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Adventures in Wiggles World

Posted on September 22, 2008 4:00 pm by TheAngelForever

For months we had promised NHL that we would take him to Wiggles World at the Six Flags park near us. We finally fulfilled this on Saturday. We were not disappointed. Wiggles World was absolutely gorgeous. The area was masterfully designed and easily makes you fall in love with the bright primary colored land.

As soon as you enter Wiggles World you are greeted with familiar characters. The first item you literally could bump into is Henry right in the middle of the area.

NHL immediately wanted to go and drive one of the Big Red Cars. We went over there and he got on immediately since there were almost no lines the entire day.

While the boys were busy Toot Toot Chugga Chugg-ing along I looked around. Everything was in Wiggles theme, even the snack bar where they sold Fruit Salad of course!

The familiar colors that scream Wiggles were on everything. Even the park benches were donned in the Wiggly yellow, blue, red, and purple.

After the Big Red Car ride, NHL went for a spin on Dorothy’s Rosy Tea Cups. No adults on this ride, so he was flying solo on this one.

The final ride in Wiggles World was the Big Red Plane. JL and NHL went on this one while I took photos. Later on I went for a spin on this and boy does it give you a fabulous view of Wiggles World.

Wiggles World also had a stage for a show. We watched parts of the show two times (photos to come later). NHL enjoyed this, but we were too spoiled with the real Wiggles shows.

When we left Wiggles world the first time Henry was out visiting people. He posed for a photo before we left to find other fun rides to try.

Even if you are not visiting Wiggles World you must follow this advice:

Categories:
fun jl nhl photos road trip weekend

Wonder which way

Posted on September 21, 2008 9:26 am by TheAngelForever

Saturday we spent a beautiful Mommy and Daddy day with NHL at a local Six Flags park. We had an absolutely wonderful time. We arrived when they opened at 12:00 and left at about 6:30 (they closed at 7:00). As soon as we stepped foot into the park NHL was focused on one item. He wanted to get to a certain section of the park.

We looked at the street signs to figure out which direction to go. We were able to figure it out thanks to some familiar faces on the sign.

We started our adventure and saw that the park was already being decked out for Halloween. It really is hard to believe that October is just around the corner. (Note to self – get a costume for NHL soon!)

On our way to the location of interest we stopped for a quick ride on the Merry-go-round.

We even took a special photo for Nana of her favorite animal that happened to be there.

Then we continued to wander in the right direction. After walking around corners, up hills, and past the Looney Tunes National Park and Justice League we finally saw familiar signs of yellow, blue, red and purple!!!

It was finally time to check out Wiggles World and see the beautiful little land hidden within this Six Flags park.

Wiggles World adventures and more to be continued later.

Categories:
fun nhl photos road trip weekend

Toddling Times

Posted on September 16, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Do you remember where your children were the first time they walked multiple steps on their own? JSL started really toddling on his own in the last two weeks. It made me think back to when NHL took his first steps. We waited so long for that day to come that I recall where we were, what was going on, and exactly what the little guy was wearing.

We were visiting my brother and sister-in-law. NHL had just started physical therapy after qualifying through Early Intervention. He was diagnosed as having low muscle tone and was hyper flexible. In other words he could touch his nose to the floor while sitting and struggled just to have enough balance to stand, no less walk on his own.

We had no clue at the time that this was going on. He was our first born and we thought he was so close to walking for months. He could toddle holding simply a finger, but without it could not.

Just a few days after starting PT we went away for a weekend. All of the adults were talking when we suddenly noticed a little boy walk by us. We did many double takes and then hooted and hollered since NHL was indeed walking on his own. JL quickly went to get the camera to capture these first steps on his own. Before we knew it he went back down the hall on his own. Later that afternoon we went to the Fisher Price outlet store. My little guy walked in the store on his own, chanting Elmo when he saw all of the toys he wanted to go to.

Here are NHL’s first of many solo steps and relaxing on the couch in his Mickey Mouse PJ’s. These were taken July 6, 2005 when NHL was almost 23 months old.

We always joked that JSL would walk for the first time at Uncle I and Aunt M’s house. That was not to be in July when we visited. JSL did things on his own schedule and really started to perfect things this past week. By the end of the weekend visiting for Cousin S’s first birthday he had really picked up speed.

While gathering clothing from NHL to get ready for JSL I found a lot of summer items. Included in this were the Mickey Mouse PJ’s that NHL was wearing when he walked. I thought it was only fitting to take these with us this weekend to get some photos of JSL. These photos were taken September 14, 2008 as JSL turned 16 months old.

Now the adventure really begins as JSL is starting to chase after his big brother. . . . ah the memories!

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brothers family jsl looking back milestone nhl photos road trip

Plans – they often change

Posted on September 15, 2008 8:53 am by TheAngelForever

When you become a parent, you learn how to go with the flow a lot more. Heck, you also learn how to function (or so they say) with little or no sleep. This weekend would be a great example of that.

Friday we were supposed to leave after JL arrived home from work to travel five hours to see my brother, SIL, and niece S for a first birthday party weekend. My parents left earlier in the day and told me that the rain was horrible going in the direction. By the time JL was home from work it was 3:40 in the afternoon. We knew that by the time we finished packing, loading the car and kids to head out it would be 4:30-5:00 at best. That means with a stop to eat we would not arrive at our destination until 10:00 at best. Add the weather and kids into the travel and it would likely be later.

We quickly looked at the radar of weather conditions for the evening. It looked miserable. The rain showed no end and was quite heavy in the direction we were going in. We changed our plans. Rather than leave at night we would get up VERY early and load the sleeping boys into the car and go before the sun was up.

Dinner was made, a quick errand and everyone went to sleep early. I set the alarm for 3:00 and hoped to be on the road at 4:00. NHL was up at 2:00 and hardly went back to sleep after that. I moved the alarm to 4:00. Since it was shabbat I was doing all of the driving and wanted a little extra sleep. At 4:00 I quickly packed the rest of the items, both boys were up (GAH) and we hauled everything into the car. We were on the road by 5:00 heading to see Uncle I, Aunt M, and Cousin S.

Do you prefer getting up early to drive or doing the trip at night? Although I was exhausted and the sun was not out and there was thick fog, it was smooth sailing at this hour of day. I was pretty much the only car on the road with all of the big trucks. We made it to our destination in just under 5 hours including a stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and a pit stop.

Once we were there the kids quickly started to play. Here is Uncle I reading all of the kiddos a story.

We had a fabulous weekend spending lots of time with family. The kids enjoyed playing with Cousin S and did not want to leave yesterday afternoon. We arrived home late last night. JL and I were exhausted from little sleep. This is what we hope to catch up on soon.

Great photos of the kids playing and of course Cousin S’s birthday party from yesterday coming soon.

Categories:
family jsl looking back nhl photos road trip sleep travel weekend

A whole lot of rides going on

Posted on September 14, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Lots of happy thoughts as we head home today from our weekend away for my niece’s first birthday (a long drive home with the boys). Trying to think optimistically, holding back on the positively pessimistic Eeyore thoughts from within.

Here are happy pictures from Labor Day to give us good road tripping vibes.