While we had a full day planned at Legoland, it didn't open until 10:00am, and everyone had had breakfast and was ready for the day by about 8:30am. I suggested we go for a walk around the neighborhood, so we took a group of children, including Lyla and Collin in the double stroller and Brick in his, and went and wandered around. It is a beautiful neighborhood, with lots of interesting houses, a number of them of historic import, and wonderful green growing things. We poked our noses into yards, though not our toes, and strolled from street to street. It was a lovely way to begin our day.
We spent the day at Legoland. While it wasn't Disneyland, it was fun and everyone had a good time. Legoland is geared towards a younger crowd, but considering we have a largely younger crowd, it was great. There are amazing Lego constructions all over the park, the set from the Lego movie, and rides that almost everyone could do. The weather was beautiful, the lines were short, and Brandt and Blythe both came away with small Lego sets at the end of the day, so everyone was happy.
Today was also Kent and my 20th wedding anniversary, a momentous achievement. I'm certain that if I had been asked on my wedding day where I would spend my 20th anniversary, I would never have suspected it would be Legoland, but that's okay. It is wonderful to be with Kent anywhere.
All of us.
Top row: Christopher, Tysen, Kent, Katherine, Sharae, Eugene, Blake, Guy, Mikayla, Sue
Bottom row: Griffin, Crew, Ava, Lyla and Rowen in the stroller, Collin, Makenna, Blythe, Luke, Brandt, and Brick
The sun was shining very brightly in our eyes.
We wanted a picture of all the girls here on the bench with the Lego Friends,
but just as the girls sat down, Makenna got stung by a bee and wouldn't ever come back.
These next pictures are inside the Lego Movie set.
It was totally cool to see everything up close.
Makenna, Blythe, and Ava
The girls ran around together most of the day.
I was in the car behind these guys.
These cars were drivable around a track.
The driver could decide where to go.
The only downside was that they were slow.
All of us plus Lego Chewbacca
There is a speed boat ride you can take. You are largely in control of your own boat, making it go forward and steering it yourself. It isn't attached to anything. Kent and I went together; it was our "anniversary cruise." We had a terrible time controlling the boat and ended up facing back the way we'd come, sailing against the flow of traffic and ramming other boats. We had a terrible time getting ourselves turned around, but laughed and laughed at our incompetence.
Do you see how this picture is from straight on?
That's because our boat is facing the wrong way.
Lyla is going to drive right into us,
but we are the bad boaters, not her.
There was a pirate ship ride that went up and down and around and around.
Brandt wouldn't go on it, but the girls really liked it.
We went once, then got off and ran around to go again.
I'm playing to the camera in this one.
I admit it.
This is a large play area.
Brandt has used these foamy pieces of stuff to build a pirate ship.
There is a large section in the middle of Legoland called Minitown USA. Lots of well-known places in the US have been recreated in Legos. Our favorite part, however, was the Star Wars section of Minitown. All the famous places and some scenes have been recreated. Brandt thought it was absolutely the best and would have liked to bring them all home and put them in our yard.
This is all of us on the Legoland equivalent of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. We got to float around and look at amazing Lego constructions, including the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and the New York City skyline. We all went together, the children all wore goofy Lego character head headbands, and we took a moment to relax and enjoy being all together. We really were sort of all over in small groups, reconvening at lunch (sort of) and crossing paths, but we all got together here.
Kent and Brick are sitting next to me, so they aren't in the picture.
I wore a goofy Lego character head headband too.
Why not?
When in Rome. . .
There are 108,000 Lego bricks in the water buffalo.
It was the first major construction we saw and I made note of how many there were.
Then we saw lots of other things, but I didn't make a note about those.
It's the Eiffel Tower, reminiscent of our honeymoon.
And here we were again, 20 years later.
Rowen from several seats away.
Here are three shots of the New York City skyline.
If I recall correctly, there are 8 million bricks in the setup.
But I could be wrong.
However many there are, there are lots.
This was an area where you could check out the base of a car--
four wheels attached to a flat piece of Lego--
and then create your own car and race against others.
This is fabulously popular with all the boys, from Guy and Blake
down to Collin and Brick.
The girls even got into it.
This is the Legoland equivalent of the Tea Cup ride at Disneyland.
You turn around and around and around really fast.
Kent took pictures from the side while the rest of us got slightly nauseous.
Oh we look we are having so much fun!
The really funnest ride, however, was the Aquazone Wave Racer. Two people stand together in a little car and are whipped around a central axis. You can control how far out and back your car goes, and jets of water shoot up randomly, spraying the riders. Brandt and I went together, and Makenna and Blythe, with Brandt and Blythe both in front. Brandt controlled the steering wheel, whipping us out into the spraying water and giggling maniacally. It really was super fun. We got off and ran back around to go again. Twice. My feet ended up soaking wet, and we all got sprayed pretty well, but it was warm and fun so no one cared.
Look at Brandt's face!
Makenna and Blythe in the front,
me and Brandt behind.
Brandt is loving it!
The last ride of the day we went on before heading to the Big Shop to buy Legos, was the Technic Coaster, a roller coaster. Blythe was totally excited about going, but Brandt was a bit nervous. There was a small roller coaster near the entrance to the park, and I went with Blythe on that. Brandt wouldn't go, even though it was small. But it was the end of the day and Brandt had worked up his courage and was willing to go, if I sat next to him. As our car climbed up the track, I said to Brandt, "If you get scared, just scream. It will make you feel better." So as we crested the hill and started down, he and I both screamed. I congratulated him on being so brave, we all had fun, and we ended the day on a bang. Yeah for a fun day of play!
This is a grainy picture.
Tysen, me, Blake, Guy,
Ava, Brandt, Crew, Luke, Makenna, and Blythe
Luke and Blake behind
Brandt and Katherine
Tysen and Makenna behind
Ava and Blythe
We got back from Legoland and everyone was hungry but not in the mood to go out anywhere. Pizza was ordered while the kids put together Legos, but Kent and I slipped away for dinner to celebrate our anniversary alone. We found a Thai restaurant in the next city, a place called Taste of Thai, that had delicious food and a lovely atmosphere. We ordered tom ka gai which we love and always eat when we have Thai, and some new things we don't usually have, for a change. We got money bags for an appetizer which are shrimp stuffed wontons served with a plum sauce. Kent got peanut steak and I got trout with green apple salsa. It was all delicious.
Always on our anniversary, we talk over the high points of the past year and blessings we've received. It was fun to remember all the great things that have happened over the past twenty years. We have done some fun traveling, Kent started his business and it has done really well, we bought a house, and best of all, we have two great kids. We are still happy together, helping each other grow and do better all the time. I hope the next twenty years together are as good as the first.
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