Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Countdown to Vacation

By this point in June we were on an official countdown to vacation. We were all so excited to be heading back to the beach!!

We went to Eric's parents for their annual Crawfish Boil.




Ollie showed his true Italian roots by digging in (and loving) a chocolate drop.



The ladies headed to the mall one day for swimsuit shopping before vacation.
I tried to sit in the back by Paddy and he immediately made it known that he was only ok with MawMaw sitting next to him.



I think Henry and Charlie were at summer school so it was just these 3.



Once we finished shopping I got in some good Paddy snuggle time while he napped.



I love watching these two play in the backyard in the summer.




This is the day we had been counting down to for months, actually probably a year.

The day Toy Story 4 was released. We were all SO EXCITED!!



Buzz Lightyear and Forky ready to take their seats.



I wanted this day to be perfect for him. 
Anything you want from the concession stand...you got it.
Wear your Buzz Lightyear costume....absolutely.

There is no bigger fan than him.




I had a huge lump in my throat when the movie started. I just couldn't stop staring at Ollie.



We laughed, we cried, we loved it.



After the movie we hit the road for my cousin Christopher's wedding.



The Bailey cousins.



Ollie was literally dragged on the dance floor...he wasn't sure what to think.




After the wedding we headed to the hotel so the kids could swim.



The excitement of a hotel never gets old for these two.




All the fun and swimming over the weekend caught up with her when we got home.



They decided to dress "cool" for the ice cream run. :)


Six Flags

This summer we had 2 really fun Six Flags days. One was on a Friday night, I was invited to the Marketing night so Eric picked up the kids and we all headed to Six Flags. 

I have been invited to this night every year for the past 8 years and have never gone. If I'm lucky enough to make the invite list in the future we will not miss it! The four of us received free admission, dinner, drinks, meet and greet with characters, after park hours and free games.  It was such a fun night.

Ollie was ALL ABOUT this ride. I can't remember the name but it was basically the Scrambler. 




Mary and the boys happened to be there too so we hung out with them until our dinner started.




Henry's face in this picture kills me. 



After riding some rides Eric, the kids and I made our way to the Marketing dinner area.
They had the characters out for pictures, Elle was all about it...Ollie was not.




The Russells.



My Sissy girl!



After dinner they had us stay in the same area while the park officially closed and they emptied it out. Then we got to go back out for after hours riding.

Back on Ollie's favorite ride. How cute are these two.



We had the best weather, it was perfect...and with the park emptied out we managed to sneak Ollie on a 3D Batman ride that he technically isn't tall enough to ride yet. 




Super Ollie!



Then a bit later in the summer we headed back to use Elle's free ticket she received from the reading program and of course we turned it into a fun day with the Voss crew.

First stop was the Moon Cars. Elle wanted to drive all by herself and have me ride in the back.
My view in 10 years!



It was a hot day and there was, obviously, a fair amount of bickering in line between all the cousins but overall it was the best day!




Henry looks so old to me in this picture!



Baby girl had never tried a turkey leg (gross) before and she was a fan!



After lunch we hit Toon Town which is right next to the Screaming Eagle. 
Our time there turned into all the kids wanting a turn riding the big roller coaster. Bear was the brave one that started this.

I can't stop laughing looking at the picture below. Henry really wanted to ride by himself so he could spin as fast as he wanted. This little kid kept coming up to Henry (who was already seated) and wanted to sit with him, Henry kept trying to convince him to go to one of the other empty cars and he just really wanted to ride with Henry. That kid was in for the ride of his life. Henry had that car spinning so fast the kid could barely hold on. 



They had all (except Ollie) been riding the Mine Train all day but this (Screaming Eagle) was the fist "big" roller coaster.

Mary and Bear went, then me and Henry, then me and Elle...and then I tapped out (the chili cheese dog I had for lunch was a horrible call).

About to take this boy on his first big roller coaster! I held onto him so tight!


He did it!!



Ollie hung out in Toon Town while the others took turns going on the roller coaster.




I guarantee I am yelling for him to SIT DOWN!!!



Sissy was nervous but she did it and she was SO proud of herself!



When did these kids get so big?



Elle and Henry had some serious courage and adrenaline going so when they realized they were tall enough for the new Wonder Woman ride they were ALL IN.




Elle and Henry ended up riding the roller coaster American Thunder as well and they loved it!
Henry was even riding in a car all by himself.

We took a quick ride break for Dippin Dots...





and then got back to riding.


We all had the best day! We got soaked on Thunder River, tried new rides none of us had rode before and laughed and had the best day ever.
Dare I say my favorite cousin day we had over the 2019 summer.