Great Adventure at Night

Last Friday, DH and I took the kids to Great Adventure at night time. The park is supposed to be less crowded after 4 p.m., but that is not always true. The place was bursting at the seams so the attractions were jam-packed  with incredibly long wait times.  DH is not the most patient man (thus the reason I never ever take him with me to the park in the first place) so we decided to walk around the park.

The only thing we did was to board the Skyride,where, of course, I was able to take some aerial shots of the park.  We stayed until the Glow in the Dark Parade was finished - 9:20 p.m.  I was fooling around with my camera settings to see if I could take better photos, but as you can see, I need to keep practicing a lot. These are the best of the bunch. Enjoy!

Gotham City/Batman Float (flow in the dark parade)

Batman (glow in the dark parade.)

Military Helicopter piloted by a female pilot. Shot from the skyride.

Ferris Wheel at Night; shot from the Skyride.

The park at night. Shot from the Skyride.

Parachutes at Night. Shot from the Skyride.

 

9778

Great Adventure at Night

New Look

After many months of waiting, Kay went back to the pediatric endocrinologist yesterday.  Since she last saw him in February she has grown 2 inches; she is now 56 inches tall and 74 pounds. 

While her height has been an issue, our main concern has been the onset of  precocious puberty. But according to the endocrinologist, it is not uncommon for some 9-year old girls to experience chest growth and show other signs of development.

At any rate, she has to have another bone scan to verify her bone growth age. She'll see the doctor again in 6 months and that will be the end of it.

She had her scan done today, and then I took her to get a haircut. She looks so cute!  She has thick, curly hair, which I straightened BEFORE I took her to get it cut.  The hairdresser took off 4 inches, then quickly straighten her hair again. She looks so grown up. Click on the image for a closeup.

9757

New Look

New to Me

I have what you might call an "eclectic" taste in music. Needless to say, my husband is completely baffled by my taste in music. He is quite content listening to the same type of music over and over and over and over again. Me, on the other hand, can't stand listening to the same thing for longer than an hour to save my life. I need variety, different rhythms, and quirkiness. I like artists that beat to the rhythm of their own drums and aren't mainstream. Which brings me to the reason for my post:

Yael Naim and Regina Spektor.

These 2 artists are seriously talented and rocking my senses. If you've never heard of them, below are videos featuring each. Enjoy!

9733

New to Me

Park, Rollerskating, Falling and Play Date

Hey, don't forget to take a photo of me!

The kids playing "Squish the Lemon."

Thistle

Wasp at the playground.

Kaylie's best friend, "Miss Kait" making a dirt cake.

O.K. Mama, you can take one more picture of me since you are lying down on the floor already.

I don't want to ride anymore!

Mama, what are these red spots?

Oh no! I've lost my balance.

Liam practicing skating with his inline skates. Watch me go!


Kaylie riding Liam's scooter.

I took the kids to Hainesport to ride their bikes, scooters and skates. Kaylie and Kaitlyn took turns riding the scooter. Liam just practiced skating. I walked around taking pictures...so what else am I to do? :)

This was the first time that Kaylie and Kaitlynn got together since school ended. Kaylie was super excited that she was going to have a super long play date with her. She was so excited that she couldn't sleep. It was 11:00 p.m. at night and she was having trouble sleeping. She got up at 7:00 a.m. to wait for her. Kaitlynn arrived at 7:30 sharp and stayed with us until 5:15 p.m. They were both happy to spend time with each other and I was happy that Kaylie and Liam weren't fighting like cats and dogs like they have been as of late.

I love the kids, but I am ready for them to go to school NOW. Unfortunately, school doesn't begin until Sept. 7. I am done shopping for school clothes and supplies. So now I can concentrate on planning my trip. :)
9700

Park, Rollerskating, Falling and Play Date

Safari/Hurricane Harbor

Baboons

Aoudad - barbary sheep

Australian Black Swan

Emu

Marabou Stork

East African Crowned Crane



Baby Giraffe

Asian Water Buffalo

African Elephant


Roosevelt Elk

Bisons

Rhea

I have gone to the safari so many times now that I only try to take photos of the animals that I haven't gotten in my many prior trips. I always enjoy driving around the safari to spot the animals.

On this day, which was a cool day, we also went to Hurricane Harbor. I didn't take any photos, we we went on the Taak it eez creek and the kids rode the TORNADO for the first time. I wanted to ride the tornado with them, but they only allow 2 people per tube, now. And those tubes are freaking heavy. The line leading up to the top of the ride is at an incline which makes carrying the tube difficult. It is a heavy tube designed to hold 4 people, so the kids weren't able to carry it by themselves without breaking a rib or two. Seriously, the next day, I was wondering why my right shoulder hurt, then I remembered.
9700

Safari/Hurricane Harbor

County Fair

Horse show.


Ferris Wheel. Unfortunately for us, the rides were scheduled to open at 4:00pm, however, there was nothing there that would keep us entertained for 2 hours so we didn't get to ride it.

The cow checking out Liam. Just look at his expression...

Pigless resting before the pig races, which we also didn't see because they began at 4:00 p.m.

Dancing fruits and vegetables kiddie show. The only half-entertaining thing we saw in the whole place.

Current and vintage farm equipment show.



1912 International Harvester.

Kay "milking" a cow.


Farm Fair

Back in July I took the kids to the Burlington County Farm Fair. It was a hot and sunny day, but not a god-awful-unbearable hot day like those we have been having due to the heat wave.

After paying $10 for the parking, we headed to the fair. We first encountered the pony rides. The poor things looked like they had seen better days. Needless to say, I didn't fork over $5.00 per-person for a two-minute ride. Kaylie and Liam walked over to the tent that housed the wooden milking cow and the corn toss game. Of course, there were wooden cutouts for the kids to have their photo taken. As always, Liam wasn't interested in posing for photos, but obliged me after some cajoling on my part.

We walked around the farm equipment exhibit for a while, before heading to see the animals. On our way there, we spotted a singing marionettes show for tots. We stopped and watched since this was the only form of entertainment available at the time. Little did we know that this would be the ONLY engaging show!

We went from tent to tent to view the goats, chickens, sheeps, pigeons, cows and rabbits. We saw a big turtle (all by itself) eating lettuce.

On our way to the amusement rides, we stopped by a food concession to buy Italian water ice. Unfortunately for us, the rides were all closed and wouldn't open until 4:00 p.m. We watched the horse show for about 10 minutes, then headed home.

I always looked forward to going to the fair, but was extremely disappointed with the fair this year. I don't think that I will return as neither one of us enjoyed it. 9696

County Fair