Summer Fun / Terrror

The boys are back in school now. But before they went, we decided to squeeze in some last minute summer fun.

Our neighborhood has an Annual Labor Day Picnic in the commons area. This year there were some additional categories of fun: Men's Cake Decorating Contest, Pie Baking Contest, and Children's Cookie Contest. We entered something in every category.

Rick made the cake below using one of his mother's recipes. My nephew, Nick, decorated the cake. I thought for sure they would win first place....but not this year. Isn't their cake interesting? In case you can't tell what is on that cake...I'll tell you...a golf ball, a golf tee, a TV remote, a flashlight, screws, bolts, batteries, drill bits and a screw driver. It was put on 4 Woodworking magazines and then C-clamps were used to bolt it to the table. Cute ay?

I entered a low cal key lime pie. It took first place. Don't be too impressed please....there were only two pies entered. LOL

Aaron and Zach's cookies are to the upper right. They made sugar cookies and they looked just like a 5 and 6 year old made them. Very sweet indeed.

The Sunday prior to Labor Day we took the boys and my nephew, Nick to "Cedar Point Amusement Park, Roller Coaster Capital of the World." There is a story here....when isn't there a story?

Nick is 14 and he had his first summer job this summer. He took several classes and worked hard all summer. With school looming he was feeling the stress. I asked my sister if I could take him to Cedar Point for a day of fun to remind him that being a kid is about fun too....not just hard work. She hesitated thinking it might not be fun for a 14 year old to go to Cedar Point with a 5 and 6 year old. I assured her there would be lots of opportunities for Nick to have 14 year old fun too.

Rick, Nick, and Aaron rode the log ride and got soaked. Zach was too little but he stood on the bridge while the boat splashed down into the water and he got totally and completely soaked. He was laughing and squealing the entire time.

Mommy barely squeezes into the Jr. Gemini for a coaster ride with the boys.

On the subject of roller coasters. Riding a roller coaster is next to sucking on a poison dart in my book of things to do. I might rather walk on busted glass....honestly. I hate them and always have. They terrify me. So when I invited Nick I thought Rick would ride them with him and I would take the boys to Camp Snoopy. Those good plans went right into the toilet. Rick rode the Tilt-A-Whirl with the boys and got sick. He did not want to ride another ride all day. Where does that leave Nick? This kid needs fun....I sware I only rode those ugly beasts out of the love for my nephew. I was there at his birth (his brother, Stephen, too) and I love them dearly and I guess this is my way of not letting him down.....I was tortured several times during the day.

This is the Power Tower:
"You can't miss Power Tower: four 240-foot-tall towers topped with connecting arches. Two of the towers blast riders UP, while two will thrust riders DOWN -- all in 3 seconds at more than 50 mph!"

I'm afraid to say I rode this very gruesome ride. I had my choice of being ripped up into the air or dropped down. I let Nick choose. We were taken up, up, up into the sky....dangled for 30 seconds....then dropped completely to the ground. Yes I hated it....but I have to admit it ended rather quickly and the pain passed just as quick. I survived....barely.

(the following pix were all "borrowed" from www.CedarPoint.com.

This is the Wicked Twister
"It's the tallest and fastest double-twisting impulse coaster in the world. It's two twisting towers reach a height of 215 feet and the coaster careens down the track at a top speed of 72 mph." Yes I did this too.


Top Thrill Dragster-
"Keep Arms Down, Head Back, and Hold On!"

"Get ready for the ride of your life. This amazing speed machine is one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters on Earth. Climb aboard unique dragster-style trains and inch forward to the starting line. The engine revs. Your heart pumps. The tree lights count down to green and you're launched to speeds of 120 mph in less than 4 seconds.

The rides just getting started as you climb 420 feet into the air, crest a massive hill and spiral 270 degrees as you speed towards the finish line. The entire experience is over in 17 seconds."

I got in line to ride this with Nick and it was closed (Glory!!!). Nick kept saying it only lasts 17 seconds you'll be fine. Those would have been the longest 17seconds of my life. I'm so glad I did not have to ride that one. Nick rode it later in the day...two times and once sitting in the front!!! Can you say, "INSANE?"

Millennium Force
"Consistently voted the "Best Steel Coaster in the World," Millennium Force broke TEN world records when it opened in 2000.

Riders climb the 310-foot-tall lift hill smoothly and quickly and dive towards the earth at an 80-degree angle at speeds of 93 mph! It's all speed and airtime as Millennium Force hugs the ground, climbs onto an island and twists and turns as it flies towards the station."

Yes I rode that too!! The next one as well :(

Magnum XL-200
History. Thrills. A True Legend.
"Magnum opened in 1989 as the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world at 205 feet tall with top speeds of 72 miles per hour."

Please, Please, Please click HERE and just sit back and take a minute to share my experience. I'd like to say that was all Nick did that day....but no....he did other things that were simply unbelievable.

Typically an applique pattern frightens me.....not any more baby. I'm so glad to be alive I might just try any pattern now.

Smiles,

Kelly