Saturday was our annual day at Lagoon, a local amusement park.  I have memories of going there since I was a teenager and our kids have built their memories over the years.  This year Kelly and cousins were able to join us.  Unfortunately Jason was home with a stomach bug.  We got there early and stayed till closing.  Jeremy challenged us all (except him - dang touchy stomach!) to go ride the new roller coaster.  Luckily we got there before the park opened and got to line up right away as later the lines stretched across the park.  The ride is called Cannibal and is truly the scariest ride I have ever been on in my life.  Good thing they lock you in otherwise I would have taken off as they were getting started.  This year was a little different because we skipped most of the little kid rides.  It makes me sad that we are past that point.  Instead I was taken way, way out of my comfort zone to ride things I never have before.  We had a great, marathon of a day and today all feel a little hung over.  After past years we learned our lesson and rode Rattlesnake Rapids in our swimsuit after we did the water park and before we changed.  Last year I watched everyone get soaked while I stood on the side lines holding baby Matthew.  This year kids made sure I got drenched, just to even things out.  I loved watching our kids playing with each other and with their cousins and just having a great time.  Spencer convinced Robyn and Garion convinced Kelly to do a water roller coaster at the end of the day with them saying there was only a sprinkle of water.  They got soaked and Robyn is still telling Spencer, "a sprinkle!!!".  The day ended with everyone deciding picnics and snacks were not enough and driving through In and Out right before midnight before going home and collapsing in happy tiredness.


And where was Taylor?  He checked into the respite center Friday evening and then we picked him up Sunday morning.  I think he was much happier laying in a bean bag watching Shrek where there was air conditioning.  This week Taylor finished up his summer camp.  They had a family picnic the last day where they hung up their art work, ate sloppy joes and sang songs for us.  It was fun to watch Taylor interact with the staff and other kids because he would lift his head up and give a half smile and you could tell he was enjoying himself.  Our other kids all agreed he seemed to like camp better than summer school so maybe next year we will do just camp during the summer.


This week Taylor went into the surgical center to get his dental work done.  I don't know why but being at the center by 5:45 and staying there till 11 am just wipes me out!  Taylor did great getting put out and waking up but the news wasn't so good.  He ended up having a root canal on his front tooth that they will finish next year.  The nerves were all gone and there was a hole in the bone of his jaw.  The dentist said it wouldn't have been hurting recently but I can't help thinking that a few months ago it must have really hurt.  He killed the nerves when he hit his tooth at one point.  It was slightly off color but not very noticeable.  They also scaled his teeth removing all the protein deposits from his drooling and burned away his gums.  When they did all this they found decay along all the gum lines so lots of fillings in every single tooth.  Next year they will remove his wisdom teeth as this year they were still missing one that hadn't formed yet.  Taylor spent the rest of the day laying in a bean bag, getting Tylenol and having a massage but woke up the next day happy and ready to go.


This week Robyn had her last swim meet and her end of the summer party for swim team.  She has learned how to push it while swimming now and its awesome to see her just charging across the pool.  She is enjoying all her hardware and trophies as she keeps getting faster.  We tried to talk her into year round swim team but she wants to to theater and archery club during the school year and we just can't do both right now without driving ourselves crazy.


Spencer has been working lots and enjoying what free time he has.  It seems like when he finishes jobs and any errands like getting a hair cut or running to the library his free time is in short supply.  He enjoys being able to ask if he can borrow the car and run up to the lake to go fishing or taking his bike out for awhile.  This Sunday he was on dinner and made us delicious fajitas.  With his job he is getting quite good at anything that requires butter, grease and frying.  At times I wish that his life was a little different where he had friends to hang out with but he has learned how to make his life interesting and full and seems to be in a happy place.  He grew another 1/2 inch so he was quite stoked about that.


The kids and I went shopping this week and everyone picked out their first day of school shirt so I think they are now set.  Allison got her schedule this week and is all excited to have gotten every class she wanted.  Now we just get to play for two weeks and enjoy these last days of summer.  We get to have cousins come stay with us for a few days while Kelly is out of town so my kids are excited for that.