Owen's Officially A Driver With No Braces And He's Employed!

On Saturday, February 25th, Owen passed his driving test!!! He had already taken the test two times last year and not passed. He knew what he was doing, but he unfortunately would let his nerves get the best of him. Our friend Micah offered to take Owen out for a mock drive test. On January 30th, he came over with the kids and then him and Owen headed out. He had Owen drive around all over downtown Kent...which is where the drive test would be. They were gone for an hour and half. He was so complimentary of Owen's driving. I really think having Owen do that with someone that wasn't his parent really did boast his confidence in himself a bit. 

Michael also took him downtown Kent a couple more times and then we scheduled the test. I really was not wanting to push him, but to encourage him that he knew what he was supposed to do and he could do it. He is a great driver. I also really wanted him to get his license before we got to the point where we had to renew his permit. 

We are so proud of Owen and excited for him since this is going to open up so many opportunities for him.  

On Thursday, March 2nd, he drove off on his own for the very first time. He has piano lessons every Thursday so he drove himself to lessons. 

Of course I was that mom that stood at the door taking pictures of him driving away all the while silently praying that God keeps him safe! 

Off he goes!!! 

He's back!!! 

It felt so weird with him being gone. It wasn't like he was out with Daddy or at church or with a friend. He was out on his very own all by himself. Such a crazy huge step! 

He has done amazing driving! He's even stops at the library and picks up books for us. I've had him take Jack to his Orthodontist appt and go up to Fred Meyer's to pick up Ella' Rx. It's so awesome! 

On March 28th, one week after Ella got her braces removed it was Owen's turn. Last picture with braces!!! 

Look at those gorgeous straight teeth! 

Back on March 14th, Owen had his first job interview. He applied to be a Ride Technician at Wild Waves. Michael gave him a practice interview to prepare him. His actual interview was only about 5 minutes long. The very next day he got an email with an offer letter. I'm so proud of him! 

On April 1st, he attended Orientation. 

He got his parking pass and his name badge! Next up for him is Ride School which will be on Saturday, April 22nd. Wild Waves opens on May 27th this year so I'm sure he'll be working a few days prior to that. This is just the beginning of so many changes for him and it's excited and a little scary at the same time. Our summer is going to look different that's for sure...with him working he won't be able to go on every adventure with us, but that's just life. 

This is the reason I wanted to go on that amazing Christmas Trip. I knew this would be the year of great change. Change isn't bad it's just different and it's the unknown that's scary, but it's our job to raise these kids to be fully functioning adults one day and he's well on his way and we couldn't be prouder of our sweet young man!

Wild Waves With The Kuch Family!

Back in 2019, we were able to have a super fun day with the Kuch family at Wild Waves. We wanted to do that again so we invited them to come with us on Friday, June 24th. It's crazy how much bigger the kids are now! 

Here's back in 2019. They were all so little! 

Now in 2022, they are as big as me or bigger. Seriously...I look like one of the kids here! 

The first thing the boys wanted to do was go on the Wild Thing! Christina went up with them just to get a picture! 

In 2019, none of the boys' heads came over the headrest! 

Now...look at these tall guys! 

There they go! 

The girls wanted to run over and see them on the ride! 

We had to take them to our favorite ride...Dodgems. Seriously I didn't know someone could love bumper cars so much. They are the best! 

The only sad thing about Wild Waves right now is there are around 8 rides that aren't working. They are all in need of parts and you guessed it...they are on back order. I highly doubt any of those rides will be up and running this year. I don't feel back for us as passholders, but I feel really bad for those people that pay $50 for a one day pass. Honestly it's a total joke that it's that expensive and about half the rides are down. 

The big pirate ship is my favorite, but sadly it's one of the rides in need of repair. Over in the kiddie section the have this ride called The Coastal Clipper and it's like a smaller version of the Pirate Ship. It doesn't just go back and forth though it goes around and around. It's actually super fun! 

While the other kids when on Timberhawk, Anna & Addison went on the Scrambler with me. It's funny how I remember loving all these rides when I was younger, but now they actually really freak me out. My mind just goes to worse case scenario and I'm thinking if this part fails then that car will fly off. Of course I couldn't show Anna & Addison that I was freaked out so I held it together and we had fun! 

After that it was time to head over to the water side. Even though it looks gorgeous outside it was quite breezy out which made it feel chilly...especially when you're wet! 

After a couple of slides we came back to our loungers and got food for lunch. With our season passes we get free parking so I had Owen jump in Christina's car so she was able to use his pass and get free parking as well. We also had free guest passes so they didn't have to pay anything to get to come with us. We also get coupons on our passes so we ordered 3 combo meals and got 1 free. We all shared those 4 meals and it was perfect. 

