i woke up and got a text from jessica saying they were running behind. they had planned on getting to kings island early in the morning and just meeting us first thing in the morning. apparently glenn had pulled the bus over to get some sleep so they weren't in bright and early. jess said no matter what they would be there by 12 as they were unloading at 12:30. a few minutes later jessica texted again and let me know that apparently glenn and wendy slept through their alarm and they were running much later than jessica had thought. now they weren't thinking they would be there until around 2:30 or so.
talan eventually woke up and we all got ready and headed back to the "historic kirkwood house" to enjoy our breakfast. we ate, took a walk around the hotel grounds, went back to our rooms, packed up, checked out and headed to kings island. the park opened at 10am and we were there just a few minutes before. we headed to will call and explained that we were on a list to get in through fireflight. figured we'd be there for several hours trying to figure out where such list was, but the immediately found our names and printed up our tickets.
thanks to some good advice from a friend that used to live in the area, we headed right to customer service where they measured the boys and put wristbands on them. this way they wouldn't have to be stopped and measured before getting on to every ride. hayden measured in at about 46 (a little under but the guy was generous). unfortunately, to ride any of the REAL roller coasters he had to be at least 48, so that was a bit of a bummer. talan stepped under and didn't even reach the first notch the guy gave him a wristband anyway for the 36 (i think) inches. it ended up being a real lifesaver as even their "dumbo" type ride required them to be 36 inches. a little girl that was just about talan's size was behind us in line for that ride. we passed right through with the wristband, but they stopped the girl behind us and turned her away. it pays to lie sometimes.
we spent the whole morning and afternoon in the kids area with the boys. it actually had some pretty impressive rides and the kids had a blast. it rained several times off and on, but never too much. and because of the storms it was mostly cloudy the whole day so we were pretty comfortable.
there was one main roller coaster hayden really wanted to ride but the line was always pretty long. we told him that if we waited until jessica and justin got there we would be able to get to the front of the line without waiting. so he did pretty well waiting even though he REALLY wanted to ride on it. he had NO fear. he was so upset that he wasn't able to ride any of the big roller coasters and the kind that went upside down.
we went on the frog hopper ride in which talan really probably shouldn't have been able to go on. i was a bit nervous for him to ride on it as i was most afraid of him freaking out and then not being able to get off. we couldn't even see his face and i kept looking down at mom asking if he was ok. she said he was LOVING it and eventually we heard him laughing. we did ride it a second time later in the day and he wasn't so in love with it that time, but i think it was more due to the fact that he was exhausted.
we ate a VERY expensive lunch at chick fil a and spent more time in the kids area. i'll tell you. that is one expensive trip to take if you have to pay to get your family into kings island and then spend the entire day in the kiddie area. we are so grateful that fireflight was able to get us into the park and spend a great family day!
3pm came and we still hadn't heard from jessica. it probably wasn't until around 3:30 or so that we heard from her saying they were there and unloading and we could just meet her at the merch tent. we were already headed that way anyway figuring they had to be getting in soon. fireflight was set to play at 4:45. we ended up not seeing jessica until about 4pm and then we all helped her unload and set up the merch tent as they were so far behind. the boys, dave and mom watched most of the show (it rained the whole time) and i helped jess out for awhile before heading down to see them play for a bit. talan was once again in heaven and just stared up on stage. hayden once again got bored rather quickly and just wanted to go back to the rides.
after the show the band had to sign autographs so jess went out into the park with us for a bit. awhile later, jess headed back to eat and we went and got some food for ourselves while we waited for the band to get ready to head out and ride some rides. they were working on getting an escort to take us to the front of the lines, but in the end they said there were just too many people to justify doing it. no big deal as the lines were getting shorter at that point anyway. hayden was still DYING to go on that roller coaster so we all headed over there. at that point, the wait was maybe 5 minutes. hayden wanted to sit in the front car with dawn. he wasn't scared at all. i'm a HUGE roller coaster lover but i was scared for hayden!
apparently when the roller coaster was done and people were telling hayden "good job!" dawn said hayden looked at her and said "but i didn't DO ANYTHING!" he loved it and wished he could ride bigger and faster ones. i'm so happy i have a roller coaster loving child!!
after that ride, jess had to get back to tear the merch tent down. the rest of the band was going to ride THE rollercoaster in the park, the diamondback. so mom took the boys with her and jessica while we all headed for our first and only real roller coaster of the day. the ride was AMAZING. justin, phee and ken ended up going back in line and rode "single" since that line was shorter and since the ride was that great.
we headed back to the bus where jess was counting money and we started getting ready to head out. we said our goodbyes and ended up pulling out around midnite...probably a little later. the boys wanted to watch a movie in the car as they insisted they were not tired. but within minutes they were both out. it was a long drive but we got home safely and boy was it good to sleep in my own bed!
we had a GREAT mini vacation and are so thankful that the band let us get in using their name. the boys had a blast and it was so nice being able to do something like that with them and not going totally broke doing it!
we wish we could have seen jess and justin longer, but it was nice seeing them for the little bit that we did. hopefully next year hayden will be tall enough and we'll take him on a real amusement park trip!
talan before waking up to another busy day:
the kirkwood house where we had breakfast:
walking the gardens at the kirkwood inn:
i got these pictures out of order and have no idea how to put them where i need them. so here they are anyway. the ride talan probably shouldn't have ridden but loved it anyway:
later in the evening for the second time. talan wasn't quite as thrilled this time:
talan loves little bill:
the green and yellow roller coaster was the one hayden waited for all day:
on the helicopter ride. longest. wait. ever. stupidest. ride. ever.:
no idea who he was, but talan loved to hug him:
talan making friends:
hayden's very first roller coaster:
it was a good thing the cars had two steering wheels:
dad loves azul!:
holy crap, these guys:
waiting for the swipper ride:
they loved this ride. and talan had watched the kids before him and took note that he needed to scream like a girl and put his hands up at the corners:
apparently because hayden and talan ran around patrick for a few minutes early in the day, talan ran around him the entire time we were waiting in line and riding on the roller coaster with hayden:
some helicopter ride:
it was talan's bravery and hayden's love for scooby that made him eventually give him a big hug:
talan loves his overgrown characters:
maybe the most perfect shot i've ever taken of the two of them:
my new favorite hayden face:
dave and jessica took hayden and talan on the octopus or whatever it's called. i don't ride anything that spins around. hayden loved it. we got a big thumbs up at the beginning of the ride about talan and then it started going down hill. he couldn't wait to get off of it:
this was the only picture i got of them. they are exactly the same as when they left:
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