The Johnsons: Weeki Wachi Springs Park

We celebrated another birthday in our family this past week. Ben turned the big 3-2! Wow....we are sure getting old.

I convinced Ben to take the day off of work. Originally I was going to be at my mom's house for Joy School and the plan was to let Ben have the morning all to himself to be free and do whatever his heart desired. However, Jax came down with a cold (only his third, I'm proud to say) so we couldn't be around the other kids. So, we've been wanting to go to Weeki Wachi Springs Park for a while and decided it would be a good day to go. They have a little water park area, underwater theater, shows, and a boat ride. It really wasn't the coolest of places but we had a blast. Well, I had a blast. I'm not sure about everyone else. Sadie kept saying, "Let's go to the park now." I had to explain to her we were at the park. She thought there would be swings and slides. Apparently mermaids, alligators, and boats aren't nearly as fun as swings and slides. Oh well :) I think she still enjoyed the experience.

This was during the show. The toddlers had no idea what to think about the experience.
A wicked witch jumped out like 5 seconds after this pictures was taken and scared the kids to death -
McKay especially. I had to take him out.

Ben made the comment that he felt like we were one of the main attractions at the park. There were probably a grand total of 20 people there and only one child other than our three. All 20 of us would caravan from show to show and everyone was watching us and our kids just as much as they were watching the entertainment. The park must be government funded because I don't think our entrance fees could have even covered the cost of the employees that day!

Anyways, the next show was all about animals and afterwards they let the audience (all 20 of us) pet their alligator. Sadie was very excited and showed little apprehension. She really loves all types of animals! Unlike her brother who is content to watch from a distance.

Notice his mouth is not bound.
After I let her pet the alligator I thought maybe I should have been more careful.
Even the little ones can do some damage!

We went on our boat ride along the springs after the animals show. It was beautiful along the river and so relaxing. Jax and McKay became so relaxed that they both fell asleep. Sadie just kept asking if we were going to go the the park soon...."We're at the park, Sadie." She just wanted swings and slides though. Kids nowadays! Anyways, Ben and I quite enjoyed ourselves.

When we arrived back home Ben took a nice, long nap. I'm pretty sure that was his most favorite present and happiest time of the day :) I made Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner, then we watched Anastasia with the kids, and then watched Jane Eyre once the kids were asleep. It was a fun day. The following pictures I snapped while we waited for dinner to finish cooking....