Happy Independence Day!

We've had a really fun weekend, so far. We're only 2 days in and already I'm exhausted! John took off on Friday so he could go with us to The Land of Make Believe. It's a cute little amusement park in Hope, NJ that has been around for decades. They've done a nice job of updating since John was a kid. We were keen to try out the water park.

Tyler was beside himself with eager anticipation, until he saw the water slides and climbers up close. Uh oh...every single one had some kind of water sprayer aimed at or near his face level. Our boy does NOT like getting his face wet, unfortunately. It took some convincing to finally get him on one slide where the sprayer was off center and he could slide down the far left and only get his back wet.

Ty's attitude about going on rides has changed radically too. He used to jump onto a ride with reckless abandon and scream with joy and laughter. Now? He looks at each ride with an expression of pensive apprehension. What happened to my little dare devil? Sure, he smiles once he gets over his initial reluctance and is actually ON the ride...but getting him to get in line and commit has been a challenge. It takes some of the enjoyment out of these amusement parks when your child is lukewarm with enthusiasm, at best.

He did love the midway games! That boy is a prize hog. He wanted to win something at every stand. Lucky for him, his mommy is quite the wiz at winning these carnival games. We came away with a stuffed red dog that looked rather like Clifford, a stuffed dolphin, and 6 bead necklaces.

Today we headed off to John's old high school where they have an annual July 4th carnival with fireworks. Tyler was a tad more open to some of the rides, but seemed to get attached to just one that he loved best. The fun house! He went through that thing over and over and over.

After spending all the ride tickets, we staked out a spot in the field to wait for the fireworks. John spoiled us by running off several times to bring back treats; grape ices, cold bottles of water and a big bag of kettle corn. We sat near the bandstand and I was really enjoying the live music. Tyler spent much of the time with his hands over his ears. Hee hee! After the band's last set, the pyrotechnics began.

Feh. Sadly, it was a rather lame fireworks display and Tyler actually fell asleep toward the end. All that eager anticipation and he was just deflated. Poor kid. Hopefully we can find a better fireworks display elsewhere this weekend. John has off on Monday and Tuesday too so we've got loads of time to kick the fun up a notch again.

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The boys come flying down the BIG slide.

More photos of our weekend adventures (so far) can be found here (including one of me and my new boyfriend).

Comments

Robbie said…
Don't you hate that. Where do we learn our inhibitions? Is it from getting hurt one too many times? I'm not sure.

I loved your pics. The one of Tyler waiting for the light show should be framed. It has a professional quality about it.

Happy 4th!
John sounds like such a sweetie. :-) I am the one who usually runs for treats in my family!
amy said…
Kids definitely make the 4th a blast :) Sorry the fireworks were a dud :(
Maggie hates getting her face wet too---makes hairwashing a real torture!

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