Rollercoastering!!

Our family loves amusement parks. If we ever had enough money to take a serious vacation, we would rent an RV and go roller coastering across America!

For now though we will have to settle for short trips in California...Six Flags, Disneyland, Great America. And we all love it!  Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is only about an hour away from us.  We all have season passes and a parking pass and we use them as often as we can!

Yesterday we went to Strawberry Kingdom (yes, the name is actually Discovery Kingdom but the 4 year old has renamed it...we now all call it Strawberry Kingdom...we are not sure why!).  And it was, as usual...AMAZING!!

Everyone had the normal wonderful good time...lots of rides and laughing and running around.  A couple of shows & a look at the elephants (my personal favorite!).

This time, Hailey tried Medusa. For those of you that have never been there...it is a huge roller coaster. The biggest that they have...with lots of upside down flips and twists and turns.  She has never been on this one before but she wanted to try it.  So she was able to choose which adult was going to go with her...Mommy (yes, I am her favorite and have been known to say things like, "you don't have to fight over how wonderful I am" to the girls when they are battling for who I will ride with) or Bum (my hubby's name is Tim but she can't say her Ts so she has called him Bum for years!! ha ha ha...).

Of course she is going to choose me.  Of course!!...WRONG!  I think I actually gasped!

She chose Bum!

So I tried to put on a happy face (even though I was going to have to sit out the biggest roller coaster so I could stay with the 4 year old...who is still 8 inches too short to go on it)...and I watched her run off into the ride line (or exit since she gets to skip the line)...and then I stood under the ride watching her go up the giant incline in the huge seat with her little tiny feet sticking out...Oh my she looked so little.

And I was scared.  Normally I am sitting next to her so I feel a little more in control, even though I am not.  So when I waited for them to come out of the exit, I expected her to be all tears...So...

She comes running out of the exit, with her 15 year old brother on one side and his 15 year old buddy on the other side of her, holding their hands...LAUGHING!!  My hubby was trailing behind (apparently it is way uncool to hold the hand of your step dad or any adult for that matter at an amusement park) laughing himself.  So apparently she kept signing and saying more and was so excited and had the best time!

It was such a typical child moment for her that I am so glad that we are able to give her. With all of the challenges that she faces..all of the therapies and the stares and the frustration that she gets...Amusement parks are a place that she loves where it doesn't really matter that other kiddos stare at her or people ask about her disorder...It is a place where she could care less because her only goal is to get to the next rollercoaster, to the next ride, to the next show.  Her only goal is to laugh with her family.  It is one of the only places that having a disability like hers actually has an advantage...for her and for her siblings.  She never has to wait in line.

And that just gives her more time to go on more roller coasters and have more fun!!