And where did I make this discovery?
Chuck's parents have been wanting to organize a family trip to Lagoon, and this past weekend it all came together. The bummer was that we picked the weekend so far in advance that friends of both of Chuck's sisters had time to pick the same weekend for their weddings, so they missed out on the amusement park fun. Fortunately we decided this should be a yearly trip, so we'll expect Melissa and Kevin (not just their kids!) and Amanda and Steve to be in attendance next year!
The timing did work out perfectly, however, to celebrate not one but three birthdays - Pops, Lee, and Bri were all born on July 17th!
Here are two of the birthday 'kids' :)
So we all drove to Utah on Friday and met at the campgrounds next to Lagoon.
Chuck got some help setting up our tent - I'm guessing that Pops was more useful than Clyde, though.
Ah, the wonderful camping pads. Sure, they took up so much room in the car that I was unable to see out my back window, but they made the two nights of camping MUCH more comfortable.
The babies of '08 were thrilled to reunite in Courtney and Mallory's tent.
Courtney and Clyde kept an eye on things from atop Pops' big blue truck.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and got ready to walk over to Lagoon.
Mallory and Courtney were all ready! Please note Mallory's cute braids, courtesy of Aunt Jana. That's about as complex as my hairstyling gets :)
There was also some important measuring to be done - we had to figure out what rides everyone could go on!
And some safety measures, of course, considering our group consisted of six adults and seven kids (four under three!). The older kids got slips of paper with my phone number on them for their pockets; the younger ones got my phone number in Sharpie right on their legs.
And then we were off!
My cute boys, all decked out in orange shirts and plaid shorts. I figured if Clyde or Will did got lost, we could just hold out the other one and say, "He looks just like this, only bigger/smaller."
Some last minute measuring at the gates - let the record show that Clyde is 36", meaning he can ride a lot of the 'bigger' rides as long as he's accompanied by an adult. So what ride do you think his responsible and loving parents would start him out on?
Surely not. The kid is only two (although almost three . . . ). Isn't it akin to abuse to send such a small child on a ride with this description:
Well, I hope not, because we did.
Going in . . .
. . . . coming out. He actually did pretty well, but had no desire to ride it again. So then it was off to calmer fare in Kiddieland.
Clyde and Will teamed up in some sort of gunner rocket ship.
Poor Will got the backwards seat, though.
At least on the airplane he was facing forwards! Still takes the backseat, though, this time to Lily.
Clyde loved that his car was red, like Lightning McQueen.
We spent the entire afternoon at Lagoon a Beach, which was perfect since it was SO hot that day. I'm pretty sure we went around the 'lazy river' at least ten times.
I even braved taking both boys at once so that Chuck could go on some of the water slides with Courtney. It was a little tricky since they both liked to lean over and splash in the water as we floated, but we made it.
Here are Courtney and I at the end of our water adventures, ready to go back to the 'dry part' of Lagoon, as she called it.
Mallory and Clyde took off in an army helicopter, which they both enjoyed.
Poor Courtney got stuck with Will, who was NOT a happy camper. He was the only baby who hadn't napped at some point during the day yet - can you tell?
So he was put back into the stroller to rest for a bit.
Clyde and George went to check out the boat ride - and yes, I left Clyde in his swimsuit. Will had to stay in his, since cousin Bri used his regular shorts as her swimsuit, and I figured it was easier to keep Clyde in them as well in case we went back to Lagoon a Beach.
Clyde liked the boats so much that he went again and again, and Will felt up to going along as well. Clyde's favorite color is still purple, so naturally this was his boat of choice each time.
It was pretty cute; each boy had a little steering wheel and they took turns ringing the bell.
Pops stayed busy holding Lily and Bri while the older kids went on rides.
My boys finally fell asleep in the stroller - don't worry, I reclined poor Will's seat immediately after taking this picture. Clyde only dozed for a few minutes, however, before his second wind kicked in. It was at this point that we headed back to camp for dinner before returning for a few more rides.
Like the merry-go-round! This was probably Clyde's favorite ride - Will didn't enjoy it as much, which is why I'm just holding him. Clyde picked the giraffe each time, even though it didn't go up and down.
