Sierra Foxtrot!

When Scott & I don't want the kids to know what we're talking about, we use the phonetic alphabet to either spell the word or the initials of the words. They still catch on pretty quick. William, for example, has never asked for a Coke Float; it's always a Charlie Foxtrot. I think he knows the phonetic alphabet at least as well as Scott, who can never remember that Boston Market is "Bravo Mike" not "Bravo Romeo."

So today we went to Six Flags. William was so excited that he had his four stars (dressed, breakfast, bed made, teeth brushed) within about 20 minutes of waking up. He spent the next hour asking when the rest of us were going to be ready, and running down the checklist of what we needed to do, and who was "ahead" of us, and what they needed to do. My eye is twitching just remembering the production that was getting us out of the house.

Once we were there it was so worth it. Well, for me and William, at least. Katie had about a 7 on the fun scale and Scott was probably around a 5. (He may be coming down with something.) The weather was hot, but not too hot. Six Flags will probably never seem "too hot" to me again after surviving the time we went with the Buhlers and it was 135 degrees. William wanted to ride the log ride first thing, and since Katie said she was scared (???) he got to ride it twice in a row, first with Scott and then with me. There is something just so adorable about how excited he gets about that ride. He got to ride it by himself with Jacob and Jesse last summer and I know that's a big part of his affinity for it. Apparently, Jesse shouted for him to "Lean left!" or "Lean right!" throughout the ride and now he still does it each and every time.

Last time we went to Sierra Foxtrot, William wanted to play the arcade games to try to win a stuffed Krypto the Superdog. Mean ol' Mommy wouldn't spring for it and he was pretty mad at me for a while. I think I redeemed myself today, because I gave him $5 before we left home to use in his quest. He found a darts game that kids could play until they won. He and Katie each played three times and walked away with identical stuffed dogs. (That aren't Krypto the Superdog. I can't remember the breed, but William assures me they are Batman's dog, BatHound.) William named his BatHound and Katie named hers Bruno.



This is the Moon Car ride. We waited in line forever (probably 25 minutes, compared to 2 or 3 minutes for every other ride) for the kids to ride it. William loves, loves, loves to "drive" and it makes me laugh to remember being on a similar ride with my sister. Scott, it turns out, hates this ride, because the line moves so slowly and once you're finally on the ride, it's...well...not thrilling. Pooh on him. I thought we'd each take a child and ride in two cars, but Katie wasn't having it. She was bound and determined to ride in the front seat with William. Scott and I crunched into the back seat with BatHound and Bruno. About 5 feet into the ride I remembered that last time I'd had to press the "gas" pedal down for William the whole time and he just steered. Sure enough, William's brain & body weight can't work together to keep that pedal down. Every time he would get us going, the engine would make charming old, loud sputtering sounds and he would let the pedal all the way up. Scott and I kept screaming over the noise to "STAND ON IT!" "DON'T LET IT UP!" "STEER...STAND ON IT!" "YOU'RE DOING GREAT, WILLIA...STAND ON IT!" It was a riot.

The whole family rode the carousel for Katie. For some reason, there was no music on this carousel, which was a first for me. Luckily my horse was next to Katie's and she kept me entertained with a lively monologue about her horse's name and my horse's name and how they knew each other.

My favorite ride of all was the Tidal Wave. It was just me and William, and we got completely and utterly soaked. He was overjoyed. Then when you come off the ride, you can stand on the "overpass" and the water from the next ride soaks you all over again. "Oh, please, Mommy!! Please!" So we did. A word to the wise: when you're standing there with all the other soakees, you blend in. When they all disperse to other rides, you look conspicuously ridiculous, sloshing along beside a dry husband.

I don't know if this was our last trip to Six Flags for the season. They'll be open weekends through the end of October so I am really hoping to get back at least once more. I have yet to take my camera, so that right there is reason enough in my mind!