Our family outing to partake in combating Georgia heat exhaustion while getting our thrills happened to be this weekend.  Everyone was excited and pumped to go.  We spent the evening prior with the boys watching various rides on YouTube so that they knew what they were getting into if they decided to ride some “real” roller coasters.  Isaac thought there were all cool but wanted nothing to do with actually riding one.  Jacob adamantly wanted to ride the Mind Bender.  The girls had recently been to Kings Island in Ohio with Grandma and Grandpa and were psyched as well to see what Six Flags had to offer.  Weather checked, bag of snacks and water packed, sunscreen applied, we headed out toward adventure.

The day at the park was fantastic.  It was certainly hot though.  Carol packed two bottles of water and we refilled them all throughout the day at various concession stands – pretty cool of the park to allow that without charge as well.  We didn’t have to worry about getting dehydrated – water was plentiful and available.  We started off with a ride down the log plume to get wet before walking through Looney Tunes Land.  On the way to Looney Tunes Land we came upon our first coaster, the coal mine train.  All of the kids except Isaac were pumped and could not wait to get their turn with seating arrangements being the most important topic of discussion.  Isaac lost his nerve somewhere between home and the park and was certainly not interested in riding.  Choice not given I kept my arm around him and assured him that “of course there are no hills or drops.  Absolutely it is going to be smooth and not bounce us all around…and no it certainly does not go fast….”.  Getting off, I agree with him that it was WAY to rough for a “little kids ride” but I actually thought the ups and down were fun….

The rides in the kids section were pretty fun.  Piper, Isaac, and Violet all had a blast riding them.  Jacob however was about six inches too tall to ride them so he took a walky talky and headed off to spin in circles on one of the few kiddie rides that he could get one.  We were all able to get on a ride suspended by long cables that spun needlessly in nausea inducing circles over and over and over.  Next was Thunder River, a large metal platform bolted on top of an even larger inner tube propelled spinning down a rapid moving river while “workers” on all sides shot at you with water cannons and accidentally misplaced rocks kept you careening back and forth to ensure that all aboard were soaked through by the various water waterfalls.  Good stuff.

It was starting to get late and we wanted to get our chance on some coasters as well…who said the kids got to have all the fun.  Next was the Goliath.  The night before Jacob made a gentleman’s agreement that he would ride but I think the overwhelming size of this monster with its ups and downs rattled his rambunctious attitude towards it.  We tried to change his mind but he was set.  Carol did a loop on her own – Violet and Piper wanted for the life of them to join her but the requirements were a pretty tall order with Jacob barely making the cut even though he didn’t ride…Next time Girls.  I was hoping that Jacob would begrudgingly ride it with me but such was not the case and we moved on to the Mind Bender.

When we arrived the lines were empty and it was open picking for the seats.  We had Piper and Violet measured as well.  Piper was plenty tall enough but Violet was under by about 4 inches or so.  They said it was okay with them if we didn’t care.  Violet really wanted to ride so why not right.  Carol took Piper and told Jacob he could ride with her on the next run.  Once they took off the lady on the platform said it was last call, take this train or head on out.  Sadly we found out they closed an hour earlier than we were expecting.  Jacob wanted to ride even though Carol wasn’t back and he strapped into the front seat.  I was with Violet a few rows back.  Everyone bolted in we headed out just as Carol and Piper got back.  This was Jacob’s first real coaster ride and he was pretty excited.  I think that wore off pretty quick though once we dropped down the hill and headed for the small loop.  Carol said she could see him and he was bunched down in the seat holding on for dear life, face filled with terror.  Poor guy.  I think my daddy senses failed me this time for Jacob and Violet both.  Violet and I were not ready for the first loop at all.  She loved coming down the big drop but the loop folded us both in half.  Her from the sheer force of it and me trying to protect her.  Certainly she was too small for this ride…Lesson learned.  She enjoyed the rest of it though and the second loop we were ready for and it wasn’t so bad.  She got off a little scared but within thirty minutes was talking it up and reliving the details.  Jacob finished the ride and needed some attention and calming when we got back to the station.  Certainly not a wise decision on my part to let him ride solo, let alone in the front seat.  He calmed down on the ride home and was no worse for wear with the exception that a lens had ejected from his glasses frames at some point on the ride.  I guess that is my penance for the bad decision.  Sorry buddy – I should have known better.