This is my favorite place to be...in a lounger! Now that the kids are older whenever we go I mainly just hang out here soaking up the sun while they run around having blast. It's one of those bittersweet things...where the kids are getting old enough they don't need me all the time. I want them to go and have fun without me and then when they ask me to come with them it's the greatest feeling in the world! 

All of our kids are pretty skinny minis so that breeze was tough, but most of all it was tough on Anna. Sweet thing doesn't have an ounce of fat on her. She was just shivering! If we decide to get season passes for next year I want to wait to have them come with us later in July or August so it's a really hot day! 

It was loads of fun even though it was chilly and we just love spending time with our friends! 

First Time At Wild Waves Since 2019!

On Tuesday, June 21st, we went to Wild Waves for the first time since 2019. In 2019, we had season passes and then I renewed them for 2020. Of course nothing was open in 2020, so they rolled over to 2021. Unfortunately there were still a bunch of restrictions in 2021 and honestly we were going to be so busy I didn't want passes for 2021. I contacted Wild Waves and explained that and they were awesome enough to roll our passes over to 2022. 

My plan for this first visit was to not go in the water. The weather wasn't super hot, but mainly it was because we had Taekwondo in the afternoon and I didn't want the kids to be all wet. On our walk over to the dry side of the park we saw this geese with their goslings. They still had their down feathers and they were so cute!!! 

The first ride the boys wanted to go on was the Timberhawk. I haven't been on a wooden roller coaster since Tremors at Silverwood in 2002 when I thought I was going to die. Jordan and Ella didn't want to ride so they sat on a bench and waited for us. It wasn't bad at all! 

After this we walked over to the bumper cars. These are the most fun bumper cars ever!!! I normally don't like bumper cars at all, but these you have to drive in one direction around the center section and no head on collisions. It's fun because you are trying to catch up to the people you want to bump or you're trying to get away from people trying to bump you. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. 

Zeke was just a little too short to ride by himself so I got to be his chauffer! 

Hey Jordan! 

Ella was being such a stick in the mud...she didn't want to ride. 

The name of the bumper cars is Dodgems...you just can't see the first D because of my big ol' head! 

Owen and Jack made it on for another round. In actuality I think we rode this about 5 times. 

Jordan honestly had a good time even though he won't smile! The dry side of the park isn't his favorite...he would much rather be in the water!  

Ella finally decided to go on a ride and it would happen to be the Ferris Wheel! The world's longest ride in history! At least she had fun! 

And it finally got her out of her shell so she'd go on the bumper cars with us! 

This ride brings me joy every time! 

See the green cup...those are our Season Pass Cups that came with our passes. We can get them refilled every time with come for only $1.09 each if we want soda or for free if we want water. 

 

Had such a fun time with all these kiddos, but especially with this guy. Glad he was just little too short and "had" to ride with me!

Last Hurrah Of Summer!

Since I bought season passes to Wild Waves my hope was to make it to the park at least 6 times during the summer. I knew that with vacation and the older boys going to camp it would be hard to go more than that. I felt like 6 times would definitely make it worth the cost. Really going twice more than paid for the season passes, but I wanted to really get our moneys worth. In the end we went 5 times, but we also did go last year with our passes to the Holiday with Lights at Christmas time so that counts as well! ;) 

The thing I was so surprised about was how many free tickets we got. We each got 2 and we used all of them. It was so fun to bring friends along to join in on the good times! For our last hurrah of summer we invite the Kuch Klan to come with us! 

We found some chairs to use at our Home Base, got a picture and then set out to have some fun.

The kids wanted to go on some rides first. Caleb had never been on a rollercoaster before. 

Christina wasn't sure how he would do so she went up to be with him and he did great!!! 

The girls and Zeke did not want to go on the rollercoaster so we found some shade and waited for them. 

I love these kids! 

Ella loves getting to have fun with these cute girls!!!

After the rollercoaster the kids wanted to go on the paper airplane ride. This was the ride Zeke was too short for when we came to the Holiday with Lights. I measured him and lo and behold he was exactly tall enough to ride it. I was so excited for him. He stood in line, got to the front and then he got rejected when the guy measured him. I let the other kids go through and then I asked the guy if we could remeasure him. I wanted to make sure he had his heels all the way back I also showed the guy how tall he was by using my hand as a ruler on the top of his head so he could actually see where the top of his head met the measurement. Exactly tall enough! So happy he could finally go on the bigger kid rides!!! 

After that ride was over we walked over to this spinning ride. Jack, Caleb, Addison and I all went on it. I had never gone on this ride before. It was awesome! At the very end it got a bit much, but I just held on and closed my eyes. Before it was going that fast it was amazing!!! Caleb and Addison did not like it at all. Poor kiddos! 

Owen and Jack are my daredevils so they went on the shoot em up ride! 

Addison was a bit ruined after the spinning ride, but I did get Caleb, Anna and Zeke to join me on the pirate ship if we sat in the middle. They had a great time! 

