America's Roller Coast

Our summers (or calendar years, really) seem to come in two styles as far as travel and vacations are concerned. We are either packing our bags every few weeks for some trip where it seems like home is only a place we visit occasionally. Or we become couch potatoes and live vicariously through social media posts of other's travel adventures. There is no balanced in-between. Sometimes this is due not so much to any sort of yearly summer family vacation tradition (ie: a cabin in Island Park or annual trips to Disneyland or visiting the grandparents in another state, etc) but because of life events that seem to all fall within the same year.

(For example 2014: where I went to Las Vegas for a gymnastics meet with Brandon, chaperoned Rebekah's high school madrigal tour to Seattle, took Julianne to NYC for her 16th birthday trip, traveled to Europe with the Odyssey Chorale to sing in a choir tour, attended the Croft campout in Island Park, took a family trip to Kauai to celebrate Rebekah's high school graduation, and then a Caribbean cruise with the family over Thanksgiving as a last hurrah before Rebekah submitted her mission papers and left us for 18 months.)  

This summer I found myself facing what looked to be a vacation-less year. Much to do with the fact that any monies we may have budgeted towards a trip of some sort had been used previously as we paid for, celebrated and enjoyed the heck out of Rebekah and Tanner's wedding a few months earlier. Somehow, though...and maybe it was because Bryan and I were also looking at our 25th wedding anniversary coming up but realizing that a big celebratory trip was likely not possible, I wanted to do something. Go somewhere. Even be it on a smaller scale. Originally my plans had revolved around a 4-day trip up the canyon to Park City where we'd hike, shop, swim, ride the alpine slides, and eat yummy food. And I was excited about it..Park City is always a happy place for me, even if more of a staycation sort of trip.

But then Bryan said he had a lot of frequent flier miles. If finding a vacation destination was all about somewhere drivable because of flight costs, his miles could open more destinations. We considered multiple things but finally settled on Sandusky, Ohio. It's kind of humorous to watch people's faces as you tell them that you've booked a family vacation to Ohio as they work out the appropriate reaction to your news and wonder why you would want to go there, of all places? Sandusky, Ohio is home to Cedar Point Amusement Park...a record breaking, huge, roller coaster nirvana. It sits on a peninsula jutting into Lake Erie and boasts 72 rides, along with an equally huge water park...all of which are surrounded by white sand beaches. Bryan and I had been there once before 17 years earlier for a quick day and a half visit and had always wanted to return. Bryan informed me that he actually had enough miles to also invite the newlyweds along, so we booked the on-site hotel right on the beach as part of a package deal including the park passes, and flew out the first official day of summer break.

After an early flight to Detroit, and then a two hour drive to Sandusky, the majority of the family decided a nap was a good idea. Lilian and I didn't agree and decided to make the most of our evening. After all, the next few days would be all about roller coasters and water slides...this was our one chance to hit the beach! The water was pretty shallow and Lilian got quite a ways out before I started waving her closer to shore. She was less than thrilled, but despite the shallowness of the water, I felt a little anxious having her so far out to sea (or should I say lake?)

The next morning we woke up early and were primed and ready to hit the park. Because there was still another week before school let out for the good citizens of Ohio, the park was a little less crowded than usual. And if that wasn't enough good fortune, the weather was a lot cooler than normal for the first week of June as well. Good news all around!

Millennium Force had just come out when Bryan and I were here back in 2001. If I'm remembering correctly we spent 3 hours in line for the privilege of riding in the front row...and it was totally worth it! The line wasn't anywhere near as long this trip, but the ride was just as awesome as I remembered. And still made me black out for a few seconds after coming out of that initial drop.

One of my favorite rides....

Nice view of our hotel, the beach and the rest of the park from up here...

These two brought their kindles to read while in line. We also played "Heads Up", a guessing game we downloaded onto our phones.

