Worlds of Fun

Memberships to things are so worth it! In the past three weeks we've made three trips to Worlds of Fun.  We only stay for between 4 or 5 hours each trip, but we certainly get plenty of rides in each time. If we bought regular tickets each day though, I'm pretty sure that I'd feel like 4 or 5 hours wasn't worth the money. With the season membership, I'm comfortable going for just a few hours on each excursion. We've been going on weekdays, and with the price of gas and groceries lately, people aren't going to the amusement park so much, and we've been able to just walk onto rides, and in some cases just stay on the ride from one rotation to the next. C totally takes after her mommy and daddy in her enjoyment of rides. Her favorite has changed with each trip. The first time she loved pretty much everything she tried. She went on the boat ride 10 times, and I didn't count the airplane iterations or the times on the Bounce-a-roos. On the second, the Roos were again a hit, as well as the Woodstock train. On this last trip, I lost count of how many times she went on the car and pony carousels. We've seen big carousels at various malls around the country and just a few months ago, we would try to have her ride them, but she was WAY less than impressed. I was unsure about how she would enjoy WoF, but I needn't have worried. A ride ends and she turns around and says "again!" I have to pry her away from the rides in order to get her to eat. My biggest concern was that she wouldn't want to ride without Mommy, but she's big enough to do some of the kiddie rides by herself, and Mommy is too big. The first time I told her to go by herself she was nervous and unsure, but once that Bounce-a-roo got going, the rides she could go on by herself definitely trumped the ones Mommy has to accompany her on. However, the thrill of the Flying Dutchman (swings) outweighs the Mommy-has-t0-go-with-me factor. She grins so big as the breeze blows back her hair. Watching the thrill on her face actually makes me enjoy the ride more as well. Since we've gone with other people two of the three times, I've even been able to ride a few coasters while she stayed on kiddie rides with Gramma or my friend Kim. Yippee! (Being a Mommy does make me a bit more nervous on the big coasters though...interesting.) Will have to add pictures of C on the rides later. My iPhoto doesn't like my blogger. 

Daddy Time is a Zoo

This past week gives new meaning to "it's been a zoo." Zoos have been the theme of this (a bit more than a) week long leave period. C's so interested in animals, we decided to go to the zoo out by Salina where we used to live. I told her a day or so beforehand that "we're going to go to a zoo," and she didn't stop talking about it until we got there. She told anyone who would listen that "I'm going to see giraffes! and Monkeys!" She wasn't disappointed either. As soon as we arrived at Rolling Hills Zoo, we headed straight to the giraffes. I think she could have sat and watched them for the few hours we'd allotted for the zoo. Then she discovered that there were more than giraffes at a zoo. We walked the rest of the zoo, and she looked excitedly at each one, and quickly said "let's see another one!" She tried valiantly to stay awake to see more and more, but with the heat of the day she tuckered out by the time we had lunch. After seeing what a hit the zoo was, we decided to take a trip up to Omaha to the Henry Doorly Zoo where we spent the day with our friends Tom and Jen, experienced zoo-goers. They go so often that they knew about the bridge where you can feed the fish, so they brought bread for us. I think that was the hit of the day for C. She got to throw bits of almost a half a loaf of bread out to the fish and she laughed the whole time. The zoo has had several facility improvements since the last time F and I were out there. I was very impressed, but the hills still wore me out. C walked a good portion of the zoo, and decided to do her impression of the monkeys while we were in the big-cat house. We only got to see half the zoo before C and I were both "done." After two zoos, you'd think we were done, but no, we finished off the week with a trip to the Kansas City Zoo. After the wild animal carousel, which we saw right away ("let's go ride Mommy!") this time, the lions were the big hit. C wanted to see the giraffes, but was insistent on seeing the lions. There was a lioness up next to the viewing glass and C had to compare her "paw" with the lioness's. I'm thinking a season pass to the zoo may not be a bad idea. 

Another Date with Thomas

If you remember C's birthday, we got to visit Thomas the Train back in California with our friends Sophie and her Mommy. Thomas tours the whole country though! When we were reading a local "what's in the area" magazine we got as an advertisement, we found an blurb mentioning that Thomas was going to be in our area this last weekend. Since we were trying to fill up the days that F's on leave before going abroad, we decided to made the 1 1/2 hour trip to see Thomas. After the distances required of us in California, that was an easy day trip. C understood the event a lot more this time. The field was a bit soggy since we've been coping with a plethora of rainstorms lately. The Thomas event was quite a bit different than the event we attended back in CA. First, the venue was much smaller, as the Perris CA location was at a large railway museum, but this one was at a local train depot that offers rides between two small towns. Bob the Builder didn't come along for this trip either. However, this location offered a cute, small petting/feeding zoo that we really enjoyed. We spent a good 45 minutes in that area; we saw a monkey, llama, calf, a couple of donkeys, several goats, a camel and a kangaroo. C enjoyed feeding the animals so much, we had to stop her from holding out the empty scoop--it was teasing the poor things! Thomas was, of course a big hit. We got up a lot closer to the engine this time and C shouted "Thomas!" each time he went by and she saw him. While we waited, C must have asked 30 times to "let's go ride Thomas". She really understood it this time. Definitely worth the trip.  

Around the House

In the past couple of weeks I've been fighting quite the summer cold. This, of course, means that we've been spending quite a bit of time at home. I've had the opportunity to catch C in some of the sweetest moments. She's slowly learning how to play for short bits of time by herself. It's something I have to enforce a bit, but it's something she does need to know how to do, for the sanity of us both. She's discovered her dolls, and that she can play pretend with them. She's taking some time to "read" her books by herself, and she loves her crafts lately. She's constantly clamoring for us to make something. When Daddy was home for a four-day weekend, he even got to sit down and paint with her. The show of the moment is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She even does "The Hot Dog Dance" when the show's not on. She wants me to dance with her too. One would think that I'd be getting plenty of exercise this way. I wish. It's days that are filled with moments like these that motherhood seems easy and lovely, or if not these, at least not so frustrating.