It was a great way to end our summer vacation! Goodbye summer! We will miss you & your long, laid back days! Now it's on to school, homework & routines. --Lindsay