An interesting part about the Mind Bender was that Violet rode it.  Sadly the thing that she loves, horses, also had a ride at the park but she was not big enough in the parks  eyes to get to ride the Carousel of all things.  She picked out this awesome blue horse right next to her brother and sister but was not allowed to ride it because it went slowly up and down as carousels are want to do.  I had to move her to a stationary horse and have my hands holding her at all times or they would make us get off, all the while with her asking me with tears welling up in her eyes why “can’t I ride that one daddy, it is moving up and down”.   Really Six Flags…..  REALLY.  YHGTBFKM… IT IS A CAROUSEL RIDE….

All in all we had a GREAT time at Six Flags.  It might not have ended on an up note but the fun had throughout the day was not lost on everyone.  We stopped on the way out and let the kids pick out a souvenir before heading home.

We had eaten a big lunch before leaving for the park and snacked all through the day.  When we got in the car though, six bellies called out at once for food.  It was about 9:30pm and hunger had set in.  We made a quick pit stop by the airport to pick up Grandma and then found relief for our growling bellies at Taco Mac.  Lots of water and some yummy food later we had two that were falling asleep sitting up and two that had found reserve energy and were going a thousand miles an hour.  Once their heads hit their pillows at home though, they knocked out within seconds.  No whining, no crying, nothing except sweet silence.

Kids asleep.  Dog inside.  Doors locked.  Grandma tucked in.  Quick shower.  Then we passed out as well….Good day indeed.

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Each in their own time ran up to, past me and into the house.  I was standing on the porch, leaning ever so comfortably against the railing, enjoying the spring air.  Piper however slowed as she approached and with a wry twist of her expression looked upon me as if I had materialized into some creature from ether origins.  She look not directly at me but above and beside me.  To be certain I was curious.  As she approached, ever slowing her stride with each step until she stopped before me.  Her eyes had grew large and her mouth had dropped open, a small pointy finger came up from her side and aimed at the location for which she was so quizzically focused.

“Daddy! Watch out!  There is a spider on your shoulder!  Watch out!”

All said with such despair that this thing, this monster, this wicked forbidden creature at which she peered had bared its venomous fangs and was about to end me.

I jumped to the side that rush of adrenaline surging through my veins, flushing my cheeks, focusing every sense to a heightened tingle.

Then a giggle, followed by another.  Then those monumentous words said with sheer delight that can only be delivered by a kindergartener that just got the best of her dear old dad.

“April Fools !!! Ha Ha!  There is not spider silly !!  April Fools !!!”

I definitely fell prey to a viscous creature but thankfully it wasn’t a blood sucking venomous eight legged one – although i am not sure which is worse.

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It was during one of these particularly conversational skirmishes that I intervened, trying for the sake of sanity only to add some sort of reasoning to the seeming mindless bickering so it could be solved in a civilized manner – silly me. Piper stood up and said, “Daddy, I am not whining. I am debugging.” The statement was said with direction, strength and finality, as if there was no further explanation necessary and this was not only a sufficient response but obviously the only one required.

Carol and I couldn’t help but turn our backs and laugh quietly to each other. The debug system (love it or hate it) is something they teach kids in school these days as a way towards conflict resolution without resorting to the sticks and stones that we grew up with.

