My toes feel frizzy

Thursday was Stake Lagoon day. That is the one time a year we go as a family to Lagoon. The kids look forward to it all year long. Every time we catch a glimpse of the huge Farris wheel from the freeway we hear a chorus of

"LAGOOOOONNN!!!"

from the back seat. Then the questions start. "Is it Lagoon day yet? When are we going to Lagoon? Is it almost close to the day we get to go to Lagoon?" Well, the day finally arrived! And did we have the time of our lives!

I love to go on Rattle Snake Rapids. There is nothing like getting drenched on a hot summer day. It makes the rest of the day bearable. If you notice we are missing a few people from this photo. We went on the "O boat" after lunch with the whole clan. As soon as we got on the boat Beano starts screaming at the top of his lungs that he wants off. Of course it is too late and he is trapped on what may as well have been the longest torture devise he's ever seen. He screamed and cried in sheer terror the entire time. By the end we were all dying with laughter because it was just pitiful, there is NOTHING scary on that ride. So Beano is screaming torturous cries of help while we are trying not to pee our pants from laughter. Doodle and Dubs wanted to go again, thus the half-of-the-family photo of the O boat.

That set the stage for the rest of the Day. We have a family tradition that the first and last ride of the day has to be the carousel. So we started there and let the kids ride a few rides in Kiddie land. Then we did lunch, then the incident with the O boat. After that Beano would not do any ride that even looked the least bit daunting. No Tilt-O-Whirl, No Dinosaur Drop, No Scrambler, Not even the Puff the magic dragon roller coaster. Dubs and Doodle became instant ride buddies. They both loved the afore mentioned rides to the very last gleeful scream, while Beano and I hung out in Kiddie Land...

His favorite ride was the little race cars. Very safe. They don't leave the ground, they are on a track so he cannot steer off into the brush on the edge of the course. He was in his element!

Here is a cute girl Doodle met while in line for the Airplane ride. They became instant best friends. They were both six and just thought that was the coolest thing. Imagine, meeting another 6-year-old at a theme park! Amazing, I know! What are the odds? They were glued together. When our families went our separate ways they were sad to part. Then latter in the day we walked past their family again. Again, both girls saw each other and stopped dead in their tracks and started talking like they had just met their long lost friend they hadn't seen in decades. Hello, you just met AND it's only been two hours since you saw each other! It was too cute.

Here are my two little dare devils on Dinosaur Drop. Doodle and Dubs wanted to do any and every ride they saw. They could not get enough. As we walked past the Fire Dragon Doodle yells "Let's do that ride, dad!" She has said this every year since she was Dubs's age. We have always given her the standard reply, "You're not tall enough sweetheart." Just as the words were leaving my mouth I thought of the growth chart we have hanging on the wall in the laundry room. As she dashes over to the measuring devise for the Fire Dragon I think of the 3 or 4 inches she has grown over the past year. Before I know what hits me, it is determined that my 6 year old is tall enough for the scariest ride in the park! Then she has ahold of her daddy's hand pulling him up the ramp to the Fire Dragon (otherwise known as The Colossus). As they are getting on the ride and pulling their harnesses on their laps Doodle says,

"Dad, do you know how I can tell when I'm scared?"

"No, how?" Replies her dad

"My toes start to feel frizzy. And you know what?"

"No, what"

"My toes feel REALLY frizzy right now!"
And off they went. When they got off she was a little shaken. Mr. Bird asked if she wanted to go again and she quietly answered no. Then as they were passing the entrance again she said "OK, let's go again dad." And off they went. Later I was feeling the need to go too and Doodle agreed to go with me. I decided I don't like going on that ride with my offspring. That ride is scary enough just worrying about myself. As we sat there waiting for the ride to take off I look over at my little girl, my treasure. All of a sudden that lap bar they put over us could not be big enough. I was sure it would not hold her little self in place for all the loop-d-loops. Sheer panic set in. Then the ride starts to go up, up, up. Doodle has the hugest grin and says " Now it's gunna go down and curve around." She knew just what to expect. As the ride is whipping us around I am trying my darndest to keep her safe. I keep grabbing her hand thinking I can hold her if she falls. I keep looking at her to see if she is scared. She just has the hugest smile on her face. I am screaming and trying to control my thrashing head. She tells me, "Just lean your head back! Open your eyes, it's funner that way!" Sometimes I can't believe how much she has grown up. How is that she is the one giving me advise and telling me that it will all be OK? I just love that girl. Needless to say we survived. Doodle peed her pants that time around, but just a little. She said when she's on the ride she can not think of anything else. When we met back up with the rest of the clan Dubs had peed his pants too. We decided to call it a day. Then we got to talking. It might be better if we go on the O boat again. That way no one will be able to tell they peed and it might wash away some of the smell before we load 'em up for the car ride home. So off we went. We got to stay and do more rides. Then it became apparent we were all slowing down. We headed over to the carousel for our last ride of the day. Just as we were leaving the park Beano starts sobbing.

"What's wrong kiddo?" I say

You'll never believe what he said...

"I wanted to ride the roller coaster!"