Center of the World

I dropped Aidan and Brennan off at soccer practice and fell into a conversation with a new mom to the boys' school.  Griffin was eager to get back into the car and interrupted the conversation several times, the last of which he pleaded for us to leave.

I excused myself and had a stern talk with Griffin on our walk back to the car.

"Griffin, you do not interrupt adults when they are talking like you just did.  It was very rude."  I scolded him.

"But, Mom you said we could go home right after we dropped Aidan and Brennan off!"  He pleaded.

"I understand that.  But sometimes, you don't get what you want right when you want it.  The world does not revolve around you."  I replied.

His eyes filled with tears as he nodded.  He swallowed and said quietly, "It sure would be nice if it did though."

In spite of myself, I laughed.  Because how can you not appreciate a response like that?

My Boys of Summer

Swim Championships 2013!

Conquering the Amusement Park

I have to confess something.  I am not an amusement park person.  This may explain why the boys have never visited any of the area amusement parks, let alone any of the bigger, rite of passage parks like Disney.  If given the choice, I will always choose something else for our family adventures.  But, the boys weren't having it.  This year, they added Darien Lake to the summer fun list.  And if something is on that summer fun list, well, we do our best to make sure it happens.

Off to Darien Lake we went!  Even with my amusement park bias, I have to admit it was a great family day.  We went with our dear friends Christine and Dylan and their girls and the kids collectively had a blast.  Well, eventually they had a blast.  We may have gotten off to a rough start by allowing the kids to choose a roller coaster ride as the first ride for the group.

Here is the group in line for the roller coaster Predator.

Yes, they look so happy!  So enthusiastic!  So ready to take on the Predator.  It all went downhill from there.    I rode with Griffin.  Like my other boys, it was his first roller coaster.  But sometimes, I think Chris and I forget that Griffin, even with all his confidence and bravado is truly only six.  And maybe, just maybe, starting out our amusement park trip with a ride called the Predator is not the best way to ease into things.

Griffin screamed the entire time.  Not a good, I am having a ball scream.  But a bad, I am going to die and vomit all over everyone on this ride scream.  He cried buckets of tears and begged for someone to get him off the ride.  This is Chris, carrying Griffin, crying off the ride.

What I don't have, is a picture of Aidan post ride. He was so scared that he bit through his lip and was bleeding all over the place.  We made quite a spectacle of ourselves.

From there, the day brightened considerably.  We hit most of the rides in the park, including the water park.  We enjoyed some games, some kettle corn and some serious people watching.  All in all, it was truly a lovely family day and one, we have promised to make a traditional outing each summer.