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Friday, July 30, 2010

I'm still not a roller coaster person, BUT . . .


The Izatt Family Reunion Lagoon Trip 2010 was still verrrry fun!!


We had such a fun time with Chuck's family camping and going to Lagoon last year that we convinced his parents (not a tough job) that we needed to go back this year. They very generously invited Quinn to come as well.

Here we are getting ready to depart from Boise. I will freely admit that Chuck, Clyde, Will, and I are all wearing Star Wars shirts intentionally to coordinate (Clyde's is hard to see, but it's definitely Yoda on there), but we did not anticipate Quinn also wearing his Star Wars shirt. Oh, the dorkiness.

We all squeezed in the car for the drive down to Utah. Five people + a double stroller + a tent and other camping supplies = a tightly packed station wagon. Kudos to my Tetris-trained husband for making it all fit!!
(And honorable mention to ME who packed amazingly lightly for the first time in my life).

The drive was pretty uneventful; the backseat gang watched 'Monsters and Aliens' and 'Star Wars Episode I'. Chuck and I traded off driving and cursed the construction... stupid orange barrels!

But we made it safe and sound and met up with the family for dinner.
Our large group required a bit of waiting before we got a table, er tables :). Luckily there were lots of cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents to play with while we waited.

After dinner we headed to the campground to get settled in for the night. Our new tent proved to be plenty spacious and comfortable, yay!
Quinn seriously just fell into bed, no pajamas, no sleeping bag. Goof.

This is how my boys started out the night - sooo cute, right? Somehow we woke up the next morning with Will in my sleeping bag and Clyde and I sharing his blanket... gotta love it.

Then it was time for Lagoon, hooray!
We slowly gathered everyone together for a big family picture before heading into the park and splitting off into smaller groups. . .

Here we are, all nineteen of us - definitely a bigger group with a much better adult to kid ratio when compared to last year :). Here's the breakdown: two grandparents (Mom and Pops), four adult children (Melissa, Chuck, Lee, and Amanda) and their spouses (Kevin, Jana, Aleesha, and Steve, respectively), one random kid (Quinn), one cousin (Alli), and seven and a half kids (Mallory, Courtney, George, Clyde, Lily, Will, Bri, and Lee and Aleesha's baby-to-be).

And then it was time for rides! Chuck and Clyde came prepared with a list of rides that Clyde was tall enough to ride - and with reeeeal good posture, Will as well. Thankfully Quinn was there to be the second accompanying adult so that I could safely watch from the sidelines and photograph the fun. As I learned last year, grown-up Jana does NOT like roller coasters/spinning rides/going up in the air/etc. Although I guess I needed a reminder, because I attempted the 'Flying Aces' ride (pretty mild, you go around in an airplane and use the 'sail' to control your direction a bit) and almost died. Seriously, I came very close to throwing up and spent the next half-hour lying down on a bench.

Will, on the other hand, LOVED all the crazy rides - here he is with Quinn on the Tilt-A-Whirl. He was not a fan of waiting in line (shockingly) and cried while waiting for most of the rides. We're pretty sure other Lagoon patrons thought we were horrible people and forcing an unwilling child to go on the rides, but as soon as he was buckled in the tears were replaced by a huge smile and he chanted, 'Ready, GO!'

Clyde and Chuck - two peas in a pod. I'm honestly not sure which of them was more excited about Lagoon.

Chuck and Quinn were able to do a couple of the real big rides, as well, including Wicked and the Rocket - both Blast Off and Re-entry (pictured).

Will and Chuck gearing up for the Jumping Dragon.

Clyde and Quinn. My brother's a nud.

The boys checked out a couple of the kiddie rides; brothers make the best co-pilots!

I was sooo excited for Lagoon-A-Beach, but apparently I angered the weather gods somehow, because as soon as we changed into our swimsuits and stepped into the water, the hot July sun disappeared behind a mess o' dark clouds. We braved the lazy river (joined by Courtney!) for a bit before admitting defeat and racing for our towels. We ate lunch (Chuck's mom and sisters packed a wagon with lunch fixings, so smart!) and attempted to wait out the chill.

Aren't their little water shoes sooo cute? We gave up waiting for the sun to reappear and headed back out to the main park. Approximately fifteen minutes later, the clouds dispersed and it got about twenty degrees hotter. Just my luck :).

We spent the afternoon wandering around and riding more rides. At one point we heard our names shouted from above and looked up to see . . .
Mallory and Melissa high in the sky!

The whole family reconvened at the campsite for some dinner around six.
We eagerly ate delicious pulled pork sandwiches (Chuck's selection) and chatted about our favorite rides and adventures thus far.

We also officially celebrated the three birthdays that happily coincided with the trip - Pops', Lee's, and Bri's. Happy birthday!!

Lily and Will found some fun in a bucket of ice water. Cute cousins!!

After dinner we returned to the park for a couple more hours of rides.
I love this picture because it looks like Quinn is riding solo :). I promise Will is there next to him, though!

While some of the big 'kids' went to ride Wicked, I hung out with George, Clyde, and Will. First up were the bumper cars, which all three boys loved.

Next we hit up the merry-go-round . . . three times in a row :).

George and Clyde were sooo excited that the 'spinney thing' was available for them. Funny thought: at one point as we were walking around they got a little too far ahead so I called after them, "George!! Clyde!! Come back!" and I realized that people probably thought I was calling after two eighty-year-old men :).

Amanda had the most excellent idea to gather the whole family together for an Izatt family Bumper Cars War. The four youngest kids were too little, and Aleesha and Pops sat out with them, but the rest of us buckled up and prepared for impact.

Courtney and I chose cars right next to each other and made a pact not to go after each other. I knew several family members were gunning for me (cough, Kevin, cough, Quinn, cough, Chuck), so I had to get as many allies as possible :).

My cute husband! It was definitely fun, and the only reeeeeally hard bump I felt came from a random non-relative, so it's all good :).

We all sleepily climbed into our tents that night and packed up camp the next morning.

We had a GREAT time - thanks again Mom and Pops!! (photo stolen from Aleesha's facebook :) ).

4 comments:

Izzy said...

HELLO!

very fun. very fun.

Leslie said...

Looks like a great time! We're thinking Lagoon next summer for our one "non-family" trip.

Sam and Terri said...

I'm with you. No roller coasters for me either. Nothing stirs up pregnancy nausea like being jostled and spun around on a roller coaster. Looks like so much fun!

Holly Cameron said...

I love this Lagoon tradition. So cool. I lovvvve the nerdy star wars picture at the beginning of the post. Awesome.