one more day of fun at Kennywood

Last Saturday, we decided to go to Kennywood to use up our extra set of school tickets.  Kennywood was going to be closing after that weekend (it is open for Phantom Fright Nights), so we needed to use our tickets.  It was a beautiful day.  It was a little chilly, but very sunny.  I don't know why I assumed it would not be crowded.  I was so wrong!  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I knew my assumption was the wrong one. 

It was so crowded!  There were people everywhere.  SJ does not do well with crowds.  He is so impatient!  Every ride we attempted to approach was received with lots of complaining.  "No, let's find a ride with a shorter line," SJ kept saying.  So that meant we didn't ride the Kangaroo, Paratroopers or Jack Rabbit. 

We made the boys get in line for the Racers (a coaster with two trains going simultaneously).  They were complaining so much, but we were riding something.  We waited in line for almost 45 minutes.  The kids moaning about the wait was wearing on my husband and my nerves.  After we rode the Racers, we tried to find another ride with a somewhat "short" line. 

We were not successful.  There is a new ride at Kennywood called the Black Widow.  I knew the boys wouldn't want to ride it, but I had to ride it.  I stood in line for 90 minutes.  While I was waiting, the boys and my husband went to get something to eat.  Their moods were much better after they ate something. 

When I finally got off the ride, we decided to ride the swings.  SJ was acting a little weird in line (nothing out of the ordinary for SJ) and I noticed a teenage girl staring at him.  I didn't say anything.  I can't stop people from staring.  Then, she said something unkind about him to her friend.  That was it!  I looked at her and said, "He is not bothering you.  Stop saying things about him."  She just looked at me in disbelief.  Too bad!  I hope that girl is lucky and has typical children.  Some of us aren't that lucky.

I was so upset over that girl that it almost ruined my mood.  We got on the ride and I tried to forget about her and her comments.  We got off the ride and decided to play some games.  Both boys won a prize for less than $20 (not too bad for an amusement park).  We then rode the Auto Bahn.  SJ was having a lot of trouble behaving in line.  He tends to crowd people, so he kept bumping into the guy in front of us.  The man was very nice about it, but since SJ wasn't listening I had to give him a consequence.  He lost his IPod for the remainder of the day. 

My husband wanted to ride the Thunderbolt, but Bob is not one for coasters.  I took Bob for ice cream and they went to stand in line to ride the coaster.  The line wasn't too long (30 minutes), so Bob and I waited for them at the exit.  They had a great time, so we decided to call it a day after that.  The lines weren't getting any shorter and we wanted to end the day on a good note. 

Even though we didn't get to ride too many rides (maybe 5), we still got to use our tickets and tried to have a nice family day.  (Sometimes, the boys try so hard to not have a good time.  It can be very frustrating!)  I will always take a few memorable moments than to not try to have any at all!