Super Saturday, part two

**side note: sorry this took longer than anticipated to post. I just couldn’t decide between all the lovely photos from the second half of our day. Plus, we’re back to ‘real life’ after spring break- it’s busy here AND we’re (finally) enjoying the sunshine!

After lunch for all, a quick nap for the babe, we were off to surprise the kiddos with a trip downtown! Our first of the season! William was happy as a clam in his soft backpack, which -by the way- made Chris and I excited for later this year when William will be big enough to jump into our bigger, badder, better Kelty backpack reserved for family hikes!

Anyhoo… We’re off! E and J shot off like little rockets as soon as their feet hit the ground- seagulls and small dogs beware!! Chris, William and I followed at a slightly more leisurely pace.

First stop? The mini-doughnut man, of course! LOVE that man. LOVE that my husband always makes this stand our first stop -then we can justify it by saying we’ll ‘walk it off’ through the park.

William gets his first taste of a warm doughnut. It was a BIG hit. I kept looking for the little pieces that were supposed to be falling out of his chubby little hands, but there weren’t any to be found- they all made it into his mouth!

Johnathan and Elizabeth quickly remembered how much they love those little doughnuts, before they ran off for more sunshine-enjoying, energy-expending activities.

The next stop was the actual surprise we had in store for the kids. Thanks to an early birthday present from Grama and Grampa A. we took the kids to get their summer season passes! They were so excited! They are both tall enough to ride on all but two of the rides by themselves this year. Here’s Elizabeth checking it out for John.

Oh my goodness, they love this ride! We were concerned that John’s motion sickness would act up (picture projectile vomit coming from the Spider- nice.) but, thankfully it did not! Which is great because really, aren’t all those rides ‘spinny’ rides downtown? Tilt-a-whirl, the berries, airplane, ferris wheel, carousel… Maybe we’ll bring the Dramamine next time- just to be safe.

John was so funny- he had to keep checking his height to make certain that he was STILL tall enough to go on without one of us, just with Sister. Yes John, you are still the right size this year!

Those are some happy little kiddos!

The first carousel ride of the year. They are the lime green and light blue blurs flying by near the center of the photo. It was the first time they had gone on without either one of us. It was so wonderful to watch them together… for all the sibling squabbles and such, those two are thick as thieves out in the world together. They really do adore one another.
John picked their horses and then Elizabeth made sure that John got up on his horse safely and helped him get buckled in- and he let her and even welcomed her help!! For those of you who know our children best, you KNOW what independent, headstrong spirits they are (I don’t know where on earth they got that from! Huh. Any ideas Martin? Marilyn?), so to see them working together always, without fail makes my heart sing.

After the carousel we made sure to stop for a quick visit to the ducks. After a while of watching, it was clear that the ducks were all paired off for the season. The males were not eating as much, but instead were letting their mate get most of the bread, while they were circling and protecting her from others. The kids thought it was cute to see all the “married ducks” in their very traditional ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ roles. “Just like Daddy takes care of you, Mama.” That’s right sweetie. That’s exactly right.

Johnathan was extremely concerned about the geese down the way a bit from us. And rightly so, in my opinion. They’ve both heard my story about being chased down by a gander at Lake Padden as a child!

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was not concerned. She just spreads her arms out and hisses right back at them. That’s my girl!

Of course, no visit downtown is complete without a go down the wagon slide!

After all that, we were all feeling just like this:

And so, we headed off into the (almost) sunset… Sum
mertime- we’ll see you soon!