30-Before-30 #23 Ride a Roller Coaster and let go of the Bar

Ok...so a little back ground here....I only rode my first roller coaster 11 years ago on my honeymoon.  It freaked me out at the time (and looking back it really wasn't that spectacular of a roller coaster)

Since then, Michael and I have ridden any roller coaster we have had the opportunity to go on...slow, fast, twirling, upside down...ect....But I hadn't had the courage to let go of the bar.

Of course I've always known that I'd be fine if I let go, because tons of people on these roller coasters ride with their arms in the air while I cling on for my dear life :-)  So I made it one of my 30-before-30, in hopes that it would motivate me to let go.

So while on vacation last week, we spent an entire day at the Mall of America amusement park.
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Which is called Nickelodeon Universe
So I decided to start easy, and my first roller coaster of the day was this one...the PEPSI® ORANGE STREAK I got on this ride and raised my hands in the air the whole time...even on the slow stuff...because well I wanted to 100% pass this 30-Before-30 goal!

Yay I did it, another 30-Before-30 DONE!!!!!

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We then rode the other roller coasters at the park (and all the rides that were not babyish)....however I didn't initially have the courage to let go...till near the end of our time there. Finally on the LOG CHUTE  I let go of the sides and plunged into the watery spray.  That was lots of fun!  (side note, I've been to this amusement park twice now, and the Log Chute is by far my favourite!!!)
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Finally on our 2nd to last ride of the day, a ride we had taken countless times throughout the day.  My friend Heather and I decided to raise our hands half way through the ride...it was so much fun, that we got back on for one final time, raised our arms before taking off, and only put them down when the ride ended!!! It was awesome, and a major adrenalin rush!  So here's the twisty twirly ride (very similar to one at the West Edmonton Mall) The FAIRLY ODD COASTER 
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PS....  We also rode this ride...all my kids were tall enough to get on this one, and they all went on it...including my 6 year old... this ride was a blast!!!!!   Especially for my 8 year old thrill seeker Happy!  This is called the AVATAR AIRBENDER  
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Excited to have accomplished this goal

Melodiejoy

30-Before-30 #7 Go on an Awesome Family Vacation

Wow were we ever due for a Family Vacation, we hadn’t had one in a really long time.

We started our journey by doing a 17 hour drive (all in one day) with 7 people (3 adults, and 4 children) cramped in our minivan all the way to Austin, Minnesota.

After getting a good night’s sleep we began our relaxation time.

Some of the many activities we did during our time off included:

• Visiting the local YMCA for swimming
• Playing countless games of Killer Bunnies with our great friends Dean and Heather
• Explored the SPAM Museum (yes you read that correct)  This was actually a very fun museum with lots of interactive displays. (and it also is a Storm Shelter Area) ~ yes that is a wall of SPAM cans :-)
  
  
• Playing Connect (for the very first time) at our amazing friends Sarah and Troy’s house
• Visiting Faith Baptist Bible College to see another awesome friend who gave us a full campus tour, and the kids ran off some steam on the campus grounds
  
  
• Spent an entire day at the Mall of America’s amusementpark
  
  (more about this in an upcoming post)
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• Worshipping with the church family in Austin, Minnesota
• Built an impressively tall tower out of full individual milk cups with a good friend Ian at Perkins
• Unknowingly chatted with 3 NBA players
• Ate at countless delicious restaurants (no calorie counting this past week)

We needed to end our vacation a day early due to the passing of a godly man from New Brunswick.  So we headed home ~ taking 2 days to do the long journey this time.  We stopped mid way at an impressively wonderful hotel, where we enjoyed swimming and hot tubing.

The next morning we awoke early and hit the road for home. About the time we were nearing the Canadian border we drove into horrendous weather ~ this is really as good as the visibility got from this point on. 

We drove slowly and carefully and arrived safely home late Saturday night. We then awoke early the next morning to enjoy a day of fellowship with our dear church family.

Thanking God for a memory packed vacation
with our family and friends

Melodiejoy

If You Homeschool...

If you are a homeschool Mom, I'm sure that you can relate to this photo :-)

Photo Credit

Loving enjoying the crazy lifestyle of a homeschool family

melodiejoy

30-Before-30 #5 Take Happy on a Mother-Daughter Outing

Saturday night, left me with the opportunity to take my precious little "Happy"" on a Mother-Daughter outing. 

Happy and I went to our absolute favourite store (Wal-Mart) and explored a variety of departments.  Happy donned her special flashing lights sunglasses for the entire shopping trip.  (she looked some cute (and silly) with these on)  We spent lots of time in the toy department, pushing buttons on random toys, and examining some interesting, and some strange toys  ~We are really not even sure why some of those toys are even made???

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But because my little girl is growing up, we actually spent the majority of our time in the shoe department.  Happy enjoyed being able to explore all the options of shoes that she dreams of owning someday.  We laughed at some peculiar shaped, coloured, and designed shoes. 

We ended our visit at the store, by exploring the children’s clothing department.  Now this turned into a rewarding experience.  Happy being the youngest of the 3 girls in our home rarely gets “new” clothing because most things are hand-me-downs.  But on this trip she had the opportunity to try on a buy something just for herself.  She picked herself out an adorable swimsuit, and thoroughly enjoyed the “dressing-room” experience (something I’m really not sure if she’s ever done before).  Happy wore a massive smile during this alone time with Mom.  I too really enjoyed this quiet opportunity to chat alone with Happy, and learn even more about her innermost desires.  She really is as precious little girl J

As we were on our way home, Happy exclaimed to me that she loved her shopping time with Mom, and asked if we can do it alone again sometime ~ so I know that she enjoyed it.  With 4 kids even a couple hour trip to Wal-Mart alone, can turn into a memorable experience for them.

treasuring our quiet conversations

melodiejoy