TRAVEL GAME!

In our countless hours of driving on the Six Flags trip, the Wrights came up with two very fun Travel Games.

Now, these games certainly are more converstaion-starters that just plain games, but both of them can be played over and over, forcing folks to get more and more creative each time!

As best as I can tell, these are games invented by the Wrights, so should you ever play either of them, it would be appropriate to say a short prayer thanking God for awesome we are. Just sayin'.

1. The Phone Would Ring...
This one was really fun. Here's how it works:
-A family member is picked. (Kristen, for example.)
-Then each member takes turns saying this to person: "My wish for you is this - the phone would ring..." At that point the family member makes up some wild, cool dream for the person. Jonah said to Krist, "My wish for you is that the phone would ring, and it would be Target. And they would would say, we have five thousand, one hundred dollars for you. Come spend it at Target."
-This is a great way to find out much you know about your family members and what their dreams are. It certainly doesn't have to be materialistic, but it's fun to hear whatever everybody considers as a "dream come true" for you.

2. Thankful Game (yet untitled)
In this game, everybody takes a turn naming two things they are thankful for. Here are the conditions:
-The first reason has to be big - some giant, amazing gift of God that you're thankful for. This could range from the health of the family to protection in a disaster to gratitude for God's mercy. You know, the BIG stuff!
-The second reason has to be small. You have to talk about something very small and seemingly insignificant that you're still grateful for. These are things you could live without...but you're glad you don't have to! For example, one of my big things might be that God called me to ministry and one of my small ones might be my iPod. Get it?
-I'm thinking of naming this Big Thanks, Little Thanks.

So, why don't we give it a shot?

Let's play the thankful game. In the comment box, share your Big Thanks, Little Thanks with the rest of us! (It's been awhile since we hit the 10+ comments, why not comment, then invite other folks from your blog to join in? Let's hear it? What are you thankful for?

Six Flags Recap, Part II: Jonah

There was no doubt about it - the Wright boys had decided they were going to get the full Six Flags Experience.

I'm not sure which one of was more excited, but suffice it to say that we couldn't not wait to pull into the parking lot. (Mom was excited, too...but there's just something cool about a Dad and his boy riding roller-coasters, right?)

First off, Jonah was great. Those of us who know him well know that patience is not his strongest suit, but he really was great for the whole day.

Up until this trip, the toughest thing Jonah had ever ridden was a very very tame "kiddie koaster" at Fiesta Texas last year. Now, he loved it, but had yet to experience that flipping-stomach-involuntary-scream-experience. I wasn't sure he would want that on this go-round, but we decided to live a little.

First off, El Sombrero. Or "the el sombrero," as Jonah kept calling it. (Which as most of you Spanish speakers know is incorrect.) And that's when I knew...because this rides angled-spinning-lift-and-drop provide the perfect amount of flipping stomach effect. Not too much...just enough to get hooked.

And Jonah did get hooked. He screamed with pure joy for the whole ride and all I could do was laugh. It was great.

From there, we moved to other rides. He rode the Log Flume with Kristen and fell in love with it, asking over and over to get back in line. From there, we took Finley to Looney Tunes Land for some tamer rides. While there, all four of us rode some Wile E. Coyote roller coaster that amped up Jonah even more for the big stuff.

We kept walking the park. At one point, Jonah and I were going to do the giant parachute thing, but Jonah kept saying, "Um, maybe we'll ride that one later," which, in six-year-old speak means I'm terrified at even the idea of riding that thing, Dad.

Then, he and Kristen rode Crazy Legs, which he loved. Kristen...not so much. About halfway through, I noticed she had that vomit look, but she held it together.

And then, things got a little crazy. It happened when I said, "Jonah, do you want to ride Flashback?"

I don't know why I said it.

But he said yes.

They strapped us in and when they started backing us up that track, Jonah started saying he didn't want to do it. Too late.

All of sudden, the locks released and we plunged in so fast, immediately into a loop and then a spin and then I heard the tears. So while I'm fighting the G-force and trying to raise my head to comfort him, we launch up the other side, hold for a beat and then...plunge through all of it again, backwards.

And I kid you not, during one of the loops, I looked over at him and realized I'm looking at my six-year old son and we're running upside on a looping roller coaster. What's wrong with me?

Once we both got our bearings and walked out of the ride, he quickly told me he hated it.

An hour later, he was asking to ride it again. I said no.

