Six Flags!

Kids growing up is a bittersweet thing.

There are days that I miss the chubby hands,

the slobbery kisses, and the chunky thighs.

(Yes, I'm a chunky thigh girl ... they get me every time.

But only on infants less than a year old!)

But the sweet part of bittersweet is this:

as a family we can go and do things now that we just couldn't do

with babies and toddlers.

Six Flags is a big one.

Each year, the school does a reading program that rewards with a 

ticket to the park.

note:  since the price of admission for a child is $38, 

this is a real treat!

All 3 of the boys read their allotted 600 minutes, 

so 3 tickets were brought home on the last day of school!

Bo and I literally haven't been since college days ...

I had mixed feelings about going, 

as all my memories of Six Flags entail

long lines, the smell of scorching asphalt,

and sweaty bodies!

But we went.

The lines were not bad at all,

but the weather was extremely hot

and we did have sweat covered bodies all day.

However, it was a great day despite!

Time with just our family is a priceless treasure, for sure.

Walking to the gate ... 

Almost in ...

First roller coaster:  Scream Machine

I'm pumped ... can you tell??!

I love roller coasters!!

This would be the first ride that would confirm Blaine's attraction to all things

extreme!  He LOVED every ride!

Time to cool off in the Monster Plantation ... they've renamed it, 

but I'm sticking to the original!

This is Jacob's monster face ...

Anyone out there remember this guy?!

Seriously, he must be about 30 years old.

At least.

Yall come back!

Next up, Dahlonega Mine Train ...

They have no idea of that last minute dive into the cave!

On to the swings ... Jacob was too short to ride ...

Next up, Mind Bender.

I couldn't believe that 42" was the minimum height.

We made the whole family ride.

This is what Jacob did when he saw the first loopty-loop.

But we didn't give in - we're mean like that!

He got himself together, road in terror,

and was like a caged cat once we pulled back into the platform ...

they couldn't release the bar from his lap fast enough!

I don't think he's scarred for life, though ... :)

Blaine and I were the only ones to stay on the Mind Bender

for the second ride ... it was Double Ride Day on this particular ride.

We did the whole thing with our hands up the entire time.

B-L-A-S-T!!

Right before lunch, we road the Georgia Scorcher.

Fitting ride for the temp that day!

Just me and Blaine-o.

Jarrett's head was hurting and Jacob,

to his great relief,

was too short!

Bo was such a good sport to let me ride!

Lunch break at the car.

We parked by the picnic tables.

Worked out perfectly.

Next up, Log Ride!

The boys wanted to do a wet ride so bad,

but neither Bo or I wanted to walk around the park in wet clothes.

So we agreed to this one and told them we'd do the really

wet ones at 8 p.m.

(the park closed at 9)

Love this shot of Bo and Blaine!

Blaine-o wanted to ride Goliath (you can tell by the name ... HUGE coaster)

and of course, Jacob was too short and Jarrett had no desire.

So Bo took Blaine and I went with Jarrett & Jacob to do the old cars.

Then we rode some of the 'kiddie' rides for Jacob.

This was a balloon ride - it was also a Double Ride-r, so Jacob got to do it twice.

Definitely more his speed!

Bo and Blaine caught up with us in time to do the carousel.

Besides mine and Bowdie's tickets and the parking fee,

the only other money spent in the park was for 3 refillable cups.

We all drank our weight in blue powerade ... it was a life saver 

on such a blistering day!

Ready for the Wiley Coyote roller coaster ...

Blaine and Bo headed to ride Batman.

I rode it with Blaine-o next.

Definitely my favorite ride -

even though we were stuck at the end of it for about 15 minutes.

Did I mention how hot it was??!!

As promised, at 8 we got in line for Thunder River.

A sweet family behind us took this pic.

They rode with us too.

I forgot just how wet you can get!

Post-Thunder River.

Notice Jacob took the worst of it...

much to his great pleasure!

**notice I changed shorts and put on flip flops ... I learned really fast 

that the longer shorts just served to be like a sauna, so at lunch, I put on my 

running shorts.  A blister on my heel forced the flops.**

Our goal of the day was to shut the park down 

and we did!

Bowdie wanted to end the night with a trip to the Varsity ...

this was about 10 p.m. ... can you tell??!

What a GREAT day and what GREAT memories!