It's that time of year again. Nicholas has been waiting for this for a whole year now. Last night was the Pepsico private party at Six Flags for employees and their families.
We love this kind of party and it's really the best way to go to Six Flags. Free admission, private guests (smaller crowd), all you can eat Frito Lay products, and all you can drink Pepsi, Gatorade, Sierra Mist, and Aquafina Water, plus free Daffy Dollars to spend in the park on food or souvenirs. Woo hoo!
Unfortunately, Six Flags is not a "Pepsi Pour" location so all of the Coca-Cola vending machines are made unavailable and have these nice little signs over them.
Yes, I take that same picture every year because I just think it's that funny. You'll probably see this again next year too. Consider yourself warned.
Rachel didn't really know what to expect since she hasn't ridden on many rides but she was excited just because Nicholas was so excited.
We were able to get two extra sets of tickets and Daffy Dollars so we invited along some friends. C is about 6 years older than Nicholas but the two of them play together really well. I think Nicholas looks up to him like a big brother. They rode together on the trucks while Rachel sat in the cab driving. I love the big smile on her face.
C enjoyed riding some of the kiddie rides and was great with Nicholas. It was nice that Stuart or I didn't have to ride on them all. I think we'll have to bring C along with us each year :)
Nicholas has ridden this roller coaster many times but it's a lot of fun. I like the expressions on his face (click the pictures to enlarge for better viewing).
Rachel and Nicholas were going to ride the tea cups but Rachel didn't hold on and they got spinning too fast and she bonked her head. She decided that she was all done with the rides at that point. Nicholas didn't mind riding solo though.
We had to ride the balloon ferris wheel. It's a neat ride for little ones but it must have the slowest moving line in the park - which is really not fun for parents trying to corral their toddler - keeping them from pulling the hair of the person in line in front or trying to grab the lollipop from the little boy behind, and wearing out the parents who have to hold said toddlers for what seems like an eternity while waiting in line. Once we finally got on the ride, Rachel had a great time which made it sort of worth the hassle of that crazy line, especially since she had been acting so afraid of rides.
We wandered to an area of the park that our friends were quite familiar with but that we had never been to. It was fun seeing a whole side of the park that we hadn't seen before. Maybe we should try looking at the map more often!
One of the rides that C recommended was the Sombrero. We caught the end of the ride as we walked up and it seemed like a simple spin-around kind of ride. Rachel let me take her on it but soon after it started going I realized I had made a mistake. I felt butterflies in my stomach from the spinning so I knew that Rachel was scared. Sure enough she started whimpering and literally shaking with fear. I felt so bad! Next time, I will be sure to watch the entire ride before I determine the toddler-appropriateness of it. Bad Mommy!
Of course, Nicholas and C had a great time on the Sombrero and rode it again.
Somehow they talked Mr. B into riding some rides with them.
It was neat having these particular friends with us. Mr. B and C knew their way around this other side of the park well so they were great tour guides. We rode antique cars, Yosemite Sam mine adventure, Crazy Legs, and of course, Batman. Stuart and Mr. B talked a lot while Nicholas and C were riding rides together. Nicholas looks up to C so he was acting brave and tried a lot of rides that I don't think he would have otherwise. And of course, as I already mentioned, C unknowingly helped us by taking care of Nicholas on some of the bigger kid rides so we didn't have to. Plus it's just always more fun doing things with friends!
Baby girl in the big Texas-sized chair. Such a little doll!
Rachel was worn out around 10:00 but managed to do ok a while longer with someone holding her. However, the heat, humidity, and the extra weight of carrying Rachel meant that Stuart and I were done by 11:00. We let the kids spend our Daffy Dollars on light up swords and butterfly toys that probably won't survive through the weekend but they were quite happy with their loot. Of course, both kiddos were fast asleep soon after we got in the car.
Hooray for Pepsico for an awesome way to show employees how they are appreciated (and for making bedtime easy on the parents by wearing out their little ones to complete exhaustion)!
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