From there, we did some carnival game stuff, the El Sombrero two more times, another ride on the Log Flume with the whole family and then another pass on Crazy Legs, which immediately gave ME the vomit look. We capped it off with Aquaman, which drenched us nicely, but we were on our way out of the park, so it was a great finish.

Kristen and I spent the day laughing with Jonah, throwing our hands in the air and screaming as we made all those plunges. We paid ridiculous amounts of money for watered-down drinks and we walked miles and miles in search of the next big thrill.

Since New Years Day 2002, that little boy has been filling my life with laughter and wonder. A day at Six Flags may not be ideal for some, but for me, it was one more chance to look at my son and know that I am highly blessed of God to call this child my own.

Six Flags Recap: Homeschool Family Day

For those of you who don't know, the family and I headed off to Six Flags Arlington on Thursday.

We actually drove to Sanger on Wednesday to see The Conns. Robert was kind enough to let me lead worship and preach a little at his youth service on Wednesday night, which was fun.

Then, on Thursday, Kristen, Jonah, Finley and I drove to Arlington for a very special "Homeschool Family Day" at the park. Since we're really not planning any big vacation this summer, we decided to take a few days and enjoy ourselves without spending too much money. Kristen found the homeschool thing online last week, so we bought our tickets and got up there as quick as we could.

Now, the interesting thing (and the reason for this post) is the questions folks have asked us about our day at Six Flags. Since this was a themed day, the park was open only for homeschoolers, which ended up being very nice - relatively low numbers, everyone was very kind, and we just felt safer hauling our kids around the park when it was filled with homeschool families. But the question we've been getting has been something like:

"So, how was the crowd?"

I understand this question, because I went into this thing fully expecting to be surrounded by people who made their own clothes and managed a large farming commune. So the people who knew we were going have wanted to know just who exactly shows up to Homeschool Family Day? Here's the breakdown..

THE DADS
I'd say there were three types of Dads at the park. I will list them from most popular to least.

1. Golf Shirt Dad
These dads tended to show up in really nice SUVs. Most of them were dressed very "corporate" or even "business casual." These dads also seemed to have larger families (4+ children.) Most of them didn't smile too much, but that could be a product of having to pay for 6 people all day in a theme park.
2. Christian Radio Dad
The second most popular Dad at the park was "Christian Radio Dad." That may seem like a weird description, but they seemed like dudes I know and go to church with who are pretty cool, relatively hip on culture stuff, but still fully embracing their Christian Dad status. I don't know why I'm using Christian radio to describe them. I guess the guys I know personally tend to be big supporters of radio that's safe and fun for the whole family. These guys smiled a lot.
3. Bearded Dad
I expected to see more beards, but they were there in limited quantity. These dads had the hardcore farm look working. They seemed to enjoy the park a lot, but I also saw a lot of them walking around by themselves. Most of them were very large and/or strong.
4. Puff Paint Dad
Puff Paint Dad was there in limited supply. These are the guys most likely to wear shirts with words written in "puff paint." I saw one canary yellow shirt puff-painted with DAD / PRINCIPLE OF WALKER SCHOOL / LOVE YA, DAD! The very few of this quantity seemed to very sweaty, which seemed to prove that they were really busy playing with their kids.

I was really impressed with the number of Dads there. As I get older, I gain more and more respect for those guys who are willing to leave behind their attempts to be cool and embrace their calling to love and educate and parent their children. I respect everyone of these Dads.

THE MOMS
Nothing really surprised me about the moms. I saw a few denim jumpers, but for the most part, the women looked like any other mom. There were quite a few hip moms and one who looked like a bodybuilder. Wasn't expecting THAT.

THE KIDS
I was surprised at how many emo homeschoolers there are. Saw lots of girl pants (not being worn by girls,) lots of jet black hair and hoodies. (Hoodies...in May...in Texas!) I saw a few really well-dressed kids with tucked in shirts or elaborate ensembles. I was also surprised how few "little kids" I saw. The crowd seemed to be a 12 and over bunch.

OTHER SURPRISES
1. One funny shirt that said something like: WARNING, UNSOCIALIZED HOMESCHOOLER; STUDENT WILL BE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN NORMAL SOCIAL CONVERSATION. Thought that was funny. Saw three of these.

2. I'm not near as brave as I used to be. Some of those rides scared me to death.

3. I'm also surprised how mad it makes me to pay $4 for a drink. But a guy needs his Diet Coke, right?
_______________________________________________________

Jonah had an absolute blast. My next post will tell you more about him and how much fun he and I had together at the park. It was definitely an experience I will not forget.