This past Friday Grandpa, Uncle Kenneth, and Mom all embraced their inner child (and sanity) to take 6 kids to The Enchanted Forrest in Salem, OR. Cousins Zoey, Abby, Kenny, Kale, Brogan and Kayla rounded out our crazy group of fun.
The first part of the park is a lush stroll up and down hills that twist and wind through various nursery rhyme scenes.
This is KK posing next to a huge mushroom in Alice In Wonderland. There was a rabbit hole and tunnel that the kids climbed into and followed from one side of the path to the other.
This is Snow White's witch. Once inside, there is a dark twisty turning path to follow with scenes safely sequestered behind plexi glass...the walk end at a large slide that is actually the witches long hair. VERY COOL.
The 2nd half of the park is all about the rides. Kiddy rides, mostly. Brogan was in HEAVEN when he discovered the Bumper Boats (you had to be under 80 lbs to ride these babies).
In the photo above all our group is joyfully crashing into each other and the kind helper girl is wading out to break up the tangled family smash fest.
The frog hopper. All our kids and one mysterious guest crowded on...over and over and over...this was a favorite for the kids in the group.
Brogan, on the psychedelic train....
Brogan and Kale....same train
Zoye, loving her ride as well
The train in full view...Abby and Zoey are in the back cart enjoying the view as the train putts around the track and they explore the little village of mushrooms and castles.
Grandpa and Abby in the REAL BIG bumper cars. (Brogan didn't meet the height requirement for this ride...which broke his little heart. Poor guy.)
Grandpa, Kale, Kenny and Zoey zipping down on the log ride...every good park has one.
4 very wet but still quite happy guests
KK standing at the entrance to the mid-evil section of the park. We didn't get a photo of it, but there was a ride here that we all loved...we all climbed in cart that were equipped with laser guns. The cart then disappeared into a building that had knights and sorcerers and big spiders and dragons, etc. all with glowing blue lights somewhere on them. We got to shoot them with our guns that kept score for us. Some of us did quite well, others had a difficult time just holding up the gun. But, we all got a kick out of this ride. Very Very fun. (One the kids all declared would have been Uncle Brian's favorite ride if he had been with us. They are, of course, correct.)
Thanks, Grandpa, for a final BIG trip and event.
You are the best!
He is one Happy boy. And sweeter then can be. And 2. So, yeah, sometimes a stinker. But it doesn't matter, 'cause his little smile will squeeze your heart and you'll never be the same.
The 2nd half of the park is all about the rides. Kiddy rides, mostly. Brogan was in HEAVEN when he discovered the Bumper Boats (you had to be under 80 lbs to ride these babies).
This air missile (which the boy did NOT light himself) was supposed to look like a happy face when it exploded. Perhaps if you squint at it you might see where they were going with that. Regardless, it was a pretty little burst in the sky. We listened and watch our neighbors light fireworks off well into the night. What a way to celebrate our freedom. We all listened to a lot of patriotic songs all day, the kids (and adults) all seemed to really like "I'm Proud to be an American". And Brogan gave us quite a stirring rendition of Katy Perry's "Firework"...which isn't particularly patriotic, but was appropriate and super cute, so we let it slide. What a great day...and night!
Brogan and Kale hang out in the "kid pool" which hits a maximum depth of 2 feet. KK and Kenny spend more time in the big pool diving for anything they can find that will sink.
Kenny and Kale are demonstrating the "sit and spin"...you twist the little platforms up the poles and then sit on them and they will slowly (or not so slowly) unwind and twist down the pole.
KK and Abby enjoy this version of "the twister". Here someone sits (or stands) on the little black platform and then can either be spun by another or can use their own weight to continually spin around and around until you are too dizzy to hold on anymore or want to get sick.
Jack...taking a rest. Just behind Jacks head you can see a thin blue piece of plastic....that's the slide. You are supposed to straddle it and then slide down as it wobbles back and forth (but doesn't ever flip over). It freaks a lot of kids out the first few times.
And THIS little gem is a ton of fun. KK, Abby and Kenny have each grabbed onto a handle on top, then they use the tiny platform below to balance on, get a bit of a running start and then lift their feet and spin wildly around....a kid powered merry-go-round, sort of.
This is a MILITARY pack (h-e-a-v-e-n to a 3 year old boy). This will be something he lights off himself here in WA. Each one will shoot across the ground and then "poop out" little tiny tanks and such that will in turn shoot sparks and roll across the ground. The boy is super excited about these.
All the stuff above is supposed to be strategically relocated across the country to be used and enjoyed for the Cousin's Birthday Bash we do every year around Labor Day. Lots of rockets, fountains, and cannons. It should be a blast...literally. But first, I need to figure out how to get the fireworks to the East Coast. Something tells me TSA and The United States Postal Service would NOT approve of transporting them. UPS, maybe? I dunno. Somehow fireworks are shipped and moved across the country, so there must be SOME way to do it. We'll figure it out.