everything is better after a day at kennywood

Last Saturday was our school's Kennywood picnic day.  It was colder than the last few years, but that was fine with me.  When it is not very warm or has predicted rain showers, it is usually less crowded.  SJ does not do well with crowds.  We took sweatshirts and long pants for the boys.  Bob had his normal Saturday scrimmage until 1:00, so we left right after it was finished. 

We took Willie with us.  He is friends with both boys, but he is slightly closer to Bob.  (They have more in common-soccer and XBox.)  Bob was being very crabby on the way to the amusement park.  He is very afraid of roller coasters and was getting anxious on the way there.  Willie had told his mom that Bob would probably say his favorite ride was the car ride back home.  Wow, Willie really knows Bob.  That was the first thing he said when we arrived. 

After his verbal complaint, he started telling us how sore his ankle was feeling.  (Funny that his ankle was feeling fine at soccer.)  We ignored his complaints, since we knew he was just trying to get out of going.  When we got into the park, Willie and SJ wanted to ride the Sky Rocket.  It is the newest coaster at Kennywood.  Bob didn't want to ride (no surprise to me), so I waited with him at the exit.  After they were done, we continued through the park.

Willie rode everything that he could.  He isn't tall enough for The Thunderbolt.  (SJ and my husband rode that together later in the day.)  When we got to a coaster, Bob just waited at the exit while we had fun.  Fortunately, his waits were short since it had a sparse crowd.  They rode the swings, the Whip, the Kangaroo, Paratroopers, Music Express, Ghostwood Manor and the Autobahn. 

We also enjoyed many of the yummy treats that Kennywood has to offer.  We had funnel cake, fried Oreos (Willie's suggestion), Potato Patch fries, ice cream, lemonade and dinner in Parkside Cafe.  Willie had mac n cheese and Bob and SJ shared chicken tenders and fries.  We were stuffed at the end of the day. 

The boys also spent a lot of time at the Shooting Gallery.  They were great at that!  See the attached picture of the boys having fun. 

While SJ and my husband were riding the Thunderbolt, Bob, Willie and I watched the stunt show.  It was pretty entertaining.  Then, we decided it was time to play some games.  The first game they played was a bust.  They tried for a while, but no one won anything.  Then, we moved on to another game and the results were the same.  The third game was lucky for Willie and Bob.  They both won, but unfortunately SJ wasn't great at that game. 

 

We left the game area, but SJ was still upset.  He had been interested in making a spin art t-shirt, so I told him he could do that.  He was excited at first, but then was still wishing he had won a prize.  I quietly asked Bob and Willie to go back and try to win something for SJ.  They were good sports and Willie won him a stuffed animal quickly.  Thanks Willie! 

 

We had to wait for his shirt to dry, so the boys rode a few more rides.  When his shirt was done, we walked out to the car.  I asked Bob how his ankle was feeling.  He said, "Fine."  I asked him about his hand (another ailment he was complaining about).  He replied that it was fine too.  Then Willie said something funny.  "See Bob, everything is better after a day at Kennywood," he said.  "You are absolutely correct Willie," I said with a smile. 

 

We drove Willie home and I was glad that we had Willie to be a friend to both of our boys.  Maybe we will take him next year too.