So for some reason my blog won't let me put pictures in order and I've already typed a bunch of this post and don't want to re-type it. This is supposed to go by the pictures of Kayley and Addison. Anyway, this is the girls riding the train. We had to sit in the very back so that the train horn wasn't as loud. Most people race to get to the front, we all raced to get to the back. The girls loved it and Nick and Shannon loved being able to quote all the jokes since they are the same jokes they've been doing since they were kids. But I have to say, I saw them both chuckle at times to some of the jokes, so apparently they are old as dirt, but still funny! I chuckle a lot, but that doesn't mean much!!
So Silver Dollar City has been open for a few months now and the Bells have officially invaded the park!! We went a couple of weeks ago and had a blast! We got the condos and went down on Thursday night and spent the first night with Arlaine and us. The next morning Shannon and Addison joined us at Silver Dollar City. It was pretty hot, but a little breezy. However with it being Friday it wasn't that packed at all. The lines were pretty much non-existent so on every ride if the kids wanted to ride them a second time they just got to stay on and ride again, it was great! Rex got to join in on the fun this year and ride the frogs and the butterflies for the first time. He didn't seem to mind either way, but was a bit scared I think on the frogs during the jumping part. Every day we were at Silver Dollar City though he didn't nap but only 30 min the whole day as he is such a light sleeper, but he did great! He was very happy the whole time and he even slept through the night at the condos.
Cora turned a new leaf this year too as she is now able to ride the bigger kid rides with an adult. When asked which ride she wanted to ride first after riding the little baby rides she wanted to ride the swings. I was a bit anxious myself mainly because of the fear of my little child falling through, but she loved it and actually rode it two times in a row. She even helped nudge Kayley into riding it too for the first time. Kayley has always been pretty brave to ride rides except for the swings. But she rode them and loved them just as much as Cora. These are pictures of Cora's first time riding it with Nick. It was cute as you can see in the picture on the right that she is clinging to Nick for dear life. Even after riding it a number of times she would get in the seat and immediately put your hand/arm exactly where she wanted it. She also rode Fire in the Hole with me which is a tiny roller coaster, but it's all in the dark and the actual roller coaster part is very small, you are mainly just riding around looking at statues etc for the whole ride and the roller coaster part is at the end. She liked it until the end and and I've never had her hold on to me so tightly! It made me think of riding Space Mountain with my Mom when I was younger. It was dark and scary, but I remember holding onto my Mom so tight and having her tell me to hold on to her so tight. Overall she had a blast being able to ride so many more rides this year.
So, Addison was Kayley's little buddy the whole weekend! Kayley couldn't get enough of her and vice versa with Addison. We decided to stay for the show in the evening since Michelle and Kendall weren't going to get there until later in the day on Friday, Kayley was so good with Addison all day. Cora loves Addison too and keeps telling me that she is cuter than Rex. Cora calls her "Asdisdon" It's cute how much they love her and get so excited to see her!
Then Michelle and Kendall got there in the evening and we went to go ride the kiddie rides again. Once again it was great the lines weren't long making it easy for the kids to ride all the rides multiple times with their cousins. Garrett also got to ride the rides for the first time and of course was all smiles!
Then that night we all fit into the 2 bedroom condos. It was tight but do-able. Michelle and Kendall were in one room with Garrett, Nick and I in the other room with Rex and Addison, and Grandma and Shannon were on the pull-out couch with Kayley, Cora, Ashlyn, & Preston...well for a little bit. Ashlyn was actually the only big grandkid that stuck it out only because she was the first to fall asleep. It didn't take long for Preston to go into bed with his mom and dad and Kayley and Cora either. Then it stormed a bit that night (we didn't hear it over our fan apps on our phones, but everyone else did) and Ashlyn said she woke up to the storms, noticed she was the only one out there and still went right back to sleep instead of getting scared. I was impressed. But they just loved the fact that they all got to sleep under the same roof and had a blast when they all woke up!
Then the next day we got up and did it all over again at Silver Dollar City. The lines were a bit longer, but not that much longer for a Saturday. One time when were riding the kiddie rides, Kayley turns to me and says, "Mom, there's Cade!" (a boy in her CTR 5 class)...I thought she was joking and just saw someone that looked like Cade, but sure enough it was Cade! They were so excited to see each other and they rode the frogs, the ladybugs and the butterflies together.
The rest of the day we finally got to ride some adult rides and thanks to Shannon being pregnant Mooma got some help watching all the kiddos. We (I) was really glad that they were willing to watch them while us adults got to delve into our inner kid selves! We saved Wildfire for last just because of the timing and location of everything and hit it just in time because as soon as we got off I think they rode one more car of people and then shut it down for the night. I was very relieved as this is my favorite ride of all the rides! We had a great trip and can't wait to go again soon!
This last week he has learned two new things, waving "hi" and pulling up on his knees to furniture. He loves to pull up on his knees now and will do it any chance he gets. He does it when you are sitting by him too. I caught this shot of him trying to "read" the children's scriptures.
And who can resist this sweet smile!?!? This picture really does show his personality, there is rarely anything that gets him really upset.
The other day we were at Cabella's and the girls were so proud of themselves for figuring out how to do these annoying pop guns. Cora was really cute trying to aim it, I tried to catch a picture of it, but my phone camera isn't as fast as my regular camera, which I didn't have out at the time. They were pretty proud to show their Daddy though when he was done playing with the real guns!
Here's more of Rex pulling up to his knees today. He figured out how to do it on the fireplace and it's like a whole new world up there for him! He could finally reach all the toys I tried to keep out of his reach...I guess I have to find a new "up high" place now! It was cute tonight our little tikes chairs were by his bumbo and he kept going back and forth between the chair and the bumbo, as long as he could be up on his knees was all he was concerned about. The new found freedom he has gained!! It only gets faster from here on how fast he moves! Let the real child-proofing begin!!
