Amusement Park Adventure, Take 2

Saturday was a gorgeous day here, so I decided to suck it up and try Busch Gardens again. We've been working on appropriate "Elmopark" behavior - because Bree asks every day if she can go to Elmopark. I told her yesterday was the day, and if she wanted to have a great day at Elmopark, she had to listen to Mommy and not run away from me.

We had a great time. A few ungraceful moments, but overall, Bree did great. We lasted FIVE HOURS at the park yesterday. A rousing success by my standards. Also, she wasn't screaming the whole way out of the park, which was a huge plus for me.

I think it helped that Bree wore her swimsuit under her clothes as "proof" that she would be playing in water at some point during the day. It also helped that I started away from Elmo/Sesame Street Forest because it was so obvious that there was plenty of fun to be had in the park.

The ladybug chase was the first ride that Bree has ever been on by herself. When we went before, I had to ride with her on the (two) rides that we went on. And I wish that I could have videotaped the expression on her face when Bree realized that there was movement on this ride - she was so very excited. So excited, in fact, that she rode this ride FIVE TIMES in a row. She would not get off. Well, I take that back, she got off once to trade the yellow ladybug model for the red ladybug model.

One thing that I thought was really funny was that Bree chose the backseat of every ride that she went on. The other kids? Headed right for the front seat. Bree took the back seat every time. I suspect she's going to want a chauffer when she turns 16, not just a car. Or, this is the start of a very long career as a backseat driver.

Right next to the ladybug ride was a boat ride. Bree rode this one FIVE TIMES as well. The ladies there thought she was so cute, though, so they didn't mind. There was even one time where Bree was the only child on the ride. She loved every minute of it.

Okay, there's not much difference between the two photos of her on the boat ride - one is a little further back than the other. I can't tell if this was a separate turn or what. But she loved this ride.

Oh! And I have just found a picture of Bree in the red ladybug, and she is in the front seat! What a surprise! it must have been why I took some more pictures of her on that ride. (I have about 50 pictures, for the record.)

I didn't take any pictures of her at the water play area at Sesame Street Forest because there were about a million kids there with their parents, and it took every ouce of attention to keep my eye on Bree. I let her play for as long as she wanted, and she lasted 45 minutes. The end came when she was shivering so badly that she could barely walk over to me. It was very easy for me to pick her up, dry her off, take her to the bathroom and put her clothes back on.

We took another train ride (our 2nd for the day) all around the park, and then left the park. Bree was asleep before we were even out of the parking lot. It was a wonderful time.

So good, in fact, that I'm contemplating going again tomorrow. We'll see. It's a great way to spend the day outside wearing out a very active 2 year old.