We Laughed, Despite the School-Prep Madness, TTOT Week 60

Signs the school year is starting really soon:

Meetings:  Haven't had one all summer, but I've had to attend 4 this week alone.
Practices:  The official start of the high school sports season for the state was this week, and each player has to have to have been to at least 10 practices before the first game.  Girls are going for 6 practices this week alone, and all of them right in the middle of the day.
Errands:  Good gravy, 5 kids need a whole mess of supplies.  And don't forget the school clothes.  And the hair cuts.
Appointments: No one wants to take the kids out of school for appointments, so we must put as many as possible this week.

With all of that busyness, I had to search high and low for things to be thankful for this week.

But I found some!

1.  I got to watch (with full attention) one TV show this week.  I made sure it was one that made me smile.  Last Comic Standing had me not only smiling, but laughing my full head off.  I absolutely love stand-up comedy, so it only makes sense that I would like this show.

2.  The little boys had me laughing many times.  The two funniest:

Wearing a previously dry shirt and carrying a sopping wet thank you card he'd been working on for the last 30 minutes, Turken came into the room and complained, "The marker said it was washable."

The scene:  I was sitting on a bench at a soccer event with two other moms while we watched our boys play.  Cuckoo came up to stand between my legs, leaned over, and rested his head on my chest.  He said one thing, and one thing only.  "Hubba.  Hubba."

3.  High school soccer tryouts are over.  Both Buttercup and Phoenix are starters for the JV teams.  So glad it's over and we didn't have the disaster of last year's tryouts.

4.  Our weekend has quite a bit of free time, so the kids' rooms are getting completely cleaned out.  I have also managed to organize the linen closet and get a bunch of paperwork/email work done.

5.  I managed to squeeze in a lot of reading as I sat in the van and waited for kids to finish practice.  It's been lovely.

6.  On Wednesday afternoon there was some mix-up with the boys' practice, and it ended up not being mandatory.  We took full advantage.  I had told the kids for days that we would take that day to go to the state fair.  The night before I decided to change plans as a reward for being so helpful this summer.

We went to a gigantic amusement park instead.  As soon as Buttercup's practice was over at 1:30, we drove the 2 hours to Kings Island.  I was a tad nervous about my knee's ability to hold up, but I knew I could always rent a wheelchair or scooter if I needed it.

Despite the looks on their faces, they were beyond excited to be there.  They just weren't happy about having to stop to get a photo taken.

7.  The big kids were worried that the lines would be long, especially since we did the discounted late arrival tickets.  They only had from 4-10 to ride.  Fortunately, it was the perfect day to go.  They waited in line for 25 minutes for one ride, and never waited in line for more than 10 minutes for any others.  They got to ride everything they wanted multiple times.

8.  I was able to send the big kids off to enjoy themselves, since two of them carried phones and had been there with their 8th grade classes before.  They were fantastic about checking in (and hilarious when they did) and they all had a great time.

9.  While the big kids rode their rides, the little boys and I spent the entire 6 hours in the best kids' area I have ever seen in an amusement park.

There were normal little rides that got big giggles out of them...

 but there were also big kid rides toned down a bit for little kids.  Nothing made Cuckoo laugh harder than these:

Don't let the smile fool you.  He was ruthless in his attempt to crash into other kids.  

There were three roller coasters. One was for beginners to get their jitters out.  Then there were two real coasters.  For real roller coasters:

The end of the ride, and he's still smiling.

Cuckoo asked a few times if we could come back after he turns five (in two weeks), since he missed the height requirement for this one by 4 inches.  He did get to ride the other big one, though.  Three times.  (No photo because I had to ride it with him.)

We rode rides until the park closed.

This ride took them 15 feet in the air.  And there were no straps holding them down.  He was barely big enough for the ride.  He loved it.

And since we never left the kid area, my knee never got put to the "that's a lot of walking!" test.  I felt great.

10.  The kids were having so much fun, there was not one moment of meltdown or crying or complaining the entire afternoon and evening.  At least 15 times, Cuckoo screamed, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!!"  Even at 10:15 at night, while we waited for the big kids to join us at the exit, the little boys were happy and dancing up a storm.

It's fun to watch your shadow dance.  

But, all things must end.  This is the last weekend before school starts bright and early on Monday.  Next week's list of 10 will be looking a whole lot different than this one.

So, did you do anything to make you giggle this week?

Have a lovely day!

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