We went on the paraglider ride and after that the big boys went on the Timberhawk rollercoaster. Christina is always so good at remembering to take pictures. She wanted to have a picture of us moms!!! 

As well as getting free tickets to Wild Waves we also had some other fun coupons. We each got a free ride to go on the Soarin' Eagle Zipline. Owen and Ella didn't want to use their coupons so Caleb used Owen's and Anna used Ella's. Caleb rode with Jack, I rode with Zeke and Anna and Addison rode together. Christina just had to buy one ticket so Addison could go. The zipline was so much fun!!! 

We went all the way from the ride side to that pole way out there. You are actually hanging over the lazy river. It was a beautiful view! 

After the Zipline we went out to the car to eat lunch and then we were ready for the water side. 

The boys all went to the Wave Pool. 

Us girls went on the Raging River! That water ride is my favorite. In fact if I was a billionaire I would totally design a Raging River in my backyard. I could go on it over and over and over again! 

We went on a few more waterslides and then Zeke was done. He always gets cold the fastest. It was okay though because I needed to go home so he just came with me. Jack and Ella were going to spend the night at the Kuch's house and they both forgot a couple things at home. It made way more sense for me to run to the house so Christina didn't have to come farther away from home to then turn around and go home. It all worked out great and it was an awesome last hurrah for summer. 

I was not planning on getting season passes for next summer, but now that Zeke is actually tall enough to enjoy the rides and he's only going to grow more I decided that we would get them again. I can't wait to bring more friends with us next summer and have even more water park fun! 

First Trip To Wild Waves!

Last year over Labor Day weekend I saw a really good deal on Wild Waves Season Passes. I ended up buying them for me and the kids to use this summer. We used them last year to go to Holiday W/Lights, but we hadn't yet used them to go on rides or swimming. On Tuesday, July 9th I took a day off from working in the yard and the kids and I headed out to have a day of fun. 

I was trying to get to Wild Wave by the time they opened at 10:30am, but while we were waiting at the light to turn onto Enchanted Parkway I remembered that I forgot to pack my bathing suit. We were already planning on stopping at Costco so I figured I would buy a new suit if I found one I liked. Unfortunately they didn't have any bathing suits that I liked. I told the kids I was just going to watch them, but they were pretty insistent about me swimming so we drove all the way home to get my suit. 

Since they don't allow outside food in the park I told the kids we would go on the rides first, then go out to the van to eat lunch and then when we came back in we'd change and go in the water. 

The first ride the older boys wanted to go on was The Wild Thing. 

Ella, Zeke and I just hung out and waited for them. 

After that we went on the Pirate Ship which surprisingly the kids were really freaked out about. After that the older boys wanted to go on the wooden rollercoaster while Ella and Zeke wanted to do the littler kids rides. I had brought the house cellphone with us so I gave that to Owen so he could keep in contact with me. 

Zeke wanted to go on this cute little train and I guess I just like to do things with my kids because it didn't even dawn on me that I wouldn't be able to go. When I asked the lady running the ride if I could go with them she looked at me like I was crazy and said..."No!" This train ride was SO slow!!! Zeke wanted me to film it and it took over 3 minutes. When it was over Ella said it was the most boring ride EVER!!! Hahaha! 

Next up was the Airplanes. 

We met up with the boys at the Bumper Cars. This was when I got a little irritated. Poor Zeke isn't even tall enough to go on the Bumper Cars. So we left the older boys at the Bumper Cars to go ride on the big slide and again Zeke wasn't tall enough. It was kind of frustrating really. It was my fault though...I should have researched the height requirements before going so there wouldn't have been any surprises like this. 

After this the kids wanted to go on the Para Gliders...which are my favorite ride. But...they don't allow single riders and you can't have 3 to a seat. There are 5 of us so I didn't get to go on the ride. I'm a little bitter! I know I could have waited and then had one of the kids sit with me and one of them stand and wait, but I didn't like that idea and we were getting hungry anyways. 

After eating lunch and changing it was off to the water park. 

It was a little cloudy, but actually that's really nice because then it's not so busy. This area is called Hooks Lagoon. It's the littler kid area. Zeke and Ella had fun playing here...until it was closed because a babies diaper leaked. Ewww! 

After that we went over to the Wave Pool....the older boys were off doing the bigger slides. 

The Wave Pool closed as well, but I didn't see anything happen so I'm not sure what was going on. Thankfully it wasn't closed for too long.  

We hung out and waited for it to open up. 

If I remember right we went back to Hook's Lagoon to play again and then came back to the Wave Pool. By this point Owen and Jack met back up with us and Jack took Ella to go on the Raging River. 

I decided that Owen, Zeke and I should go on the Lazy River. I love the Lazy River at Silverwood and this was fun too! 

We had Soccer Camp that night so we left around 3:30pm, but that's the best part about having Season Passes....you can stay for just a couple of hours and it's not a big deal.