Kings Dominion 2014

Yay for fun and surprise road trips!

Last week we surprised the kids with a trip to Kings Dominion. Will has talked about this place so much ever since I surprised him with a Mommy/Son trip there right before he started kindergarten, which was over 2 years ago. We wanted to get back last summer but it just didn’t happen.

We woke the kids up about normal time, told them to brush their teeth and hair and put clothes on. Funny enough, they both protested big time about brushing their teeth because “we never brush our teeth before breakfast”. Haven’t they ever heard of breakfast on the road?!?!?

I wish I could say Avery was a good car rider, but she’s not. It was a long trip. I don’t know how we are ever going to make it to Florida and back this fall.

But we finally make it!! Now here is the photo disclaimer….this blog post is going to look like this trip was mainly about Avery because honestly, most of the pics are of her. The reasons for that are twofold: 1) I was with her most of the day and I had the camera most of the day.

2) I had the camera most of the day because Matt was with Will most of the day and they spent ALL their time riding roller coasters. Hard to take pics in g-force, what, forces? Winds?

And we spent several hours at the water park but of course there are no pictures of that either because we don’t own a waterproof camera. But believe me, we were there!

Toeing the line….I guess this is the equivalent of a Disney “rope drop”!

Our guides getting our game plan ready for the day!

 

The boys started their day out on the Rebel Yell while Avery and I enjoyed 2 rides on the Ferris Wheel. We were actually able to see the boys on the coaster! I dressed Will in neon yellow for a reason!

Avery spent a good portion of the morning being a photographer. Here are a few of her photos:

I was trying to get her away from picture taking and carousel riding (wow, we rode that a lot) because I knew we hadn’t even been to the kiddie zone yet, but of course that was hard for her to understand. So the carousel it is!

Matt and Will went on this…..complete with the swings WAY. UP. HIGH. Matt remarked that he didn’t think the anchor bolts were very substantial for their job. Ha!

 

Good ol’ wooden coasters….

 

We caught up with the boys as they were getting off The Grizzly.

We made our way over the log flume ride. I wasn’t sure Avery would like it with the “big” drop and all but she was game so we gave it a whirl. She and Will wanted to sit together and somehow they ended up in the back of the log while Matt and I were squished into the front. Not to mention that I couldn’t even see them back there (aka make sure they don’t fall out!)

Oh man, didn’t she love her Bubba back there holding on to her. The excited, happy, kinda sorta nervous giggle we heard repeatedly from her that day still echoes in my ears. Such a happy memory. Of course we had to ride it again. We probably would have ridden it another 10 times had it been up to her. Honestly, I don’t think she would have loved it as much if she hadn’t experienced it the first time in her Will’s arms.

A few pics to prove I actually was there!

After the log ride, Will and I headed off to do some coasters together while Matt and Avery went back to, you guessed it, the carousel for a few more spins. They eventually did make it to the kiddie zone.

Will and I had a good time. Although I had forgotten how much I dislike a few of those coasters, The Grizzly in particular! Not to mention I spend the majority of the time worried he is going to fly out so I can’t even get into any sort of “enjoyment zone” on the rides! We counted up and I think the final tally was 18 “thrill rides”, including the big water slides, for him that day.

After lunch we did a couple of more hours of rides. Avery actually rode her first “real” roller coaster. Twice. Granted it wasn’t a big one but I would call it a real one. Insert excited giggle here! I think we may have another coaster rider on our hands. Good….then she and Will can ride them together and give Matt and me a break!!

A few more pics from the day…..and yes I know the first one is upside down. It’s artsy that way.

She actually pretended to sleep on this ride….and I think if it had gone around a few more revolutions she actually might have fallen asleep. She was pretty tired but was adamant about continuing on, instead of taking a nap in my arms in the shade.

A couple of hours in the water park passed quickly and then it was time to head back south. Even with as tired as both kids were and we were up way past their bed times, Avery didn’t fall asleep until Wake Forest (aka 15 mins from the house) and Will never fell asleep.

Everyone was tired the next day but great memories were made!