Thanksgiving Day!

Today we decided to enjoy an alternative Thanksgiving. I had zero interest in slaving over the stove to make a huge meal for the three of us and then spend hours cleaning it all up, so we decided to take the boys to Busch Gardens. We still had our free pass to use at one of their parks, so we decided to cash in on it today. As I saw it, we could pay for parking and our food and, we'd have a whole day of fun for not much more than the price it would cost for me to make a meal that would take us 20 minutes to enjoy and then be done with. So, it was a no-brainer.

Tyler first wanted to go on rides. So that's where we went. He first enjoyed this ride.

After seeing a few animals we came across this show that was just about to start, called Critter Encounters (I believe). It was a really cute show which featured many different animals. Tyler enjoyed it immensely until there was word of a firework to come up, so then it was down the stands he went. He did agree to watch the rest of the show from the sidelines on daddy's shoulders.

We saw a few more animals. Jason was pretty entranced by some flying birds (or so it seemeed).

From there it was off to "Land of the Dragons" for tons of kids rides. Tyler enjoyed quite a few of them while I fed Jason and then it was up onto these high nets for climbing. Last year Tyler was scared of them, but this year he was quite brave!

He also refused to try this mini water ride last year, but this year it was his "favorite ride".

A quick photo opportunity before heading off for some lunch.

We enjoyed some quick food while daddy rode Sheikra. We then spent some more time observing other roller coasters and rides from afar. Tyler loves to watch all of the rides that he insists he'll never go on. LOL.

We all decided to ride the skyride, which happened to be Tyler's first time as well as Jason's first ride ever! I feel the need to add that Jason enjoyed a little snack, way up there in the sky. That was a first for me!

We head over to Jungala, which was very impressive. Unfortunately we couldn't really see any of the orangutans, but we got some great views of the tigers. They are amazingly beautiful creatures.

After another quick roller coaster ride for daddy it was time to hit up some more kid rides. It's amazing how Tyler can be entertained by a small train that moves slower than I walk. But, it's not up to me to decide what is fun. He also tried the motorcycle ride this time, which he fell in love with.

While he enjoyed that ride a few times, Jason took a break from him time in the front pack with me to spend some time with his daddy. Daddy swears that he was reachign for his sunglasses on his head, and it his defense it did look possible. He certainly was having fun though.

After that we enjoyed our very informal Thanksgiving dinner, which was just perfect for us. We even got to watch the tigers (again) while we ate!

As we walked back through Jungala Tyler spotted a few characters he just HAD to stop and pose with!

We realized we only had about an hour until the park was due to close, so we went back to the "Land of the Dragons" for more kids rides as we had promised Tyler. Al took him on some rides while I fed Jason. I came to find them, only to encounter this. Tyler, in probably 60 degree weather, in the water. Al tells me "I made him take off his shoes and had him roll up his pants but I told him not to get wet". Yep, like that's gonna work! Oh well, provided he doesn't end up with pneumonia I suppose some spontaneous fun like that didn't hurt anyone. Sadly enough, he was not alone. Many a child were in there in the water, fully clothed!

Luckily I had a change of clothing, so after we warmed up Tyler agreed that the ice cream he had been asking for all day would not be the best idea. He settled for cotton candy instead.

What a wonderful day!