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So to celebrate the kids and I went to Valleyfair yesterday.....well not really, we already had it kinda planned. Since the kids had a rough weekend, they had to spend Sat. and Sunday "home alone" for 5 hours each day. Both Steve and I worked, and we didnt' have anyone to watch the kids, or more like we wait too long to ask someone. I guess we have subconsciously decided it's "ok" for the kids to be home alone, as we didn't have any other choice and it just kinda happened. I called them every hour from work, and made sure they were good. It is more stressful working knowing I left my kids home. It's happened several times now, for an hour or so until grandma Barb could get there, but 5 hours was a different story. It all worked out this weekend ok, but the kids were getting antsy being cooped up in the house all day for 2 days.
I decided Monday we'd go do something fun. Valleyfair is what the kids decided. Kids have never been there and I was only there once about 13 years ago, the first summer I lived in MN, I decided I needed to see and do some of the MN fun spots...as I took in The MN Zoo, State Fair and Valleyfair that summer with my parents.
We had a fun day. First got there about 11:30. Hannah got lucky and was about 1/2 inch too short, so she got to pay the junior price, which was half price. I also had a coupon for $7 off, the tickets for Bailey and I. We first played mini golf, something familiar to us, as the rollercoasters towered over us. We got a drink and rested a bit in the AC after golf.
Bailey then wanted to play a 3 point shoot out game we passed, he had 40 sec. to shoot and make as many 3 point shots. He only made one, but gave it a good effort and had fun, he was hoping to win a cool jersey or basketball they had, but got a stuffed monkey. (which he kinda likes, by the way)
We continued on and went right into the section with all the games. Kids wanted to do them all, they love carnival type games. We ate lunch first and then I went broke in the game section and we just had to quit. Hannah won a moneky, cheetah, and care bear and Bailey also got a cheetah, along with his monkey and a ball. Luckily I had brought our big stroller for Hannah, and had a place for all of the stuff in the bottom of the stroller.
Then we headed to the water park. We were all hot, although it was a beautiful day it was hot in the sun. We spent about 2 hours in the water park. Hannah was not liking the water, she said it made her cold. She hates to be splashed, doesnt' like waterslides, and too young for everything else. So I forced her to go on the lazy river. First she said no. But becasue she was that 1/2 inch too short she had to wear a life jacket, and this made her feel more comfortable and we got her a tube as well. We started down the lazy river, but apparently you had to have your feet on the tube somehow, she was just in the center with her feet on the bottom. We tried every position with her and the tube was just too big for her to be comfortable, she is just at the boardline size, not quite big enough. It was a challenge to try to get her on the tube half way into the moving river water, which is why we gave up. So she ended up riding with me on my lap on my tube. She liked that so much, later we came back and did the lazy river again.
Bailey also got to try one of the water slides. He has been on some before and he didn't care he had to do it alone, because I didn't want to leave Hannah. He went back up to do it a 2nd time, and they sent everyone back down because the pump wasn't working right.
He was also just under the height requirement to do the rapids tube water slide. We had 2 lifeguards measure him, one said she thought he was close enough, to ask the other lifeguard. The other one said that he was too close, that he had to go be officially measured at the lifeguard station. They ran this bar over his head and it cleared his head just bearly and they said it has to touch his head for him to be able to ride. He was bummed. Well anyway we got cooled down for a bit. Kids are just not at the right age and/or height for some of that stuff. I remember as a kid we rode down the water slides the first few times with a parent, they dont' let you do that anymore and just have to be a certain height. So little kids can't even do it.
Bailey coming off the water slide
We changed and headed out of there and made it over to the kid rides. My kids are not much for spinning rides, but we all decided to go on this hot air balloon ride that goes in circles. At least it wasn't a long ride, cuz we all were getting dizzy. After that they really didnt' want to go on anything else that goes in circles and that's mostly what all the kids rides do. So we continued on, and needed to eat again, as Bailey never did eat lunch, and I was worried about him. So in all of the excitment of the day we found a Pizza and Grill restaurant that he finally agreed to eat at. Stopped in there and ate, kids loved the pizza, which Hannah is not a big pizza person. I felt better that Bailey ate and drank a bunch. We then went a little further and found the Kid Works section, where they had a Foam Ball Factory. We were in one of these a few years ago at Six Flags Great America. Kids had a blast then and I think even more so this time. I took a gazillion pictures of them having fun in there, which only a picture can tell you what a foam ball factory is. It was fun to watch all the action too. They wouldn't leave, and I didnt' bug them to leave until we were in there for 2 hours!!!
After the ball factory we took the train ride round trip, which it wasn't a long ride at all, Valleyfair isn't nearly as big as Great America.
kids on the train
We planned on getting back to the Imax movie, called "Wild Oceans", but took too long in the ball place...uuggh. I wanted to see it, but the kids didn't seem to interested.
We made it to the Antique Cars and Hannah really wanted to go on these, in fact she was insistant. Bailey really didn't want to, so we went back and forth, kind of arguing what to do next. Bailey decided he wanted to go on "The Wave", and he only hesisited because he didnt' want to go alone. He really really wanted to go on it, so he finally did by himself, while Hannah and I drove the anitque cars (they were right across from each other). I was bummed I wouldnt' be able to see him come down. It's a big boat that goes up around, and DOWN, with a big splash, and then you stand on the bridge and get more wet than on the ride itself. Hannah loved driving the cars, ( I did the gas pedal), and she kept saying, I'm a good driver, right? She did awesome and felt proud to drive.
Hannah driving the antique cars
We came off the cars and there was Bailey standing...... SOAKED!! He loved the ride, and wanted to do it again, (not too much of a line), but he said the water(?) hurt this scrape he had on his leg too much to do it again. Oh well he was wet enough.
The ride Bailey just went on, and I missed him coming down, so I just took his picture by it, as he was soaked.
After that we pretty much were back to the front again and headed into the souvineir shop and the kids picked soemthing out and we left for the night at about 8:15pm. Bailey needed to get his wet shoes and socks off and the AC in the shops made him freezing. We had a good time and the kids said it was really fun and Bailey really wants to go back (maybe without Hannah this time):) We really didn't do many rides, but took in the whole atmosphere this time, and spent most of the time there in the water park and foam ball factory.
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