31 Days of Summer- Kings Island

Ride On

Every year since the kids have been born we have headed to Kings Island with Jeremy's parents. I love that the kids are getting old enough to really enjoy the rides beyond Snoopy Land. Isaac was just under the 52 inch mark, which prevented him from going on some of the really large rollercoasters like Diamond Back and Flight of Fear. I give him another year and he'll be tall enough to ride. 

So Phil, Jeremy, Isaac and I got FastPasses this year so we didn't have to wait in line. It was fantastic. We bought the tickets on CyberMonday and got each ticket with the FassPass for $70. Olivia and Deb passed on the rollercoasters so they spent most of their day around Snoopy Land just as content. 

We also got a $10 FunPix pass for the day. It was great to get all the pictures of the rollercoasters, like this one of Phil and Isaac on the log ride. This is a tradition now for those two to ride on since Paw was the only one who would get wet with Isaac last year. Now it's become a tradition that they ride this.

We absolutely can't talk about this year's park experience without a shoutout to my bestie Sandy! She hooked us up with a parking pass and lots of secrets of how to conquer the Island in a day and not spend much money.  Plus her and the boys were able to join us in the morning and the whole family that evening, which made for an even more amazing day. Loved catching up with great friends at the park. 

38 Days of Summer- Tubing

Olivia's First Time Tubing

SO MUCH FUN. We have been to Indian Lake before as you can read in the linked blog. However, Olivia has never been too much into the tubing. Isaac went for the first time last year, but Olivia is a bit more cautious. I was surprised she even considered tubing today as the Lake was pretty choppy. First we hooked up the tube for Isaac and and Jeremy to tube. We went too slow around the first turn and flipped them both off. I think it really scared Isaac. But in typical Isaac fashion, he jumped back on and went again. They tubed until Jeremy and Isaac's hands were raw.  

Olivia passed tubing when we asked after the boys were finished. So we got out the ski's. Jeremy and I got to try our water skiing skills. We both popped right up and had a blast, but that really takes the wind out of you. Especially when you have to battle the choppy water. 

After skiing we asked Olivia if she wanted to tube. She said she'd go with mommy! I felt pretty special. We went a good speed- not too fast- and she squealed with excitement. She loved it. I was so proud of her. She isn't one to take risks or do things that are too crazy. Lately she has been more daring, and willing to at least try things to see if she likes it. 

After a day on the Lake we headed in to get cleaned up and then get a bite to eat. Went to Woody's. We were excited to get right in and get seated- especially on a Saturday night. Food was good and we were on our way back home around 9 p.m. I was shocked that the kiddos didn't pass out on the way home, but they talked the entire way home. What a great day on the Lake! 

40 Days of Summer- Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Christmas in July! 

For those who have never heard of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and have children under the age of five, should look into it... pronto! Tonight's program was Christmas in July. Centered around a Christmas theme, there was Kewpee dinner to start. That alone made the evening perfect. Who can pass up a delicious Kewpee hamburger and a chocolate malt. 

After the meal, there were toys the kids could play with, including these cool magnetic links that you can see Isaac and Jeremy connecting. After a short play time, they next read a story about a elf and how it was always escaping from the north pole. The kids thought it was super funny. 

After the story, the director explained that we were to make our own elf traps. The kids began work on their traps. Olivia and Isaac were actually working pretty well together. I think the funniest part of the entire evening was that Jeremy was working on his own trap. You can see his masterpiece here below. We laughed at how hard he was concentrating on this elf trap that the kids did a really good one (probably better) without him! LOL. 

The entire evening was a nice family friendly activity to do together, but it's really meant for birth to 5 year old children. I think Isaac and Olivia are a bit beyond this program. But if you have young ones and are looking for a great program, take a look into this. You'll love it.