Two nights ago we took her to see Toy Story 3.  All day she knew that, if she was good, she would get to do something fun with just Mommy & Daddy.  I tell ya, it was quite the stretch for her to be so good.  The worst part was her not wanting to eat her dinner right before we were to leave.  Finally after chewing her chicken for an eternity it was time to go.

We told her on the way that we were going to see a movie.  Then we talked about the movie theater and told her the name of the movie.  She was pretty excited because she’s seen the other two movies a few times at home.

Although we had eaten dinner we had to get the obligatory soda and popcorn.  When I asked to see the sizes for the drinks I turned to Bill and asked, “Which size bucket would you like?”  I am still amazed that after selecting the medium bucket the dude asked us if we wanted to get the larger for just fifty cents more.  No thanks, if we wanted to be awake for a week we would have chosen that one to start with.  (Side note here: As we were walking toward the theater another guy, who purchased the large bucket-o-soda, went to pick up his bucket and it cracked down the side.  I tell ya, that large sure holds a big sticky mess. I kind of felt bad for him as we walked by.)

We got into the theater and Rylee was amazed at how big the screen was. In her words, “It is bigger than Papa!”  Since Papa seems to be the biggest person she knows this was a big deal.

She enjoyed the entire movie.  She sat there very focused and intense.  She didn’t really laugh at all because she was so intense.  After it was over we sat there and talked about it for a few minutes and she said she really liked it.  She also decided that she would like to see another movie with us sometime.

It was really great to have a night to experience something new with Rylee.  Now every time we drive by the theater she wants to know if we’re on our way to see another movie.  We told her that she needs to be nice to her family, not yell at Mommy, clean up when we ask her to and be good in general.  After all that she said to us, “That’s all?”  Um….yes that’s all, but to me it seems like a pretty tall order for a three year old. And a day after we told her that, it turns out that it is quite a tall order for her.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.  When we inflated it a week ago neither of them wanted to do anything other than splash their hands it.  Great.  I decided to keep it up in hopes that the ‘water baby’ in them would emerge. I was a water baby and was on swim team as a child, how can my kids not want to be in the pool?

Well tonight I told Bill I was going upstairs to put on my suit and get in.  Then we’d just wait and see what happened.  On my way back down the steps I met Rylee who said she was going to go put her swimsuit on.  YAY!!!  I got outside and Bill had just picked up Brynn and put her in the pool, dress and all.  She was having fun playing with the balls floating around.  In I went and Rylee soon followed.

The four of us had a great time for at least a half hour.  Rylee was hesitant to sit down, but finally did and had so much fun.  She was happy to be in the water and swimming.   She is now excited to go in after her nap tomorrow.

Mission accomplished.

]]> http://www.themafamily.net/2010/07/11/finally/feed 1 http://www.themafamily.net/2009/06/10/a-day-at-knoebels http://www.themafamily.net/2009/06/10/a-day-at-knoebels#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:17:03 +0000 Diane http://www.themafamily.net/?p=608 Continue reading →]]> On Monday we spent the day at Knoebel’s Grove.  My parents like to take their grandchildren there each summer for a day of fun.  It is something my grandparents did for us when we were kids.  I love that my parents have chosen to continue such a fun tradition.

I didn’t know how much Rylee would like the kiddie rides, turns out I had nothing to worry about.  She had an absolute blast!  Her favorite ride of the day was the Whip.  Her first time on she sat with Evan.  They two of them were a complete gigglefest at each turn.  They were even brave enough to put their hands in the air just before the turn.  There is nothing better than hearing your child give an all out big laugh.  Take this times two and Bill & I laughed the entire time they were on the ride.  So did my dad and anyone else who watched them with us. 

I think her second favorite thing to do was to play in the ball pit.  Now, I don’t think I’d let her play in one at a restaurant, but here it’s very well protected.  Rylee had a great time diving backwards into the balls.  Both her and Evan would do this and their little bellies would pop out of their shirts.  It had all of us giggling while watching and taking photos. 

The weather was somewhat cooperative.  The temp wasn’t too high, but the humidity was.  So we traded a cloudy day for humidity.  At least we didn’t have any sunburn as a result.  With this and no nap I have to say that Rylee was wonderful.  She didn’t get cranky till we were waiting for dinner to be served.  Not bad for a two year old at all.

We finished our day at the park with everyone riding the train and the carousel.  This is a tradition that my parents kept from when my grandparents took us.  It’s a fun time as these days we take up almost the entire train.

This was Brynn’s first trip and we realized that Rylee was also three months old when she had her first trip to Knoebel’s.  Brynn rode the same two rides as Rylee did two years ago: the train and carousel.  We have to start them out on a mild ride.  They get to choose how wild things get at a future visit.

Thanks Bobbie & Papa for a wonderful day of family fun!

You can see all the photos from the day here.