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Today we left for our family vacation at the beach. We had plans to be in bed early and on the road by four so that we could get the kids out of bed, still sleeping, drive most of the early morning and arrive around lunch with an afternoon of swimming to look forward to. But after finally getting into bed somewhere near three-thirty four didn’t sound so appealing. We did eventually get on the road but not until after nine. Not too far down the road, right before pulling onto the expressway, Carol was curious if I shut the garage door. Of course I did…right? We had to go back into the house several times for this or that prior to leaving and neither of us could remember if we shut the door the final time. We called in a favor and the thought paid off – sure enough I had left the door wide open to the world.

One the road the kids had plenty to keep them busy. We packed books, games, movies, music, and thanks to the modern marvels that go into today’s vehicles, the GameCube. (I remember playing the license plate game, the alphabet game, sitting in the floor board while coloring or playing in the seat) The ride itself went pretty smooth, note that a good ride over such a long distance with four kids of very different age groups, is a good ride for everyone, and somewhat hard to come by…. There was one moment though that brought both of us near tears with laughter. We were listening to the kids tell us which of the characters from whatever movie they were watching that they “wanted to be” and we heard from the back seat, innocently, “Mom…Can we go to the Lion’s Den?” I guess Isaac had been not only watching the movie but also checking out the billboards. I guess the name works but I think it is off a bit for their target market We were able to get away not only without a visit but without even a response and the topic thankfully never came back up.

We neared our destination at the beach and the kids switched gears from mellow, hanging out, watching movies, reading books, generally having a good time to beach crazed, high energy, children of the corn. The switch happened just as we crossed the top of the bridge leading from the mainland to the sound and didn’t stop until we pulled in. We quickly unpacked the van and headed to the room. It was getting late and we had plans to hit the pool and burn off any remaining energy so that each of the kids would not only sleep but would pass out in exhausted mushy piles of sleeping munchkins.

We made it to the pool just before dark and swam for a while. Piper put on her big girl shorts and went down a quick, high speed water slide into the deep end. I jumped in to grab her in case she went under and started to panic but was surprised after she hit the water, went under briefly and came up no worse for wear – she wanted to do it again but said that her hand hit one of the rocks around the slide and she was scared it would happen again. Isaac was all over the pool – up the slide – down the slide – on the rocks – swimming side to side – chasing Piper and Jacob around – and doing cannon balls. Jacob played on the slide as well but wanted more than anything to hold Piper’s hand and escort her, The Princess, around the pool.

Bed time came pretty quick after showers for the lot and a late night snack of muffins and milk. Isaac crashed first in the chair and once the beds were set up the rest of them not far behind. They all had long days and after a good swim and full belly, not to mention it was midnight, it wasn’t long before they were all crashed hard.

Day One Complete.

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There was one moment while we were playing in the front yard that Piper broke down.  Everyone was playing, including her, throwing snow balls, chasing each other, and at one point she was knocked over into the snow and after getting up she wasn’t sure what to think.  Her eyes went puffy and she started balling histerically…poor thing.  It took a few but she did eventually calm down.  She was done though and retreatd to the van.

We didn’t really have any reason to be out, let alone driving.  But Jacob and Piper wanted to spend the day with Nana Bonnie and Papa Troy…I guess I needed to take them there…and if on the way I got to see how a minivan with southern weather radials performed on snow, slush and ice….what the heck – take one for the team.    The drive was fun.  Lots of other people probably didn’t think so though.  Once we turned onto Bush road we could see the line of cars, trucks, vans, and school buses all arranged in various patterns at the bottom of the hill, spinning this way or that, unable to find the traction to climb up the hill….the trip home was going to be fun indeed !!!

Everyone got to let out some steam and play in the snow.  Jacob, Piper and Isaac ran off with Troy to make snowmen and snow balls.  Violet went adventuring.  I was watching the chaos at one point and look around from her finding no sign but footprints leading off behind Troy’s house.  I found her carving her own path looking for Rudolph in the determined way that only a two year old can.

