Funtown Splashtown USA

Growing up one of my favorite places to go was Funtown.  The rides, the waterpark, the family friendly atmosphere.  Now it does help that my Grandmas sisters started the place with their husbands, and one of her sisters still runs the place with her husband and kids.  So whenever we went it was not only a time to play it was a time to visit with family.  So Im a bit bias.  Not that it matters much because Funtown Splashtown USA is simply the greatest park on the planet and its worth a trip all the way to Maine just to go there!

Whenever we go its the same cycle, rides, then water park, then (when we were older) more rides.

Going back with my own kids is like stepping back in time, they are riding the same rides that I rode when I was a kid, and have as much fun as we did.    The family rides like the Antique cars, and the Balloon race, and the old fashion classic carousel.  And the kiddy rides like the Frog Hopper, the Kiddie Train, Helicopters, Kiddie Boats, Kiddie Swings, and the Red Baron Planes!

And as they grow older I get more excited about the rides they are still to small for, such as New England's longest and tallest log flume ride, and the largest and tallest coaster in the state's history, and the largest in Northern New England.  AND its wooden on top of it all!!

And dont even get me started on the water park.  This day we spent our time in the Pirates Paradise which is a fantastic kid friendly jungle (or pirate as it were) gym with great water surprises, and multiple slides geared to different age groups.  I dont think Ryan and the older kids ever left.

And a short walk past the kid friendly tiki bar serving every sweet kind of drink you can think we also spent time in the Fun Lagoon.  Which is the kiddie pool bottoming out at 1ft 6in deep it is Liams favorite spot where everything is his size.

For me though there are the larger slides such as Liquid Lightning, Mammoth, Splish, and Splash!  Perhaps next time we go Ill pawn the boys on my mom and take the camera up on that set!  Yes the two SEVEN STORY TALL Water Slides!

What a great place to go, especially with kids of any age.

Told you it was one of my favorite places on the planet.

This past Saturday we went over to Old Orchard Beach, played in the arcade, had a picnic on the sidewalk, and played in the water.

We went up to see Susan and her kids who are visiting from Texas.  Susan is great and she has some great kids.  It was really nice to get some time with her.  Although as often happens when I get near water, or a television I just get sucked in.

Saturday was not very different.  Once we hit the beach I found that spot where I can just sort of float, either sitting down on the bottom or dragging my knees…  Being rocked by the waves, and sometimes pummeled by the waves. 

It's one of my most favorite places to be.  Resting and lifted by the water.

Susan's daughter Rain sat out in the water with me trying to survive being pummeled by the waves.  But Susan isn't a fan of the water, and I don't think she realized just how shallow we were.  I think if she would have realized we were only knee deep she probably would have joined us..  Probably not sitting down on the bottom to be pummeled by the waves but at least hanging out and talking.

Regardless of what might have happened differently if I hadn't been asleep at the wheel all day I did have a good time, and the boys had a good time, and we even made it home before bed time..

We have a tradition with the 4th of July.  We go to Wolfeboro have a pizza, play in the playground, have an ice cream, listen to some music, and then watch the fireworks.

Basically it’s just the closest place to see the fireworks, it’s along the water’s edge which helps with the heat.. And did I mention the ice cream?

It was a nice day as always.  The boys had fun, got a chance to play with some new kids, and a chance to get out of the house/yard.

Plus the fireworks were great.  It was a great kickoff to a great weekend!

Ryan still has his training wheels on.  And Liam… Well Liam doesn't like to peddle at all yet.  So we do our bike riding a bit closer to home, as in the driveway.

Now we've got lots of riding trips on our short list, from simple ones near by, to taking the bike car on the train right into Boston to ride around the North End.

So in preparation we practice.  When the weather is nice we're out riding/rolerblading two or three nights a week.  I hop on my rolerblades because I don't need much practice on the bike, certainly not as much as I need on the rolerblades, and the driveway is a bit small for my bike.

We ride for an hour or more most nights, ironically with me lasting longer than both of the boys.  I say that because I'm the only one out of shape.  Both boys can do more situps and more pushups than I can, in addition to just having better health and habits over all.  Still I'm working on that to.

Several times a week, when we hit the pavement and ride baby ride.

There are few things in the world that taste as good as real strawberries fresh from the plant!

Yum YUM YUM!

Every year when strawberry season comes we make a few trips to our local farm.  Mackenzie's Farm!  The family that runs the farm are super nice and they have great produce.

We still haven't gone over to do our BIG strawberry picking day when we put some away for the winter BUT we did go out the other day to pick enough for a few weeks of indulgence.  OH yes those strawberries were so good we couldn't stop eating them.

Perhaps we'll go back AGAIN this weekend!  The best part of being so close to some really good farms and Mackenzie Farm in particular is that even with gas so crazy we can run down and pick up exactly what we need for fruits and veggies whenever we want.  Durring the summer I head over a few times a week as I'm passing by just to add a single peach to my lunch.

The boys do it all the time.  Work on the stove.

Yet every time they do it I find it so cute I grab the camera.  I don't know what it is, perhaps because I know it won't last.

So here they are again.  Working on the stove as if it were a car.  My little mechanics.  Doing whatever it takes to help out.  And playing so nice together.