LEGOLAND

It was a little like The Pilgrimage a few years back (though admittedly with a less interesting crowd).

A dream come true for this crew.

When Doug announced that he was going to Florida, I immediately starting scheming to find a way to get these boys to LEGOLAND before they were too old. 

We couldn't talk Andrew onto this "ride" and Stephen grimaced the whole time.  Katherine laughed hysterically.

Never mind about that, though.  We've played our parenting cards just right, holding out on the oldest with such excuses as "nursing babes" and "pregnant mom."  Thus, having never been to an amusement park, they were quite impressed.

In fact, the oldest boys were less than adventurous, preferring rides that moved gently and were quite predictable.
 

 The little boys were more daring and fortunately both right at the 48" threshold for fun.

 The girls tackled it all enthusiastically and would have done the biggest rides if they were taller.

There was plenty to do and see, and Stephen and I could have stayed in the MINILAND USA layout for a long time (with no shade in the afternoon sun, it got pretty hot pretty fast). 

The highlight of the day was MINIFIGURE trading.  Each employee wears minifigures on their name badges, and if you spot one you like, they will trade with you.  There was also a large setup of figures from which you could swap.

Minifigures have been a source of contention, though.  It is unbelievable to me that the kids would choose to remove heads and hands, torsos and legs.  It is one thing to make a switch, but I don't enjoy finding random body parts or, worse, torsos with no hands.

So it took great effort not to shout "I Told You So!" when Jonathan was refused a trade because his little guy had no hands.  The employee calmly explained that the minifigure has to have all of his parts: head, hair/hat, torso, hands and legs; this was a heartbreaking moment for my little guy.  Thankfully another employee agreed to keep the hands from the one Jonathan wanted and trade remaining parts.  All was well.

 

 

I should clarify a little: we did not pay full price for the park.  There is a fabulous homeschool rate on certain days of the week so we paid $12.50/person vs. the usual $71.  The park is pretty small and not very exciting if you've been to Six Flags, Disney or Busch Gardens.  In fact, our local amusement park has more exciting and a greater quantity of rides.  You pay for the brand. 

On the other hand, you can bring in food and drink so you are spared from paying $8 for a bottle of water.

Whatever the final total, though, the thrill of seeing these guys so excited and so grateful for getting to be there was worth it all. 

Everything was awesome!