Riley and Avery

Look at the professional-level of powdered sugar licking! What a pro!

This is the North Pole. It's actually frozen. I don't know how they keep it from melting. Riley had to lick it. Whatever.



Avery wasn't so sure about this when Riley figured out how to get the airplane to go up. But she handled it well.

This was the first ride that Avery attempted sans Mommy. I think it helped that she sat behind Riley.


So, we took the girls to the North Pole amusement park today. Seriously. We had fun, the girls had fun (so much, in fact, that they were asleep by the time their butts hit the carseats!) I however, had a head cold and the pressure behind my face is killing me. Combine that with the altitude (7200 feet, I believe) and too many spinning rides, I was not feeling too hot. Dizzy and nauseous. Lots of fun. I tried to beg out of riding on any go-around rides, but an adult needed to go with Avery and Rudi WILL NOT get on rides. Ever. Good thing his old self got in free, otherwise I'd consider it a great waste of admission!

Luckily we had coupons and got in fairly cheaply. Riley and Avery both spent some of their allowance. Avery of course bought a necklace, two bracelets, and a princess crown. Geez, she's so foreign to me! Oh, and there were those funny mirrors, and people were standing in front of them and gawking at themselves. Avery squeezed right up to the front and admired herself at length. In each one. So funny!

Riley wanted to go on all the rides, and although Avery sat on on a few (the ones that were too fast or too high) she went on most of them too. Some were true kiddie rides and adults weren't allowed. Avery was fine with that after initial hesitation. The only thing she didn't like was if a male ride operator unbuckled her, or heaven forbid, lifted her out of the ride. That kid.

Oh, Riley said something funny while on a ride that nearly made me vomit. I don't recall what we were talking about, but it lead us to the subject of James. Riley said "James is a crazy kid, but he's handsome! Like a prince!" I wish I could remember what we were talking about...

Of course, we ate like fat people at the park. Funnel cake and ice cream. Oh yeah, I win mom-of-the-year award for this. And home too late to have a decent dinner. Oh well, you only live once and tomorrow's a new day! We did have a rockin' breakfast courtesy of Rudi. I don't know what got into him. Not a healthy breakfast, by any means, but a full one. Bacon, eggs, and skillet potatoes. Wow.

Impulsivity. This. Rudi doesn't get it, or doesn't let go if it, as it were. Last night, near midnight, he was talking about what we could do today. I was thinking going to the library, going to the park, doing something in town, nearby. He was talking a mini-roadtrip. I told him that we can't make plans so last-minute like that. I told him that I have to plan. He didn't get it and poked fun at me, saying that it wasn't last minute and what could I possibly need to plan or prepare for. I mean, I need to get food ready to bring with us, I need to warn the kids (Riley does so much better when she has a heads-up on major plans), I need to plan dinner accordingly so I have enough time to make what I planned, or to change what I am planning to cook (nothing like coming home at 6:30 and waiting 2 hours for a chicken to roast!), I need to wash their jackets (have been meaning to do that for a while), I need to get cash and gas up the car, I need to charge up the camera batteries, I need to get to bed BEFORE midnight in order to drive (I always drive) I need...I need...I need...He so did not understand. So we settled on the North Pole since we had just gotten coupons in the mail. It wasn't exactly in town (20-some miles away) but not too far. Nice compromise. Still a bit more than I'd like to take on "last-minute" and being sick to boot, but dealing with it is so much better than listening to Rudi complain about how we never do anything!

Speaking of Rudi and doing stuff, I went to Hobby Lobby to get him a hobby for Father's Day. He keeps saying that he wants to do model airplanes, and then of course never makes a move to actually do it. I went and got him a model and a set of paints and glue and all the stuff that you need to go with it. I had to ask another customer wandering the model isle for what I needed to get this plane together. He was nice, and happy to talk about model airplanes. He even found the identical plane I was holding that was marked much cheaper than the one I had ($29 vs. $18, can't beat that, then add a 40% off coupon!) He said that his wife doesn't have a hobby, so she's always getting on him about model airplanes. I have the same story, in reverse. I have hobbies and Rudi doesn't, and he gets on me about "wasting" time on these things. So, this gift if for both of our sakes. Rudi will have something to fill his time and I'll be free to practice my hobbies without interference. If he ever actually builds this plane. THAT remains to be seen! But I made the effort.

For Rudi's birthday, I'm thinking of trying to get his car detailed before our road trip. He's always griping about how the kids have ruined his car. I thought it would be nice to start off our trip that way. I'm sure it'll be a wreck again by the time we get to MD, but hey, I will have tried.