Recently with the end of summer and the beginning of school coming close, I decided to take the kids to Nashville shores Water Park. We don’t go every year so it’s a treat when we do. I found I got a pretty good discount through Vanderbilt for the tickets.I loaded up my 2 boys, Jon, Jr., Cory, and Olivia. We arrived around noon. The place closed at 6 so I told them we were staying the whole time. Of course if anyone had seriously whined we would have left early.
The kids were all amazing. They took turns riding with each other so that anyone who wanted to go down a certain slide had a chance to do that. They waited on each other so that no one was alone. They were nice to Olivia. Not always the case with an all boy group.
Jon and Matthew always almost always get along great. Jon was amazing with Matthew on this day. Picture the youngest boy, the child that weighs the least, pulling Matthew up on an inflated toy in the lake. Matthew’s life jacket kept floating up around his ears, making it hard to pull himself up out of the water. Jon would stop what he was doing and pull his hardest to help Matthew.
On one of the trampolines in the water there was an adult who was nice enough to let several kids climb on his shoulders and on the trampoline. Matthew was too big for this. So the adult pushed while Olivia and Jon pulled. He was finally able to get up and jump! It was so sweet to watch.
I found out Jr. is a lot like my oldest child and my mother. When he was on a slide you knew it! You could hear him talking and screaming the whole way.
Cory hit his head on one slide. It really scared me. Even the slide attendant said it sounded like a hard hit. When he first got off he looked shaken. I told him he probably needed to sit down a while and he was all for it. Until, everyone else decided they wanted to go back on the same slide. At that point he decided his head was fine and up the steps he went again.
There was no fighting during lunch. No one tried to order way more food or way more expensive food than anyone else. No one whined or fought the whole day.
Most people think it is hard to go anywhere with any children. Some even think I am crazy because I usually have lots of kids everywhere I go. Well I may be crazy, but I wouldn’t trade a day like this one for anything. I needed this day in a very big way. Thanks God.
Below is mom with the rest of us kids. I really have a hard time with group shots. I just feel like we are not complete now.
My dad loves chess. Most of the boys, and Ashley, have played at some point. Maybe Brette some also. This is Jon and Matthew debating what move is next.
Not sure what was funny but I loved this shot of Wanda with Annette and Jason.
Not sure why Jason got a kiss from Brittany, I think he was asleep.
