Six Flags

Man, oh man. It's been good to get away for the last two days. Leave all the stress and worries and State College to head to "friendlier skies"....

Yesterday, the kids and I drove down to DC and picked up Ethan from school. We drove a half hour or so to Annapolis, found a great hotel with a fantastic pool, got a great sleep, and this morning, headed to Six Flags in Baltimore. Like I've said before, there's nothing like having all four of the kids back together again. It reminds me how much I absolutely adore them all. If I had had siblings, I would hope that we would have loved each other like my kids do--such camaraderie, such loyalty, such fun.

The park was great--small crowds, short lines and fantastic roller coasters. However, I loved just being with the kids. I swear someone could throw us in the pit of despair and my kids would find a way to have a good time.

First, I always love seeing the boys together again. They grew up as best friends and continue to be best friends. We showed up super early at the park so that we could race to the good roller coasters and not have to wait in line for too long. While waiting to enter the park, practically every good top-40 song came over the sound system. The boys didn't miss a chance to chime in (as they always do, and which people never believe when they see it). Here it is, nine seconds of a song that is sarcastically being enjoyed, caught in the moment:



And of course, Markie-Boy, can never pass up a moment to pose with a super hero. Anybody remember when all he would wear were his Batman clothes, socks, shoes, cape and mask?








Second, like John, the boys have no problem at all being spontaneous. They jumped out of a line for a ride to jump into line dancing. Notice all the other people that have been practicing the dance, and notice the boys, no practice, just knowing what to do:



Glad to see that all those hip hop lessons for Mark have paid off! I know that if and when Mark reads this post and sees his dancing, he will comment on his freakishly long, gangly body. He only discovered that he has one this morning when he saw himself in the full body mirror at the hotel. :-) He also enjoyed seeing all his "brothas from another motha" to see how real "black men" dress and take detailed mental notes. I can't wait to see the embodiment of his learning over the next few days.

Finally, our family sticks together. Johannah suffers in heat. Like my mother, she would prefer the temperature to stay below 60 degrees most of the year, and even then she's warm. So, when we passed a "YOU WILL GET SOAKED" ride, she jumped in line. The rest of us were rather enjoying the burning of our skin and the sweating of our pores and didn't want to cool off, so we waited outside for her. Lucky us, there just so happened to be "water blasters" at the beginning of the ride--contraptions that take your quarter and allow you one arching, large SQUIRT at an oncoming boat. How many blasters were there, you might ask? Four. How many of us waiting for Johannah? Four. A quick change for a dollar and we were set! Oh man, it couldn't have been planned any better. She was facing us when Ethan yelled a hearty "FIRE ONE!!". We then perfectly timed the subsequent shots so that she got doused before the ride had really even begun. :-) I felt bad for her, having to explain to her fellow riders why they were already wet too!

Then, my favorite part of any trip happened on the way home. The three kids either fell asleep or were watching a movie, and I had three hours of uninterrupted conversation with Ethan. Topics ranged from his upcoming mission, girls, school, girls, our trip to Utah, girls, marriage, girls. I wish I could bottle up those moments and listen to them in my old age. It reminds me that we are indeed the best of friends.

When I planned this trip, I had no idea of the events in my life that would precede it. Truly, this trip turned out to be a tender mercy of the Lord.