This ride, The Dragster, was only 17 seconds long, but it shot you off at 120 mph hour and straight up 420 feet high into the air. The pre-recorded info you listen to while in line even informs you there is a chance the car won't make it all the way up and over, and if so not to panic. That the car will just slide back down backwards and they'd shoot you up again. Umm....okay? Regardless of all of this, I was beyond excited to try this ride. A scream ripped out of my throat involuntarily and continued for the entire 17 seconds. But wow, what a ride! I was ridiculously proud of Lilian when she worked up the courage to go. After riding The Dragster, she knew she'd never be scared of another ride again. Nothing could be quite as intense as that, and she'd conquered it!

The longest lines were found wrapping around the newest, coolest ride that had just opened three weeks earlier...Steel Vengeance. On our second day in the park we waited for almost two hours before finally finding ourselves in a seat hurtling through the wood and steel. It was a phenomenal ride. So much so that Tanner suggested we attempt another go the next morning before heading to the water park. The plan was to be in line when the park gates opened and then head to Steel Vengeance first thing. We arrived 15 minutes early and were happily surprised to be let into the park immediately...only to find ourselves corralled behind a barrier a little ways in. While we waited, more and more people joined us and we started realizing that everyone had the same plan we did. At the appointed opening time, the National Anthem played across the loudspeakers as we all stood, hand over hearts. And then, as if he was marking the start of an Olympic style sprint, the park worker opened the barrier and dropped his arms. The whole crowd started running...all of us toward the exact same ride. I was less than thrilled about this. Because though I can run long distances, speed is not my forte...and this was clearly a sprint. I was worried I'd slow my family down, because they would not be able to get in line first and save a place for me. A very strict no-no at Cedar Point. Tanner held back to run with me. And believe it or not, breathing heavily and with a bug lodged in my throat notwithstanding, we made it fairly close to the start of the line....only to find that the ride was closed for maintenance with no estimated time it would be back up and running again. In the hopes that in would be a short-lived fix-it job, we decided to wait. And then ended up in line for pretty much the exact same amount of time we had the day before. Doesn't it figure?

We waited till our final day at Cedar Point to play at the water park because it would be the warmest of our trip, a scorching 74 degrees. (The previous days had all been overcast and in the high 60's. Which truthfully had been rather perfect for playing around an amusement park.) We had a delightful time slipping and sliding down all the waterslides and floating through the multiple lazy rivers. Lilian's favorite was the wave pool and she spent a couple hours bobbing up and down and jumping through the ever increasing swells.

The next morning we were packed up and headed to the airport. It was the perfect way to start summer. And I spent the next few days pondering on the idea that we had just enjoyed a pretty stellar family vacation in Ohio, of all places. And wouldn't every state, even the ones that aren't obvious (ie: California, Florida, NY, etc) also have their own claims to fame and interesting places to visit? I'm considering making a goal to visit each state in the country, and not just a drive through or a stop at the airport, but an actual trip after researching what to see and do. We'll see if this goal comes to fruition, but it got me excited about exploring more of this huge country I live in.

And in the immortal words of the Cedar Point ride operators: "All clear and outta here....byyyyeeee!"

Pre-teen Lilian

Lilian wanted a birthday party. She was turning 11-years old and the last time she'd had an actual traditional themed party with friends was when she turned 7. Elsa and Anna stopped by and sang songs, read stories, did face paint and in all other ways delighted a gaggle of girls who were big "Frozen" fans. But that was 4 years earlier. And though we'd certainly celebrated Lilian's birthday in grand style during those other birthdays (baptism, puppy and Cherry Hill respectively) she claimed it was time to party. And not just any girlie party...this was to be co-ed. Gasp! Did I mention this girl had become quite the social butterfly? Her invite list included 22 kids! But she insisted there was just no one she could cut from the list without hurt feelings, so what can you do?

Lilian requested a movie night. In our pinterest searches we discovered ideas to turn the movie night into more of a Hollywood premiere sort of evening with the kids walking the red carpet and finding their stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as they stopped for some photo ops before heading down to the movie. Pizza first and then a snack pack for each as they watched "A Wrinkle in Time." Presents and cake afterwards and then the crew headed outside to play a few rounds of "Fugitive" while waiting for parents to come pick them up. In fact, a few kids texted their parents to see if they could stay longer, continuing the night games considering it was the first weekend of summer vacation. It was loud and chaotic but I think it was a success? (Bless Rebekah and Tanner who came down from Logan and helped out with the food and cleaning, and Brandon who was our DJ until the movie started.)

