Carowinds!!

i know these pictures are dark...sorry....it's bumper cars!! :)

Back in December, I won tickets to a "rock the park" concert. I really had no idea what they were, but I happened to be listening to our christian radio station and they said "we'll take the 7th caller" - and I called and it was me!! They mailed me the tickets and I put them in David's stocking - still not really sure what concert I had won tickets to. I knew it was an outdoor Christian music concert, and figured that if David & I weren't interested in the groups, we'd just give the tickets to our youth group for a giveaway or something. Well, about a month ago as the date was approaching, I pulled the tickets back out to find out more details. I discovered that the 4 tickets I won were to CAROWINDS - the amusement park at the NC/SC state line! It was Christian Music Day and they were going to have several Christian artists there performing throughout the day. But the tickets were also good for admission to the amusement park and waterpark! I was super excited now!

We decided to make arrangements for Callie & Caleb to play at a friend's house and make it a special day for just the big boys. That way we'd really be able to enjoy the park and not just stay in kiddie land all day. (Plus we only won four tickets!) We didn't tell the boys where we were going that morning - just gave them clues all along the way. They guessed it right before we pulled into the parking lot and they were SO excited!! It was SO fun getting to focus on THEM all day long!

One of my all-time favorites from childhood - the Scrambler. Although I felt my age when I got off the ride and felt a little queasy! :)

David did one of those "free fall" rides. NO WAY was I going on that one with him. We just watched.

The boys got to have Dippin' Dots for the first time. It was sort of a bribe to get them to go on one of the biggest roller coasters. It was a loopy one that took us upside down. Rated a "5" on the 1 to 5 scale that the park uses, but we did it! Super proud of them - and they loved it. Josiah liked it better than the big hills rides - Jacob said he likes the big hills better. :)

We only carried around a backpack. Had our money, some water, and our bathing suits and towel in it. SO freeing not to have a diaper bag, snack cup, stroller, or a BABY in my arms for once!!

The one show we watched was a "Snoopy on Ice" show. It was very fun!

We had SUCH a fun day with Josiah and Jacob. We were there when the park opened and stayed until they closed at 10 pm. The kids were totally worn out but absolutely loved every minute. Josiah was very nervous about the whole thing - every time we'd get in line for a ride, he'd say "i'm getting that fluttery feeling again mom" or "I don't think i like roller coasters". And then he'd ride the ride and come off saying "that was awesome! I loved it!" It was hilarious. He was trying to understand why people would want to do something that scared them - how can that be fun? :) We had a blast - a huge blessing to be able to do something like that FOR FREE with our two big boys!