Pictures, a Day at the Park, and Insights

I took the kids to Paramount's King's Dominion yesterday. We have season's passes, so we spend a huge chunk of every summer there. I've discovered that those passes are not only a great bargaining chip (Get your rooms cleaned, or we don't go!!), but also a great sanity saver (Sorry, I can't babysit your 5 kids for you, I promised to take my kids to the Park that day!).

It's not that I mind watching other kids, not at all. I just do it too often, then end up feeling resentful. It seems that when you have a full house, people end up thinking that you won't even notice another 3, or 5, kids hanging out. Granted, now that we live on the farm, having 10 acres helps out. I can send them all outside and write in peace. But often, I like to just load up my kids and go off on an adventure. I can't do that when I've got extra kids. We don't have enough seats in our van. Some of you remember the days when we had a 15 passenger van. We bought that one in 2002, because it seemed that I always ended up with extra kids, I mean EVERY DAY. And I hated being stuck at home. So Shane bought a BIG van, and that was ok for a while. But then, people really felt like it was no big deal to drop off their kids, so they could do things like spend a day alone with their spouse, or go grocery shopping, or get their hair done. Now, I like to go grocery shopping as much as the next girl, but it's considerably harder when you have 11 little tag-alongs. Days alone with my husband? Never happened. It's not easy finding someone willing to watch 6 kids, even though you watch their 3 at least 4 days out of the week, without pay. So when that big ol' van broke, we bought a Chevy Astro, It has 8 seats. It was MADE for us, really. Guess what the neighbor said. If you guessed "How are my kids going to fit in your new van?" you'd be correct. And Shane, with the sweetest smile possible, replied, "They aren't." Can I tell you how much I totally adored that man at that exact moment.

Anyhow, sorry for that little off-track story. Really, I wanted to post that picture up there. Those are the fabulous glasses I found at King's Dominion yesterday. It was just too funny to see them, since we were discussing the beautiful Flamingo over on HW/SW the past few days. The glasses were in one of those theme park stores that charge $3.25 for a bottle of Coke. No, I'm not exaggerating. That's more than it costs for a six-pack at the grocery store. It just infuriates me. But then again, we only live 15 minutes away now, so when the natives start getting restless for food, I just pack them up ans take them home. It's easy to feed them and let them rest, then head back to the park for a few hours. I'm totally loving being so close!

Yesterday was a very hard day at the Park for us though. My kids are growing up so fast. Gret and Michael don't even bother measuring themselves anymore, as they know they are tall enough for any ride. Jo has finally reached ORANGE band, which means she can also ride any ride. This is major for her, since we spent all last summer finding the perfect platform sandals to make her tall enough. Now she's there on her own. Shed a tear for me, ok? Mathew is PURPLE, one step below orange. It doesn't really matter. He's not a roller coaster kid, much like Michael. Neither of the boys really enjoy the coasters at all. Put them on the White Water Rapids and they're in heaven, but coasters? Not so much. Then there was my shock of the day. Maggie has reached GREEN band, a step below purple. I almost cried right there at the measuring station. She had a perma-grin all day. She's finally past the 'baby' rides, and can get on some of the coasters. And this kid LOVES the coasters. The bad thing is, Em is still a BLUE band, which means she's stuck on the kiddie rides. So while the "big" kids (which yesterday included Mags for the very first time) rode some of the "big" rides, she got to hang with mom. Kinda cool for me, but pretty boring for her.

That Park is like my reality check every spring. I can delude myself that they are all still babies during the year. Yes, I sometimes have to buy them bigger clothes, but really, I just drift along pretending that they will always be around. Then every spring, I'm forced to see how much they are really growing. Yesterday, when Jo was orange all by herself, without any help from her three inch sandals, it was hard. What was even harder was remembering when I'd bought those tall sandals for Gret. She needed them just a few years ago. Now, she doesn't even bother getting measured. She can almost look me in the eye.

When our children are born, the thought of at least 18 years with them in our home seems to stretch out endlessly. We think there will always be enough time to do the fun things. Enough time to teach them the important things. Enough time... Then one day, something happens. We look at them, really long and hard, we have to stop and count the years until they turn 18, and we realize that our time with them is growing very very small. Yes, I still have 13 years left with Em. But I only have 4 left with Gret. Four years left to teach her so many things. Four very short years. I'm so excited for her to be a grown up, to experience this world, to become her own woman. But at the same time, I am already missing her. Yes, if you could see me right now, I have tears in my eyes, I'm getting choked up, just thinking about it. It excites me, and terrifies me, and saddens me, all at once.

For now though, I'm going to enjoy these days that I have with all of my children. I am going to treat each day as the precious gift it is, for I know that it will never come again. Once the sun sets, once they close their eyes tonight, the day is gone forever. I don't get a mulligan in parenting. There are no do-overs. If I waste this day, it's just that - wasted.

There's one more thing that those King's Dominion passes give me - the chance to create wondeful memories with my children. And I'm going to take that chance again. And again. And again. So if you don't see me around here one day, don't worry. I'm probably at the Park, riding some rides with my babies. After all, in a few years, they will be way too cool to be seen there with me. I need to get in all the time I can with them now!

Oh yeah, had to add the pic of Baby and the HUGE flamingo they had for sale. Hey, it's only $650. Maybe I can save my pennies...