The next day we had a little family birthday dinner including Rebekah and Tanner and also Jordan. Lilian requested her favorite meal...salmon, potatoes and carrots. And then was delighted to be gifted with her first cell phone. This was something she had been requesting for awhile but was unsure as to whether or not she would get seeing as it would be a full year earlier than her siblings had received their first phones. Considering her friends had a texting chain and were using my number to chat with Lilian...meaning that it was not unusual for me to pick up my phone after maybe a half hour of being away from it and find 100+ new messages, nor was it unusual for Lilian to take my phone to reply to said messages, leaving me phone-less for however long the group decided to go back and forth via text...this may have contributed to my willingness to allow Lilian cell phone usage of her own earlier than previously decided. Her older siblings did give me a bit of good natured grief about it...but hey, it's totally worth it.

So Lilian got celebrated in grand Hollywood style. Pre-teen, here we come.

Happy 17th to my birthday boy

Brandon turned the mightily old sounding age of 17. And okay, I realize that 17 isn't super old if you compare it to say, my age...44 {gulp}. But remember when the kid was 5 and I said something about him being my son? He corrected me immediately. "No Mom, I'm Dad's son. I'm your BOY!" For some reason that little conversation has been on my mind a lot these past few days.

The thing Brandon wanted most for his birthday was permission to FINALLY take over Rebekah's room. He'd been asking for years...through Rebekah's first year of college, her 18 month mission in London and then again this past year back at USU. I continued to tell him no. The room was hers as long as she called our house her home. When she got herself engaged, Brandon could see his long wait finally coming to an end. And so for his birthday not only did he get to take custody of Rebekah's room, he also got to pick out some new bedroom furniture. The twin bedroom set he'd had since he was 4, while still pretty nice, was feeling a bit cramped and he was more than ready to stretch out into not only a larger room but also a bigger queen-sized bed.

So he went to school and I began birthday decor prep in his new room. {The furniture had arrived a bit earlier and he'd already been sleeping there for a couple days.} I ran to the store for a few more decor items, birthday cake ingredients and some smaller gifts, when I got a call from him on my cell phone.
"Wait...where are you?" I asked.
"I'm at home," he replied.
"But I was sure today was a B Day...what happened to your 8th period?" I demanded...panicking a little bit because I wasn't done birthday-ing up the house. {Yes. Birthday-ing. It's a verb.}
"Remember how I'm already done with the big project in Engineering? That's all we were going to be working on today so I just came home." he said.
"Oh...well, I wasn't expecting you home for another couple hours. Umm...have you gone in your bedroom yet?" 

When he he said he hadn't, I decided to have him meet me for lunch at Kneaders. My reasons being two fold: One, I was a little sad that he'd come home for lunch on his birthday and found no one at home to greet him. And two, I could keep him out of his bedroom for a little while longer.

He went to work a little bit after lunch and I fast tracked the birthday gift wrapping, a few more decorations, and baking his requested birthday Oreo Cake. Bryan brought home Thai food, specifically the Tom Ka Gai Soup Brandon had been craving, and when the birthday boy returned home we were ready for some celebrating!

After dinner and gifts we watched Captain America as a family. {A Marvel Movie Marathon is underway as we get ready for Avengers Infinity Wars in a few weeks.} He didn't actually go into his bedroom till 11:30 that night. Truth be told, though maybe he appreciated the sentiment, he was more than ready for me to take down the decorations early the next morning.
"But Brandon...they've barely been up even 24 hours. And you didn't even see them till 11:30 last night. Don't you want to enjoy them a little longer?"
"Eh," he replied..."it's not my birthday anymore." 

I'm guessing the birthday decor, even though I had carefully made sure it matched his bedroom colors, was just getting in the way of enjoying the real gift...the actual bedroom that was finally his. Birthday decor was just cluttering stuff up!

Brandon would only allow me to take pictures of him with the balloons if I let him hold them up as 71. ha! I finally convinced him to switch them around for at least one picture..

New birthday bedroom and furniture...modeled by Lilian.