Waterpark Fun

Last weekend we made our 2nd annual visit to the water park.  We were going to go on New Year's Day, like last year, but it just didn't work this year, so we delayed a couple weeks.  The kids were SO excited (even though it doesn't look like it by the expression I captured on Emmeline's face:) and it was such a fun change of pace from this wicked winter weather we've been enduring this year.

Sam was itching to get in the water and took off around the lazy river because it was taking me too long to get our very old camera to get a picture.  I caught him on his way back around.  I think he was skipping in the water here!

Once we hooked the girls up with some life jackets, they swam their hearts out.  It was so fun to see the changes since last year.

Mollie's pure determination to do what the big kids do just amazes me sometimes.  When we first got there I had told her she couldn't go on these lily pads because it was for bigger kids. (the water was 4 ft. deep here and I didn't think she could reach the ropes above AND there were too many big kids playing on them at the time).  She cried...a lot.  Then we found the life vests and ventured into the 4ft deep pool to see what Sam and Ed were doing and ended up at the lily pads when the area had quieted down.

 Let me tell you...if you tell Mollie she can't do something, she WILL find a way to do it.  This girl has serious focus and concentration and skill to figure out what she needs to do to get the job done.  She watches and learns.  She started by crawling from lily pad to lily pad, but as she watched some bigger kids and because she had her life vest on, she decided to try jumping onto the lily pad while standing up.  I was floored...and she DID IT without falling down.  She was so focused.  She would jump and make a good landing, then make sure she was secure, then she would look up and grab the ropes, which she could just barely reach with her fingertips.  And across she went...figuring it out as she went.  I was speechless that a not quite 4-year-old could accomplish this.  She did it better than Sam, who tried and struggled to get across.

There she goes.  Mollie and Emmeline played on these forever.  My biggest concern was when bigger kids were around because there were a couple times when they were in the water and almost got pinched between two lily pads...not cool for how little they are.  But overall they did so great and said this was the best thing there.

 Emmeline had just as much fun on them, but she chose the crawling route instead of the standing one:)

And Sam sure enjoyed those big water slides behind him in this last picture.  You ride a tube down them, either along or with someone.  Mostly Ed or I would go with him.  We have to agree that it is pretty fun and leaves you wanting to go again and again.  Mollie even went down once with Ed, but got a face full of water at the end and decided it was safer to stick to the lily pads:)

We all had so much fun and it was such a nice break from the indoor blah's we've been enduring while we wait out winter.  For some reason it seems like this is just an indoor winter...we haven't spent much time outside and nobody seems too interested...maybe because of the deep freeze we had a couple weeks ago.  We have lots of winter left and hopefully will get more outdoor winter fun in soon if the weather cooperates.  But for now this should help us anticipate more summer water adventures!