After leaving Piper and Jacob we headed home, strategically planning an alternate route around the hill on Bush road so that we didn’t end up like the others.  At home we made our own rendition of Frosty and had some fun just being outside in the cold.  Isaac had a blast carting snow for me to use on our glorious work of art and Violet was just thrilled to be in snow in general.

Now we need to plan a trip north to play in feet of snow vs. inches.  Nothing like carving out tunnels and building igloo forts.

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The primary part of the discussion was trying to figure out when specifically the clone wars took place.  Once that could be nailed down they would be able to pin point when Vader had died.  One problem though was that each of the boys understood the time-line of the show differently.  Isaac assumed that in context the original three movies happened prior to the most current three.  In addition he wasn’t quite sure where the animated shows fit in at all, other than to know they were related to the clone wars in general.  Jacob on the other hand knew the appropriate order, including that of the animated episodes, and he was trying in vain to explain that the most current movies really came first.

At some point, I think when I put dinner on the table, I was pulled into the conversation.  Happily so I might add.  I wasn’t going to interject, wanting to hear the conversation evolve as well as the excitement and vigor with which each side’s case was presented, argued and defended.   Isaac was adamant.  Jacob was done – “Mr. Isi – When did Darth Vader die.  Before or after the Clone Wars?”  Not wanting to crush any spirits with a quick and dicey answer, I sat down with dinner, and we walked through the progression of each episode.  I realized that it is hard to describe what a prequel is to a four and six year old.  There were certainly more questions, plenty of tangents, and much of “but that..”, “but they…” etc… in the end however, Isaac seemed to get it and was able to put things in their proper order in his head.

After dinner had passed I got to thinking again about the conversation and was somewhat exhilarated to have gotten to participate and be mediator for argument about Star Wars.  Not that being a parent doesn’t offer plenty of opportunity to do this but rarely is the topic about some nostalgia that has always been a part of the fabric around us.  There is a certain amount of unexplainable pride that goes along with seeing kids interested in the same stuff you were.  Same thing had happened when we were camping a few weeks back and Isaac taught Piper the Indiana Jones theme song.

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Lunch at the “Smith House” was like eating thanksgiving dinner with people you don’t know where someone else does all the cooking and cleaning.  The food was preselected by the staff and setup on the table along with ice tea – southern sugary sweet.  All that was missing was people.  We took up one end of the huge table and another family with a young baby took up the other side.  Lunch consisted of fried chicken, pot roast, ham and a variety of most vegetables.  Anything missing could be requested.  Each plate was passed around the table,  you took what you wanted and passed it on.  This ritual happened many times with the sweet potatoes as the chicken being the most popular – Shockingly, Piper even ate the ham and went back for seconds.

The parade started in the early afternoon, about the same time the rain and wind stopped.  It was full of school princesses throwing candy at the crowd lining the streets, pretty cars with loud roaring engines, gigantic trucks and tractors driven by young kids and farmers.  Politicians for local election oozed there along with the rest of the parade handing out fliers and candy.  The street the parade was on, Main Street, is very narrow and makes a sharp turn at one point.  The crowd was on the edge of the road with the vehicles passing mere inches from toes in some cases.  This is all fine and dandy until you notice the driver of the two-ton behemoth green truck with a lift kit and trailer in tow, filled with dancing cheerleaders and boy scouts, is probably not old enough to legally drive.  The parade was fun though.  Lots to see and look at.  Lots of military folks from both the armed services and a local military academy.  It ended without any fanfare – we weren’t actually sure that it had ended until some time had passed and everyone started going back to milling about and shopping.

Somewhere along the way, actually not to long after we arrived, the kids found a toy store.  This one sold hand made wooden toys.  Interesting and neat stuff and seemingly made well with good materials – hard to find these days unless you search around online.  Jacob left with a machine gun, Isaac found a crossbow and Piper opted to hold out and later found a cute hat – not that she wasn’t interested in the artillery as well, just that girly stuff was somewhat more appealing.  I thought she was going to go for an umbrella that had her name written on it, but the hat won out.

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