Our First Amusement Park Experience

So Busch Gardens is not that far away from where we live, and we can buy a "fun pass" for the same price as a single day pass and have access to the park all summer. This year they have a new feature, Sesame Forest, featuring the always beloved Elmo! So I decided to give it a go.

It turns out that Bree is actually too small to ride one of the kiddie rides. What a kick in the pants, huh? They have a roller coaster (a 30 second ride, actually) for kids, but you have to be 38 inches tall to ride it. Bree is about 6 inches too short. But there were other rides that she could go on. We went on a Wiggly Worm Ride and a wate ride. Bree loved them both.

But the big hit was obviously the water play are in front of Elmo's castle. I was unprepared for this and yes, I was the sucker to buy a licensed character bathing suit AT the amusement park. Gah. Anyway, Bree LOVED LVOED LOVED this. She ran, non-stop, for about a half hour. The only reason she stopped was because they turned off the water for a show featuring Elmo and his friends.

Bree did not want to stop, despite the fact that she shivering and yawning. Good grief. This girl is like the energizer bunny multiplied by 1,000. Bree also doesn't listen very well - especially when she doesn't want to.

Bree has become that kid - you know the one - the one who screams so loudly and throws the biggest tantrum, and you wonder, "why can't her mother control her?" This is a combination of two factors: 1). she's 2; and 2). she has a temper. Of course, 2 year olds want what they want, when they want it, and anything less is unacceptable. Add a temper and stubborness to the mix and you get BREE.

At the mall yesterday, I had to pick up some shoes that were being re-soled. After, I thought we'd get lunch at the food court. Bree had other ideas. She was screaming so lound and throwing the most obnoxious tantrum, that I actually had people coming up to me to ask me if I needed help. I had to take the food back to the vendor and have them box it up so I could take it with me. It's actually the first time that I've been embarrassed by Bree in public. But again, she's 2.

Today, Bree didn't want to get changed and go get lunch. That's it. We weren't going to leave the park, I was going to feed her french fries and ice cream - but she wasn't having any of it. Then she started to run away from me. So, we left. And she screamed all the way through the park, all the way to the car, and all the way home.

Our total time at the park? 90 minutes. Maybe we'll do better next time. I think that having Scott there would have helped tremendously. He's more patient with Bree, and she responds better to him. She'll listen to her daddy. :)

Okay, this last picture is more proof that I take terrible pictures of Bree. I caught her while running with her mouth open. It's just a goofy picture.