Family FUN!

Well, today Craig, Ella, Natalie and I had the opportunity to redeem the free tickets to Six Flags Fiesta Texas that the kids earned for reading a set number of hours last school year. The tickets are normally $46.99 per adult and $31.99 per child IF your child is under 48 inches (meaning Ella & Natalie - (who is right at 48") - would be adult price!). Obviously, this is a HUGE treat for our family, as we would not be able to afford such an indulgence! In any case, one word sums up today...FUN!

Natalie started her new love of roller coaster riding on The Rattler, which is 180 ft tall and reaches speeds up to 65mph. It is an 'old fashioned' type of coaster, meaning it is all wood, and lasts approx. 2 min, 26 sec (per the website). Her favorite coaster was the Road Runner Express, a modern coaster that was approx. 8 stories high and lasted 2 min., 24 sec. She liked this ride a little bit more because "it was more twisty!" She is SUCH a thrill seeker, and screamed it up with mom on most rides!

Ella's favorite ride was the Ferris Wheel, especially because it reminded her of the wheel at Bay Beach in Green Bay, WI....a place that obviously has a very special hold on her heart! She is totally opposite of Natalie when it comes to thrill rides, as she closes her eyes the entire time the ride is in motion, and is VERY quiet! Still, she is the epitome of a trooper, and is sure to participate in every ride possible, even if it isn't her favorite.

Since the younger ones were with a sitter for this outing (more on that, later), mom and dad actually had a 'date ride' and gave the Scream a try....too fun! The website description really sums up this bad boy perfectly..."Get ejected—20 stories over the park...Plummet back to earth at dizzying speed...Hold on tight—this ride has no floor!" The total height of the ride is "nearly 17 stories" (how it is nearly 17 stories and yet ejects you 20 stories is beyond me, but the ride is so intense I don't doubt it!) The best part of the ride is the crazy sound it makes as it uses compressed air to operate... Dad kept repeating "this ride is insane, this is just insane!" while mom screamed, laughed and repeated "this ride rocks!". (I really enjoyed letting my alter ego run wild!)

I think the best part about today, (for me anyway), was that I really got to enjoy what it is like to have children grow older...the different activities you get to do, enjoying the great sense of humor my children have, and getting glimpses into the type of young ladies they are becoming...very rewarding! It was good for them to see mom with her hair down, too. Not just as teacher and disciplinarian...task master, etc. It really was an awesome day together!

Regarding the sitter...we called on a young lady from our church who had offered to sit for us before, but whom we hadn't called since the girl next door had always been available and was oh-so-convenient, being next door and all! She was great at not letting the 'Fiesta TX' cat out of the bag...(they all thought we were on a boring homeschool field trip...not exactly a lie!)...and today was the first day we returned from a date to find all children happy. Not one was crying, the house was picked up, the dishes were done and the rest of the evening went so smoothly, it was almost as if we had never left at all. (Usually the house is trashed, the sink full and the kiddos VERY clingy!) Grace even did some sun catcher crafts with her, and now we have beautiful and brightly colored decorations for our upstairs loft. Needless to say...I think we have a new sitter!

The only down side to today was that we left our camera at home, so we have no way of sharing our happy day with you (other than in writing). Honestly, though, we wouldn't have been able to take too many pics anyway since there are lots of areas in the park where they don't allow photography, and many, many rides where they require you place all items (incl. cameras) in a locker in order to ride.

This past weekend we ALL enjoyed a 'road trip' to Aunt Julie & Uncle Paul's house, and had oodles of fun a a water park in the area. We DO have pictures of this...and would you believe they wouldn't let Natalie on any of the water slides? They said she was too short, and yet all day today she was tall enough. Go figure.

One last thing...the kids had a visit to the dentist yesterday, and ever since David has been thanking me for the 'trip to the dentist' and asking when he will again visit her. Wouldn't you love to be that eager to see YOUR dentist???

All for now...it is after midnight and I am exhausted from today's activity...I was just so eager to share with all of you, my precious friends and family :-)

Have a marvelous week!

The Meissler 7