Adventureland Trip

5/24-  We were so excited to take a mini vacation this week!  Grandma & Grandpa Bartlett invited us to come to Adventureland with them for a get-away!  We left early Tuesday morning and headed to Des Moines.  With Cainan's lip incident last week, we've not been using a pacifier.  (good time to get rid of it!)  There were a few times in the car on the way to DSM that we wished he still had it.  But- we stayed strong and didn't cave in... sometimes that pacifier is more for my convenience than his comfort!   :)   We got to the park just as it opened and the boys were excited to be greeted by the dog and Toby the Tiger!

Since this trip, Boaz has been calling himself 'Rover the Dog Who Likes to Shake Hands and High Five.'   I think this is where he got it?

Our first stop... the Merry-Go-Round!  Cainan enjoyed these horses.  This is one of the two rides that I went on all day and it about did me in!  I think they sped this thing up just for me... or maybe I'm getting old... or maybe I can blame it on pregnancy?? 

Our next stop was the train!  While we were waiting, Cainan and Boaz were shrieking with excitement because they could see the characters at the gate. 

Here comes the train!!!  Boaz waved him in...

Here we go!!

Cainan kept saying "Choo-Choo" to me the whole ride. 

These airplanes were fun.  The first ride around Boaz held on to the lever, but didn't understand that he had to pull on it to get the plane to go up and down.  And we quickly discovered that yelling things to him while he's going around and around doesn't work.   Cainan just waved at us as he spun around. 

After round one, the guy let me go out to Boaz and explain how to pull the lever.  And the second ride they were up up and away!!   This was an absolute perfect day to be at the park.  There were a bunch of high school groups there, but they were all on the big rides.  We were often the only kids at the rides we chose- which meant we got to ride them over and over if we wanted to!   And it was beautiful weather today- 76 degrees!   Up they go... and they loved watching the Space Shot right next to the airplanes.  Boaz really wanted Daddy to get his "Face Shot"  (ride the space shot) while we were there.  Daddy didn't ever try it, though. 

The bumper cars- one of the rides Boaz claimed was his favorite of the day!  Watching and waiting-

Boaz got to ride with daddy...

He liked bumping into grandma.

And he thought it was funny that Grandpa tried to bump into him!

This ride was so funny.  Grandpa Glace drives a semi and Boaz was excited to be like him.  He took this ride so seriously that we just laughed and laughed at him.  We couldn't even get him to look at us most of the times around the track because he was so focused on the road!   Grandpa Glace would be proud!   :)

Grandma got to be a big kid today- she went on most of the rides that Cainan needed help with.   Cainan thought it was pretty fun to drive these, too. 

FOCUSED!

Boaz cruising with one arm out the window...

We spent some time looking online before we went- showing Boaz the rides he'd be able to go on.  This was one he was really looking forward to.   It tickled his tummy. 

Hello, up there!

I think the boys went on this ride 4 times in a row!  They'd stop the ride, switch to a different vehicle and go again.   Here they are in the hummer...  again very very focused on their driving. 

And then the dune buggy...

Then Cainan in a fire truck while Boaz rode a motorcycle. 

Cainan enjoyed all the geese and ducks around the park.  We watched these geese a few times while Boaz went on a big boy ride. 

Can't forget about the ladybugs! 

Cainan went on this ride another time while Boaz went on to a big ride with Grandpa.  The second time Cainan went ladybugging- he cracked up the whole time.  There was another little girl on the ride that I think he was trying to impress.  :)

I can't believe some of the rides that Boaz did and liked!  This was the Lady Luck with Grandpa.  He was so brave!!  (Boaz was, too!) 

Wheeeee....

After lunch, the rest of the family went and did the Underground (one that we probably shouldn't have taken Boaz on!).   I didn't realize that some of the characters inside were scary.  Boaz came off the ride and told me, "There was a man trying to chop us!"   Grandma recovered by telling him that the man was chopping wood.  It was pretty funny to hear him talk about what he saw.   Cainan and I did some strolling around the park while they rode that and the Raging River!   He enjoyed eating some ice and relaxing for awhile.  He never did nap today, but had some good downtime while they did some big kid things. 

Here they come on the Raging River!  (also one that Boaz says was his favorite of the day) 

Cainan REALLY wanted to be on the water with them...

An interview with Boaz about the Raging River...

Strolling with Grandma & Grandpa

Feeding the fish & geese

The adults made a stop at the Himalaya, while the boys had a snack, a diaper change,  and sat down for a bit. 

On down the street...

Boaz was pretty excited about this kids' ferris wheel.  He insisted on riding all by himself! 

He looked so tiny, but thought he was pretty hot stuff all alone. 

And Grandma took Cainan...

Woah!!

The Sawmill Splash... looked pretty tame and fun.  Boaz thought otherwise!

Consoling a scared kid...

You did it!!!

Laughing at Boaz's reaction to the ride...

A funny interview about the Sawmill Splash... would you like to go on this one again, Boaz? 

The Dragons... Boaz knew how to make these fly!

At this point (about 2:30), a big rainstorm started moving our way and we headed to the front of the park to see what it would do.  It ended up downpouring for quite awhile, so we took a break and enjoyed some ice cream. 

The dog & tiger made their way into the ice cream shop to escape the rain, too.  Boaz tried to share his ice cream with the Tiger, whose handler explained that cats shouldn't have dairy.  Boaz felt bad that he couldn't eat ice cream, too. 

The rain wasn't going to let up for awhile, so we made our way out of the park and back to the hotel to get settled in there.  This was a perfect day... so much fun for all of us!!