while finn was away....mom and scout played

with finn was enjoying 6th grade camp,
scout and i enjoyed something special too.
i proposed we have a mom/son date, as it had been
a few months, and scout got to chose the activity.
he chose belmont park, an amusement park just 10 minutes
away from home and located right on the boardwalk.
he specifically chose this place because he is now tall
enough to ride the rollercoaster that he has been so patiently
waiting for. over the years, he has watched his dad and i ride it
countless times, his aunties, his big brother and cousin soren.


his day FINALLY came.


first we rode something called the octotron.
i can't begin to describe this ride.  i just remember scout insisted on
controlling it and he kept it rolling us upside down the entire time.
i screamed, he laughed, and we both came out with crazy hair.


from here, we moved on to the giant dipper, the historical rollercoaster
that has been in pacific beach since 1925.  scout has  been waiting for YEARS
to ride this {he's been fascinated it with it since he was a toddler}, and at 51"
he made the height requirements {50"} and was literally squealing with excitement.


this time, he screamed and i laughed and we when it was over,
we bought one more tickets and rode it again. scout would have loved to have
stayed and ride it 10 more times, but it was a school night.


we ended the night eating ice cream sundaes and with smiles on our faces.
i don't think either of us will ever forget this night. 

daring the desperado

i almost forgot to post a significant and monumental moment in the boys' lives.
the boys dared the desperado. it's a CRAZY FAST and JERKY rollercoaster
located in prim, nevada.

we drive by buffalo bill's casino every time we drive to utah,
and we see this giant outdoor/indoor coaster from the highway.
it always looks a little daunting!

as we drove by the coaster on the way to utah this year, c shared that
mommy rode it alone one christmas when scoutie was just 6 months old.
finn didn't remember it but he was quick to ask if he could ride it sometime.
we said sure if he was tall enough,  scout too. {we doubted scout would be}.

on our way home from utah, we decided to stop and ride the coaster.
i had googled the height requirements and scout just barely made the 48".
{he's exactly 48 1/4"}.  he was BEYOND excited!!

i wasn't sure if the short guys would go through with it, but they surprised me.
they jumped in the seats and as the cars climbed to the highest point, i heard finn
wondering outloud how many g's {g forces} we would be pulling.
















after the ride, i pointed out we all have such different rollercoaster riding styles.
mr. gerber put his hands up a lot, scout screamed at the top of his lungs,
and finn and i remained frozen as we held on for our lives! 
{i even closed my eyes quite a bit}

over dinner afterwards, we all agreed it was terrifying, a bit too jerky,
but would we go on it again given the opportunity? ABSOLUTELY!!

as we pulled out of the parking lot, i looked up at the desperardo, smiled and
thought what great ages the boys are now and that we can do this kind of stuff.
we have lots of years of rollercoaster riding ahead of us!
{literally and figuratively i'm sure}

rollercoasters

life is a roller coaster.
you can either scream every time you hit a bump
or you can throw your hands up in the air and enjoy it.
- unknown

the boys are OBSESSED with rollercoasters right now.
finn wakes telling me he's dreamed of riding them
and scoutie simply talks about them all the time.
he tells everyone he's "almost big to ride shipwreck rapids
and journey to atlantis at sea world."

he's actually a few years away from riding either of these,
but we don't have the heart to tell him this.
we simply remind him that eating "grow food" will help him

get there quicker. it usually works.

this past sunday, i was out and about with scoutie and
christopher surprised finn with a quick trip to sea world
just to ride a rollercoaster. {a big benefit of living minutes away
and it's not being a sprawling park like what i grew up with}

here are 2 of my 3 lovelies enjoying the ride.

finn shared with us he had to hold his breath because he "almost threw up."

this picture fits with today's quote, reminding me life IS really like a rollercoaster.

it's full of ups and downs, moments that make us scream, or want to scream,
but it's SO worth the ride.

have a wonderful wednesday!

(i found this picture of scoutie and finn enjoying the only kind of coaster scoutie
can ride right now -a simulated rollercoater video game. *grin*