Skip to main content

WOA!

Yesterday we went to the Water Park Of America with the girls' cousins. A good time was had by all, although 3 adults to 6 kids is not a big enough ratio...

Eleanor wants me to write about her favorite part (and Amanda's favorite part): the family raft. First you climbed the stairs to the tippy-top floor (the 10th floor). There was an elevator that brought the 8-feet diameter rafts to the top floor. You got in and started down. The raft would go up the sides of the tube as though it were tipping over--Eleanor says it felt as though you might fall out. Sometimes you were on the inside of the building and sometimes you were on the outside. Michael and his sister took 5 kids: an 18 month old, 2 3 year olds and 2 6 year olds. I think they went down about 8 times. Amanda wasn't too sure she wanted to go down at first, but after the first ride when we were standing around deciding what to do, she started walking up the stairs all by herself. She was ready to go down all by herself, if necessary.

Luke enjoyed tubing around the perimeter on the "Lazy river". He enjoyed it so much that after lunch he managed to fall asleep in Daddy's arms. I don't know how many times they went around, but Luke probably slept for 45 minutes on the water. There were a few traditional water slides in the center part of the park, and he enjoyed those thoroughly, although he preferred the light ones to the dark ones. He would giggle as we went down the slide. I think he enjoyed himself more than I did.

Also in the middle of the park was a huge bucket way up at the top of the structure, which would fill up with water and then about every 2 minutes would pour it down on everyone. Some of the teenagers at the park seemed to like this, but Amanda and Luke were pretty scared.

We arrived home (after dinner in Woodbury) at about 9. Amanda was asleep. Eleanor was asleep. Luke... was awake.

Comments

C. L. Hanson said…
You're talking about the park that's right by the Mall of America, right? What's up? I got an email saying you wouldn't be in Minnesota. If you're free, we're right around the corner at the moment. We're also planning a trip to Madison, so we could potentially get together there if that's where your vacation is centered. Please email me if you're interested -- it would be great to see you again! :D
mathmom said…
Hi Chanson---we were there for 1 day, but we were based in Menomonie (i.e., we came for the day (left home at 8:30), went to dinner in Woodbury and to Wisconsin for bed). We just couldn't get back to see you all =( It's frustrating how near and yet how far you were from us. If you're back next year, we'll definitely try to coordinate better.

Popular posts from this blog

Why you should study the history of math

  Why you should study the history of math In the mid 1300s a fad made its way around Italy. Mathematicians would challenge each other to “mathematical duels”. They would post problems for their opponents to solve, sometimes along with their solutions in coded poetry. The winners would get support and funding from rich patrons, the losers would descend into obscurity. One such contest, between Fiore and Tartaglia, involved a new method for solving the cubic. In order to win, Tartaglia worked day and night to find Fiore’s method---unfortunately, Fiore did not do the same and only knew his own method and no others. (*Recall that the formula for solutions to quadratic equations of the form use the quadratic formula, Giorlamo Cardano---physician, philosopher, astrologer and mathematician---convinced Tartaglia to share his method and promised never to reveal it. Then Cardano figured out a more general method, and wanted to share it, but was blocked by his promises. Fortunately (for Ca...

Books I like: reality edition

Here are some more books from my childhood and later. I read a lot as a kid, and these books are the ones that stand out in my memory. I figure that if I can remember them 25 years after I read them, they must be pretty good. I'm calling this the "Reality Segment," not fantasy, not science fiction, not history, just real life. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin : This is probably my favorite children's book of all time. I read it in 3rd grade or so, then read it again to clear it up more. Then I read it in 6 th grade and finally understood what was going on during the second reading of the will. In more recent readings I've understood more about Sydelle Paulaski and the relationship between Dr. Denton and the lovely Angela. What a pleasure. Ellen Raskin has written many other good children's books (all quirky and surprising) but this is the jewel. Bruno and Boots books by Gordon Korman : As the FNDP (Friendly Neighborhood Developmental Psychologis...

Books I like: magic/science fiction

I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy when I was younger, so I was surprised when I was thinking about this list at how few books were on it. The other thing that is interesting is how many books I just remember a few details from, but not anything useful like a title or author. Half Magic and the whole series, by Edward Eager: My favorite is Knight's Castle, although I suspect I would have enjoyed it more if I had ever read Ivanhoe... Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald: I'm not sure when it happened, but I now identify with the parents rather than the kids. The Seven Citadels by Geraldine Harris: I came back to the Jr. High library to check this out even after I moved on to the high school. Girl with the Silver Eyes by Wilo Davis Roberts: I always wondered what would happen if I had ESP and other "special" abilities. The OZ books, by L. Frank Baum: I read almost all of these (all the ones I could find in the library, rather). My favorite is Tik - To...