Being that it is summer, we are trying to pack as much fun things into it as we can before the kids go back to school. We had a trip to Great America, a pool party and a Company picnic at Huanted Trails all this past Friday, Sat and Sunday!
We had free tickets for Stephen and Ryan to Great America for the reading they did through the school year, so as time was running out to use the tickets we made plans to go Friday. It was the first time the boys had gone to Great America and they were super excited. We had Mike's mom come and watch Trevor all day. I was a little anxius about this. I had never left Trevor with anyone for a whole day (9:00 till 10:00) before and I wondered how he would do. I worried he wouldn't eat well and would be fussy. Plus we would not be doing his OT that day as I didn't want to add another item to my MIL's list of to do's for the day. He ate a ton for grandma and he took a 3 hour nap for her. He had a great day without us.
Leading up to the trip, I have to admit that Mike and I were not quite as enthusiastic about the trip to Great America as the thrill of roller coasters is not what it was for us. Worrying about Trevor being upset we were gone all day and worrying about how Ryan would do with the noise and the rides, plus worrying that Stephen would not be very patient if Ryan wanted to do the tamer rides and he had to wait all weighed on me and made me wonder if any of us would enjoy the trip. But I think its good to try new things and for the kids to have new experiences so we continue to try the outings. Sometimes they are great experiences and other times we wish we hadn't lef tthe house that day! We wondered how Ryan would do as it would be noisy and loud and he does get bored so easily that staying in lines for rides would be a challenge for him. Plus I wondered if he would be too scared (and too small) to get on any of the rides besides the kiddie rides. Ryan suprised us all and was a real trooper. He covered his ears in the big screen theatre and on various rides, but overall he dealt with the noise really well and was more tolerant of the waiting than I expected. He even went on 2 roller coasters. I'm not sure that he enjoyed the roller coasters exactly (he told me he didn't want to go on them again), but he seemed to be proud that he went on. He never cried or complained, but he was relieved when these rides were over. He did enjoy the train and some of the other rides. Stephen of course was so set on riding all the coasters and was disappointed he wasn't tall enough for all of them. After the Demon and the Whizzer, he lost his enthusiasm for some of the other coasters. We did get to the water park, but was only in the water park for 12 minutes as I didn't realize they closed that part of Great America a couple of hours before the rest of the park. We had a lot of food a lot of fun, a lot of sun. It turned out to be a great day.
Saterday we were all pretty tired out from all the walking the night before. We had been invited to a pool party and of course the kids love swimming now and are always wanting to practice their new swimming skills. It was just this summer that I got Ryan back to trying swim lessons. He has been terrified of floating and putting his face in the water. He liked the pool but until this year was very tentative about getting in past wasit high, hated having his face wet (or splashed) and did not trust others or even floaties to help him float. So this has been a great year watching him grow and overcome his fear of the the water. They kids pretty much swam the whole eveing from about 5:30 till 9:00. They only came out for food and ice cream. Unfortunately Trevor was pretty off the whole day not wanting to eat and being rather crabby most of the day and needing to be constantly held. He did well with grandma on Friday, but we were feeling the effects of him being out of his routine the day before while we were at this pool party. We got to socialize with friends and Ryan and Stephen got to spend hours in a pool with some other kids so it was a nice evening out for all.
Sunday we had Mike's company work picnic. It's something we look forward to every year (this is our third year going). It's a great family event. They have planned activities all through out the day. Good food, games for the kids, rides for the kids (go carts, scrambler and inside there was the Frogger and the teacups along with all kind of arcade games). They had a DJ playing music, someone doing face paintings, an inflatable bouncer for kids they even had pony rides though we didn't get to see the ponies. It was hot that day so we spent a good portion of the day in the arcade and indoor games area. The kids get so excited over getting thier tickets fromt hje arcade machines and spend what seems like forever trying to pick out just the right prize.
The big surprise of the day was seeing Trevor on the spinning tea cups. Ryan wanted to go on and daddy was leaving to go with Ryan for the ride. Trevor started crying when daddy left us to and I thought he was just wanting to be with daddy. He does get upset if one of us parents leaves even if it is just into the next room. He still has seperation issues at times. But he just was watching the ride so intently that I began to wonder wonder if maybe he wanted to go onthe ride so I got in line and waited our turn. He just loved the teacups. The spinning and whirling around did not bother him at all. I was also impressed with both of my sensory kids as the noise and flashing lights didn't seem to be much of a bother to them at all this day!
Other highlights of the day was when Stephen won the "cover all" kids bingo game (got 25.00). Mike got an employee gift - a $50.00 gift card for Walmart (they pick several names out of all employees in attendance and give various gifts - so you always have a decent chance to get a gift). We had ice cream, the kids went in the inflatable bouncer (TREVOR LOVED IT), we played bingo, the kids went on the go carts, had ice cream. It was a tiring but fun family day!
What a weekend of fun in the sun, fun in the water, spinning on coasters and rides and lots of food! It just goes to show me that my kids are very well adjusted and have good coping skills for their sensory issues.
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