An enjoyable weekend

Well, first off, I need to let those who have written in and asked, I don't have a report from the doctor yet on my scan. I have called, and they don't have anything yet. So, thanks to those who have been praying and have inquired as to what is up physically. I will let my loyal readers know when I know something, I promise!

This weekend has been great. I didn't expect it to be as good as it has been, but it really has been great.

Yesterday I went to the nearby amusement park that I am a proud sponsor of, and had a great time! I went with a couple families from work, and I hadn't spent any real amount of time with them. I had spent time with the kids, but not the adults. I know, that shocks you! And, as usual, I had an awesome time.

I rode Wildfire a total of 7 times. It is still my favorite ride there. I don't even get scared anymore on the uphill climb, which is a new thing for me. It was cool.

And, as usual, I have a cool story to share. There was a fourth grader named Austin that went with us. He hasn't been there since he was 4, and when he went then he got scared on one of the roller coasters. He actually got scared years ago on the indoor roller coater, Fire in the Hole.

So we first got there and we rode Thunderation first. I sat with Austin, and we rode front car. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he did. He didn't seem scared at all.

We got off the ride, and the next pick of the day was Fire in the Hole. I knew this was the one Austin dreadded, and told him he didn't have to ride it, and he said he wanted to ride it. So, we got in line. We moved our way up the line, and when we got close to the coaster, and said, "Can I hold your hand if I get scared?" I told him, yes, of course! When we finally got on the ride, he took my hand immediately. He held it the whole ride. He squeezed hard in the pitch dark areas of the ride. He also screamed. In the end, he liked it. I was so proud of him for conquering his fear.

The next ride on the list was Wildfire. My favorite! It was quite a walk to Wildfire, and I was ready. Of course, the three kids I was with took one look at the coaster and opted out. Which, I sort of figured would happen. I told them they could wait in the gift shop while I rode it once. I figured we had walked all that way, I wanted to ride it once. :-) Austin looked at me, and I could tell he felt bad. I told him it wasn't a big deal. I would ride and then we would find something else.

I rode the ride, and when I got off, they were standing there drenched. Next to Wildfire is a water ride and they rode it. I looked at Austin and said, "Your Mom is never going to let you out with me again." He just smiled.

We went and met up with the group for lunch. Austin was bothered by something. I couldn't quite tell, but he was rather emotional. His Mom said it was normal. So, while we were in line without Austin, his Mom stated that I should go with the older kids for the afternoon and I'd see Austin later. I told her I didn't want to let him down. She said it was fine. She felt he needed to rest a bit anyway and that they would take in a show or two. I thought that was great.

After lunch, I headed off with his older brother to ride Wildfire. I thought it would be an easy ride for his older brother. It wasn't. It scared him quite a bit, but he bought a picture of himself on the ride to show he rode it. His first words off the ride were, "That was fun but I'm not riding it again." Translation, that scared him and he didn't want to do it again. I was okay with that. I've been there, and I know how he feels.

As we were walking out of the ride, two of the other guys from our group walked up and wanted to ride. I told them I'd go with them. Olderbrother stated he was going to go catch up with the other group. Okay, so I switched coaster buddies. I rode with twinboy on both Wildfire and Powder Keg. Powder Keg was fun, but that first hill on it scared me! I'm not afraid to admit it, I was scared at first, but the ride was amazing.

After both of those rides, we were walking back and we found his twin, and I switched partners again. I rode with the other twinboy on Wildfire again. Yep, pretty much my ideal day! We went and hooked up with everyone after that, and the majority wanted to do a water ride. I DID NOT want to get wet. It wasn't warm enough for me to walk around wet the rest of the day. So, I said, "I'm going to go do Wildfire again!" Everyone laughed, and I really did go off on my own and rode it again on my own.

I got off the ride, and bought a hoodie. They were on sale, and I hadn't bought a thing all day. I also sort of enjoyed doing my own thing because I could walk slow and not feel like I was holding everyone up. Not that anyone cared how fast I walked, I just know I tend to walk slower than everyone else.

I wandered around after trying to find out where everyone was...noone answered their phone. So, I bought Mr. C. his taffy and then I got a call. Everyone was back down by the Wildfire entrance.

I went back down. As I approached, Austin walked up and said, "I want to do Wildfire with you." I just looked at him. My immediate thought was, "He's doing this for me, and I don't want to scar this child for life." I just said, "Are you sure? You don't have to at all, Austin." And he said, yes, he wanted to, and then his Mom followed stating that he had been wanting to do it for a little while. She could tell he was bothered because he hadn't done it. I said, "Okay, let's go."

We walked up to the ride, and I figured he'd chicken out. I really did. He didn't. He didn't even flinch. We rode it second seat back, and he never screamed once. Granted, he admitted he shut his eyes the whole way, but he did it. When we walked off, I told him, I was proud of him. He wanted to go again, but the twin's Dad opted out, so we didn't.

We walked back down, and the kids wanted to do Powder Keg. I was pooped. I didn't want to walk anymore. They invited me, and I said, "No, thanks." And I sat with the adults for the first time all day. And, Austin's Mom said she was happy I had gone because Austin faced his fears of roller coasters. That made me happy. I helped a kid get over his fear. That was the highlight of my weekend. It was a weekend Austin will never forget, and neither will I.

Today after church Karen invited me to lunch. We sat there for two and a half hours talking. I am loved so well by that gal. She taught me gobs in that little amount of time. I am blessed.

So, yeah, sort of my ideal weekend. AND, tomorrow I get to go on the fourth grade field trip. We're doing National Treasure 2 and the park!

What a way to start the week!

Later!