Phew. We made it. A whole bunch of Holden 4th Birthday festivities came to a close Sunday with Family Day at Adventure City, a quaint tyke-sized amusement park nestled between Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland in Anaheim.
The first stop was The Bus. Holden didn't see what it did or he probably wouldn't have climbed on board so quickly. Riley spent the entire ride saying, "Out. Out." Kevin and I spent the whole time trying not to get sick.
We got there just as the place opened and could ride every ride again, and again, and again. There were really only seven rides, but we did each two to five times. Holden saw the planes on the Web site and really looked forward to it. I tried to get Riley to sit down, but he ended up bailing out before take-off.
We probably spent the most time on this ride, where Holden could be the fire engine, ambulance or police car driver as the car goes around a little track. He loved it, although it's hard to tell from the furrowed brow. He took his life saving duties very seriously.
Riley was still hesitant about most rides. He took a spin on the merry-go-round, but grabbed at me the whole time saying, "Out. Out." Then he watched the next round from the sidelines.
Back to the fire engine.
There was a cute choo-choo train that circled the park. Riley fussed and said, "Out. Out." But once we got moving, he was OK.
There was a little kid-powered train that Holden wheeled around.
The highlight for Riley was the petting zoo. He loves animals and they get him real happy. I don't think the sheep minded the drool too much. This adventure, of course, ended with him landing in a pile of damp dirt and gleefully scooping it up in his hands. I don't want to know why that dirt was wet, but he smelled like barnyard the rest of the day.
At first, Holden was a no-go on the Balloon Races. He decided eventually to try it and loved it. Kevin and I learned that if you don't look at anything, you won't lose your lunch.
Riley also got his brave on and went for a ride on the planes.
Before the last ride, we got some snuggles watching the rescue cars.
By now, Riley had pooped....
And Holden was just pooped.
Riley wasn't at all jealous at all the baby loving I was getting, and he quickly figured out that it was Courtney who knew where the water and apple slices were.
Holden played great with his cousins, Aiden and Gavin. He especially loved these motorized cars:
Sleepy baby face:
Gavin, 3, has got so big:
Skye woke up for a few minutes to get a snack and take a quick look around at her visitors:
Little baby hand:
Heading back to sleep:
Riley spent about 10 minutes obsessing over a stink bug. He'd finally say "bye-bye bug," and start to walk away, only to drop my hand, run back and point to it again.
Later that day, we hit the beach with the Messingers. The water was freezing, but Holden and Hallie (and the Dads) had a lot of fun splashing around anyway. Riley was a bit trepidatious about the sand at first, but he eventually came around ... and then we had to keep chasing after him as he took off toward groups of bikini-clad sunbathers.
After naps, it was still so very hot. So we played outside with our new ball and sprinkler.
Portrait in Soft Light (my co-worker, Melissa):
A Dramatic Picture Backlit (I wasn't sure if my teacher wanted silhouettes or details on the subject, and I didn't hear back from him in time, so he got both that I couldn't choose between):
Sidelight for Dramatic Effect:
We got there just as the place opened and could ride every ride again, and again, and again. There were really only seven rides, but we did each two to five times. Holden saw the planes on the Web site and really looked forward to it. I tried to get Riley to sit down, but he ended up bailing out before take-off.
We probably spent the most time on this ride, where Holden could be the fire engine, ambulance or police car driver as the car goes around a little track. He loved it, although it's hard to tell from the furrowed brow. He took his life saving duties very seriously.
Riley was still hesitant about most rides. He took a spin on the merry-go-round, but grabbed at me the whole time saying, "Out. Out." Then he watched the next round from the sidelines.
Back to the fire engine.
There was a cute choo-choo train that circled the park. Riley fussed and said, "Out. Out." But once we got moving, he was OK.
There was a little kid-powered train that Holden wheeled around.
The highlight for Riley was the petting zoo. He loves animals and they get him real happy. I don't think the sheep minded the drool too much. This adventure, of course, ended with him landing in a pile of damp dirt and gleefully scooping it up in his hands. I don't want to know why that dirt was wet, but he smelled like barnyard the rest of the day.
At first, Holden was a no-go on the Balloon Races. He decided eventually to try it and loved it. Kevin and I learned that if you don't look at anything, you won't lose your lunch.
Riley also got his brave on and went for a ride on the planes.
Before the last ride, we got some snuggles watching the rescue cars.
By now, Riley had pooped....
And Holden was just pooped.