Daddy's turn to accompany Clyde!
To end the evening, the whole group headed over to the Ferris wheel. In the end, Pops stayed down with an apprehensive George and a grumpy Will, but the rest of us went up.
Honestly, I mostly wish I had stayed on the ground with them. I hadn't been to Lagoon since I was eight or nine and I thought I remembered liking twisty, turny rides - at least the mild versions like the old white roller coaster. Maybe it's my advanced age, or the fact that I now have two children to live for, but I do NOT like them any more. Chuck and I went on the white one and I thought I was going to die. I hoped I was. I spent most of the ride clutching Chuck's shoulder and yelling into his ear, "Make it stop! I don't want to ride anymore! Help!"
Of course, some of my anxiety may have stemmed from the fact that this thing is like a hundred years old and feels pretty rickety . . . After we got off, Chuck somehow convinced me to try another ride called the Tidal Wave. It's not a roller coaster, just a ride where you sit in a big boat that rocks you front to back. It was horrible. I'm not proud to admit this, but I took to chanting a bad word every time we rocked downward. I felt sick for the next two hours.
Chuck, on the other hand, loves roller coasters. He was extremely excited to ride 'Wicked'.
This is part of Wicked.
These are some poor, poor riders on Wicked. Personally, I think it's aptly named since it is obviously OF THE DEVIL. But since his still-nauseous wife refused to accompany him, guess who Chuck found to ride Wicked with him?
Two of his cute nieces, of course! And they went more than once!
These are their scared faces :)
We all slept very soundly in our tents that night, and the next morning we packed up camp and ended our adventures with a delightful and delicious breakfast hosted by Amanda's fiance Steve's parents.
Thanks again for a fun Lagoon trip, Grandma and Pops - see you next year!
First things first: a long nap for both boys on the Love Sac!
Next up: wrestling in 'the pit'.
Clyde worked hard (for as long as his two-year-old attention span would allow) coloring the big 'Cars' posters that Grandma Pam brought.
Will prefered to find roly polies and squish them. Now, I don't like bugs in general, but roly polies seem so friendly and cute - and both of my sons delight in destroying them! Will prefers a hands-on method, while Clyde usually smashes them with chalk. Sigh.
Courtney, Heidi, and Sam multi-tasked by keeping an eye on the homemade ice cream and discussing the MCAT and medical school - Courtney's husband Ben, like Sam, is pre-med at BYU.
Terri, Will and Clyde found time to relax on the hammock (although I doubt Terri's really relaxing that much, taking care of two little boys is very tiring!)
Later they went on a rock climbing expedition.
Plenty of time was spent talking and eating, of course - hard to say what was better, the company or the food!
the pool! It's too chilly to swim during our regular April/October visits, so we were so excited to take our maiden voyage into the beautiful pool.
Between swimming lessons and swimming for fun, we've decided Clyde is quite a little fish; he loves to scoop his arms and kick his legs around the pool. He's even getting better about going all the way under.
Will and I enjoyed a leisurely float around the pool for a bit.
After dinner we got back into the pool and brought Heidi and Sam in with us as well. 
I like Sam's 'follow-through'.
Yeah, check out my face in this one; I was a little nervous. Before each launch, Chuck would ask Clyde, "More jumping or all done?" to which Clyde would enthusiastically reply "More jumping! 1-2-3, Go!" 
They eventually got more creative with style, too. 
Meanwhile, poor Will was stuck with Heidi and me playing a game called "Toss Will Back and Forth Without Letting Go of Him at All". Whatever, he liked it.
(Yes, Chuck and I are a little pink around the shoulders. We're usually pretty hardcore about the sunscreen but had neglected to reapply earlier in the day after we got out to eat lunch. Luckily it was pretty mild and we learned our lesson!)
And finally, let me take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday to Heidi, who turns 17 today. Heidi and I always have so much fun giggling ("This is our 'we're considering becoming professional models, so pass this along to any agents you know' shot" * "Oh, he must have been driving" * "See, this one is Pampers and this one is Huggies") and I absolutely adore her. Happy birthday Heid!
Here are two of the birthday 'kids' :)
Chuck got some help setting up our tent - I'm guessing that Pops was more useful than Clyde, though.
