Valleyfair - Day Two!

Okay, sorry it's been a while since we posted an update about Cheri, Kellen and Cody's visit, so here it is...

We had so much fun at Valleyfair the first day, we decided to go back again! We rode a lot more rides the second time around. Joy even worked up the nerve to get on a couple of the coasters she hadn't been on before - The Renegade and The Wild Thing. Auntie Cher got SOAKED on the Thunder Canyon water raft ride - ha,ha! A great time was had by all - AGAIN. Here are some pictures from our second day at Valleyfair...

One of the first rides we rode was The Wave - a water ride that creates a HUGE wave and completely soaks everyone. Cody, Kellen, Tom and Joy rode the ride (Auntie Cher stayed with Lillianna and took pictures). Here's a couple pictures of the ride hitting the water and Tom and Joy a little "wet behind the ears":

Then, as if we weren't wet enough, we decided to ride the Thunder Canyon water raft ride. It's a ride that goes under several waterfalls, so depending on where you're sitting in the raft and how it twists and turns along the way, you may or may not get completely soaked. Cheri, Kellen and Cody went first - then Tom and Joy took a ride. Cheri and Cody got a direct hit from a waterfall - ha,ha! Tom and Joy managed to avoid most of the water and came through mostly dry. Here's Cheri, Kellen and Cody on their raft ride:

Uh-oh...here comes the waterfall (who's gonna get wet???)...

Cover your head, Cheri!!!

Cody's next - and seems to love it!

Ahhhhh - refreshing!!!

"The Wild Thing" - the big, scary green coaster that can be seen from miles away - the one that Joy had never been able to work up the courage to get on....until now. Kellen, Cody and Joy took a ride on "The Wild Thing" .... it was SO much fun!

Kellen and Cody had a caricature done at one of the many caricature booths in the park. It was perfect!


Auntie Cher spent the week teaching Miss Lily how to give her "five". She's a good teacher - Lillianna still knows how to give "five"!

More random photos of fun from our second day at Valleyfair...

Valleyfair - Day One

On Friday the 5th, we all went to Valleyfair, an amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota (southwest of Minneapolis). There is so much to see and do at Valleyfair, we can't possibly describe all of it here (and couldn't fit it all into one day, so we went back for a second day - that post is coming later). They have acres and acres of rides, roller coasters, games, food, entertainment, an IMAX movie theatre, go-karts, bumper boats, mini-golf, a waterpark - just a ton of fun in one place!

On our first day at Valleyfair, we went to Whitewater Country, which is a waterpark inside the amusement park. Lillianna got to put on her brand new swimsuit and play in the kiddie splash pool and float on an innertube with Joy for the very first time! She LOVED splashing in the pool and almost fell asleep on the lazy river ride floating on the tube. Cheri, Kellen and Cody rode the big waterslides and the faster "raging rapids" innertube ride.

After the waterpark, Kellen and Cody rode several of the roller coasters in the park - the Wild Thing, Renegade, High Roller, the Flume, the Mad Mouse (just to name a few). Joy rode with them on the Flume (a log chute water ride) and with Kellen on the Mad Mouse.

Fun in the sun at Valleyfair...

Before long though, it was midnight and the park was closing. We decided a couple days later to come back to Valleyfair for a second day - we have more pictures from that day that we will post soon!

Bathtime with Lily and Aunt Cheri

Aunt Cheri gave Miss Lily a bath. She loved playing in the water (Lily, not Cheri). Thanks for the bathtime, Aunt Cheri!!

4th of July at Lake Minnetonka

Food, music, the lake and fireworks - does it get better than this? We celebrated the 4th of July in Excelsior, Minnesota on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. First we went to the store and filled the cooler with lots of good food and drinks - Tom even tried sushi for the first time! It took two trips to haul everything down to the lake (thank you Cody and Kellen for going back to the van for all the stuff!) but we staked out a great spot by the shore. We sat and listened to the Minnesota Orchestra and then watched the fireworks as they were shot from a barge out in the middle of the bay.

After the fireworks, Cody and Kellen jumped in the water and took a swim in Lake Minnetonka. Are they crazy or what?!? Here are some photos from our 4th at the lake...

And yet another thing for the memory books ... on the way home, the car in front of us began swerving in and out of its lane, nearly sideswiping the cars in the next lane. The driver was also having a difficult time maintaining a steady speed and was clearly unable to stay in his/her own lane. It appeared the driver was quite intoxicated. Kellen called the police on his cell phone and reported the driver. He stayed on the phone with the dispatch operator as we followed the car. Pretty soon a police officer pulled out from a side road and pulled the car over. We were told to pull over behind the officer to give a statement. As it turned out, two police cars arrived on the scene. After they checked out the driver of the other car, they came back to our car to talk to us and get our statement about what we witnessed. It turns out that the driver of the car was an elderly man who was unable to drive safely, especially at night and should not be driving. It made us feel conflicted - sad for the poor elderly man, but also glad that we reported the vehicle and could have prevented an accident.