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We’ve discussed before how I try to be a fun mom and Jenny tries to keep things like King’s Island and Disney World hidden from her kids. Today I bring you another example of Jenny’s lack of fun-ness.

A few weeks ago, Jenny and I were both contacted by people at Cedar Point and invited to bring our families up to spend the night at their new indoor waterpark, Castaway Bay. So, because I am fun, I said yes. And because Jenny is not, she said no. (So she’s got a newborn, what’s your point?) (But shout out to Cedar Point for inviting us both.)

Anyway, last Friday Andy and I packed up the kids and headed north to Sandusky. Despite having lived my entire life less than four hours from one of the top theme parks in the country, I have never actually been to Cedar Point – a fact that Tricia, who is their biggest fan and was also there last weekend, finds appalling. But if Castaway Bay is any indication of what the rest of the parks are like, I want to go there asap!

We arrived fairly late in the evening on Friday, and after we checked in, I went straight to the blogger event held at the spa. (I think it’s kind of brilliant for an indoor waterpark to have a place for parents (read: moms) to sneak in a little pampering and relaxation!) By the time I got back to our room, it was a little after nine and Sam was already in his pajamas – but Kate was raring to go! She and I decided to explore a little bit, so we went down and found the water park. Does she look excited?

Can you blame her?

Anyway, by that point it was about 9:15 and the water park closed at 10… but in my quest to be a fun mom, I asked Kate if she wanted to go put on her swimsuit. She RAN through the hotel, and we were back to the water park in no time.

Kate and I had so. much. fun. Very few people were there by that time, and we didn’t have to wait in line for anything. After we went down the first slide, she got a glimpse of the Rendezvous Run Water Coaster. It is by far the most thrilling ride in the park, and I really didn’t think she’d want to do it. But I was WRONG. When we rode it the first time, we didn’t know what to expect – when we went through a tunnel in complete darkness, I had a hard time breathing I was so claustrophobic! I tried to be brave and yelled up at Kate (we were in a raft together) “It will be over soon, honey!” and she yelled back “I LOVE THIS!!!”

We rode it over and over again, and on one ride Kate bounced up as we went down a hill, and from my perspective it looked like she lost her grip on the raft’s handles (she swears she didn’t). I immediately grabbed her arm and yelled “Hold on!!!” and she yelled back at me, “Oh my GOSH, Mom, I’m FINE! SERIOUSLY!!!” and I could see her teenage years flash in front of my eyes. When we got to the end of the ride, we were both laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes.

The 40-ish minutes we had at the water park that night will stick with me for a long time.

The next morning the kids were up and ready to go by 7 a.m. However, the water park didn’t open until 9. So, we managed to keep them contained until it was open, and we were the first people through the doors. Kate and Andy headed straight for the Water Coaster, while Sam and I explored the Toddler’s Tide Pool. Sammy didn’t leave that area the whole time we were there, and that was just fine with him. He had a ton of fun! The toddler pool is right in the middle of the water park, which made it really easy for me and Andy to switch off. I also loved how clean and well-maintained the whole resort is. Honestly I think there’s something inherently skeevy about water parks, and I fully expected to feel slightly grossed out at Castaway Bay – but I totally didn’t at all. Pretty impressive.

After a few hours of fun, we had to head home. Kate, of course, would have happily stayed for another week, but Sam was ready for lunch and a nap! But Castaway Bay was still on Kate’s mind at school Monday. She wrote her own review as a school assignment!

To translate:
Fun Fun Fun!!! I loved my trip. It was so cool! At the water park I went on every slide! Castaway Bay was the best! I played basketball in the pool! I went on a barrel rope thing. Can you imagine what it was like? If you go to Castaway Bay you will love it. I loved the wave pool. It was so cool! Go there soon.

As you can tell, we had a fantastic time and Castaway Bay, and can’t wait to go back. In fact, we just might go back sooner than we planned, because the nice people at Castaway Bay have a great offer for all Mommin’ It Up readers! Click the button below and find out how you can book an overnight package for as low as $129. Believe me, it is WELL worth it!

*****
Castaway Bay provided me with a night’s stay and water park passes, but the views and opinions expressed above are all my own. And Kate’s.

Do you remember Sesame Street’s “Who are the People in Your Neighborhood?”

It was a series of songs that introduced kids to people in their neighborhoods in the late 70s. I bet a lot of you are singing it in your heads right now!

Teachers, fire fighters, librarians, police officers… the songs introduce them to kids as friends and neighbors.

Some people in Ohio, though, have decided that public employees in our neighborhoods are not actually our friends and are working hard to take away many of the rights these people deserve.

If you haven’t heard about Ohio Senate Bill 5, I encourage you to do a little research and figure out where you stand. Here’s an article that sums it up pretty well, and a lot of information can be found on the Ohio Education Association website.

It’s not a partisan issue – while every democratic senator in Ohio opposes the bill, this article from the Columbus Dispatch discusses the republican senators who think it goes too far as well.

So, Ohio friends, read up on it and then see what you can do. I tried to call Governer Kasich himself yesterday, but his voicemail box was full. (If you want to give him a piece of your mind tell him your thoughts, his number is 614-466-3555.)

As Jenny’s brother and sister-in-law wrote on their FB status this morning, we (public employees) are not the enemy.

We are the people in your neighborhood.

We’ve had a week or so to digest all the craziness that is Christmas, and I was just thinking about a couple things I’ve become obsessed with come to love during that time… hence this post! Here are a few of my favorite Christmas presents:

Cotton Modal Crew Top from Lands’ End. I got one of these a few weeks ago to wear under a sweater, and the first time I put it on, I told Andy I wanted one in every color. The next day, I got an email from LE announcing a sale, so I bought myself one in (almost) every color. A couple days later, two packages from LE were on my doorstep. I opened them both right up… and they both contained the exact same thing – this shirt in every color. I thought LE accidentally sent my order twice until I looked at the shipping labels – one was addressed to me and one was addressed to Andy. He had ordered them as a Christmas present! So I ended up with like 10 of these shirts – in duplicate colors – and I loved them so much that I kept them ALL. They are that wonderful. They’re perfect for wearing on their own or layering, and I think I’ve worn one just about every day since Christmas.

iPad Keyboard Dock. Andy also ordered this for me, and it was a complete surprise. I vaguely knew docks existed, but I had never really considered getting one. However, I LOVE it. It’s so handy – I just pop the iPad on top of the keyboard and it’s good to go. It makes emailing/blogging/whatever on the iPad much, much easier, and since my iPad has 3G, that means I could do all those things while driving down the highway (well, Andy was driving) on an after-Christmas road trip. It was a beautiful thing.

Money. I’ve got some Christmas money that is burning a hole in my pocket… which is really the point of my post – to get ideas of what I should buy with it!

So… what Christmas presents did YOU love this year?

To read more Things I Love Thursday posts, visit the Diaper Diaries!