Ah, the wonderful camping pads. Sure, they took up so much room in the car that I was unable to see out my back window, but they made the two nights of camping MUCH more comfortable.
The babies of '08 were thrilled to reunite in Courtney and Mallory's tent.
Courtney and Clyde kept an eye on things from atop Pops' big blue truck.
Mallory and Courtney were all ready! Please note Mallory's cute braids, courtesy of Aunt Jana. That's about as complex as my hairstyling gets :)
There was also some important measuring to be done - we had to figure out what rides everyone could go on!
And some safety measures, of course, considering our group consisted of six adults and seven kids (four under three!). The older kids got slips of paper with my phone number on them for their pockets; the younger ones got my phone number in Sharpie right on their legs.
And then we were off!
My cute boys, all decked out in orange shirts and plaid shorts. I figured if Clyde or Will did got lost, we could just hold out the other one and say, "He looks just like this, only bigger/smaller."
Some last minute measuring at the gates - let the record show that Clyde is 36", meaning he can ride a lot of the 'bigger' rides as long as he's accompanied by an adult. So what ride do you think his responsible and loving parents would start him out on?
Surely not. The kid is only two (although almost three . . . ). Isn't it akin to abuse to send such a small child on a ride with this description:
Well, I hope not, because we did.
Going in . . .
. . . . coming out. He actually did pretty well, but had no desire to ride it again. So then it was off to calmer fare in Kiddieland.
Clyde and Will teamed up in some sort of gunner rocket ship.
Poor Will got the backwards seat, though.
At least on the airplane he was facing forwards! Still takes the backseat, though, this time to Lily.
Clyde loved that his car was red, like Lightning McQueen. 
I even braved taking both boys at once so that Chuck could go on some of the water slides with Courtney. It was a little tricky since they both liked to lean over and splash in the water as we floated, but we made it.
Here are Courtney and I at the end of our water adventures, ready to go back to the 'dry part' of Lagoon, as she called it.
Mallory and Clyde took off in an army helicopter, which they both enjoyed.
Poor Courtney got stuck with Will, who was NOT a happy camper. He was the only baby who hadn't napped at some point during the day yet - can you tell?
So he was put back into the stroller to rest for a bit.
Clyde and George went to check out the boat ride - and yes, I left Clyde in his swimsuit. Will had to stay in his, since cousin Bri used his regular shorts as her swimsuit, and I figured it was easier to keep Clyde in them as well in case we went back to Lagoon a Beach.
Clyde liked the boats so much that he went again and again, and Will felt up to going along as well. Clyde's favorite color is still purple, so naturally this was his boat of choice each time.
It was pretty cute; each boy had a little steering wheel and they took turns ringing the bell.
Pops stayed busy holding Lily and Bri while the older kids went on rides.
My boys finally fell asleep in the stroller - don't worry, I reclined poor Will's seat immediately after taking this picture. Clyde only dozed for a few minutes, however, before his second wind kicked in. It was at this point that we headed back to camp for dinner before returning for a few more rides.
Like the merry-go-round! This was probably Clyde's favorite ride - Will didn't enjoy it as much, which is why I'm just holding him. Clyde picked the giraffe each time, even though it didn't go up and down.
Daddy's turn to accompany Clyde!
To end the evening, the whole group headed over to the Ferris wheel. In the end, Pops stayed down with an apprehensive George and a grumpy Will, but the rest of us went up. 
Of course, some of my anxiety may have stemmed from the fact that this thing is like a hundred years old and feels pretty rickety . . . After we got off, Chuck somehow convinced me to try another ride called the Tidal Wave. It's not a roller coaster, just a ride where you sit in a big boat that rocks you front to back. It was horrible. I'm not proud to admit this, but I took to chanting a bad word every time we rocked downward. I felt sick for the next two hours.
This is part of Wicked.
These are some poor, poor riders on Wicked. Personally, I think it's aptly named since it is obviously OF THE DEVIL. But since his still-nauseous wife refused to accompany him, guess who Chuck found to ride Wicked with him?
Two of his cute nieces, of course! And they went more than once!
These are their scared faces :)
