West Edmonton Mall - World Waterpark

Exhausted!  Yes, I am exhausted today as we spent most of the day at the West Edmonton Mall World Waterpark with the kids.  

Emma is giving it some attitude.

Our first slide that the boys went on was an “advanced” one called the Twister that was very fast and twisty.  Josh said, “it was hard to see because of all the water” that got sloshed around as you hit the bends in the ride.  Our next stop was a short slide in which Josh wanted to try where you sat on a yellow sled.  I was a little surprised that Josh would want to do this one as it went straight down . . . I knew he would of liked the end where you skipped along the water like a rock across a lake, but the beginning was not really his style.  It turned out to be Jamie’s favourite one as he went down it about seven more times throughout the day.  He does admit that he was a little scared the first time because of the steep drop, but he loved how fast he went and skipping across the water.

"Lean forward!" was the last piece of advice Jamie heard from the attendants.

During this time Emma was warming up on a “Beginner” slide called the Caribbean Cruiser with Michelle.  When we met up soon after, Emma was ready to take on the Twister . . . I must admit that I was a little concerned that this slide would be too long, too fast and too scary for her, but we made the long trek up anyways.  I was the first to go so that I could catch her when she hit the pool below when she came after me.  As I waited in the pool, I could hear her screaming most of the way down . . . I had a bad feeling about this, but to my surprise when she made the last turn and came screaming down to me, she had the biggest smile on her face.  When I plucked her out of the pool she said to me while giggling, “Did you hear me screaming?  I screamed all the way down until I had no more screams left in me!”  Emma loved it!  She liked how it went “straight down and the dark part (a tunnel)”. 

This was a little nerve racking for me because as soon as Emma dropped into the pool, I would lose sight of her in the white water.  I would have to fish around and pull her up out of the water.

This was the first time that we could all do the same thing as a family that met everyone’s fun factor.  What I mean by this is that usually we have to split up when we go to things like this . . . Emma is often too small or scared to do what the boys want to do or what Emma wants to do is not necessarily high on the boys’ list of things to do.  Thanks to the Twister, most of the day was spent together going to the various areas of Waterworld, as I believe the boys saw Emma as not so little anymore . . . that she could and would do what they wanted to do as well.

One of the last slides that we went on was Nessie’s Revenge, which went straight but dropped three times.  Josh loved “the speed, the drops, and the height . . . looking down on everyone in the wave pool”.  I must admit that I also liked this one because of the speed of the slide and the drops.  I even caught some air over the second and third drop . . . it wasn’t very graceful as I felt like I was being slammed all over the place. 

"Here I come!"  I was told to stand further back in the pool if I felt the need because of how fast they would go.

The last thing that the kids wanted to try was the ziplining.  Unfortunately for Emma, she was two pounds too light to go.  Despite her disappointment, she was okay with the boys going without her (we did promise her an Orange Julius when we left).  So off we went.  On our way there I told the boys that when you get comfortable let go of both hands and make a pose for mommy because she will be snapping a picture of us.  I can always tell when Josh gets a little nervous about an activity because he becomes a bit of a chatterbox.  Asking lots of questions about what we are going to do and re-assuring himself that he will be okay.  Jamie on the hand often becomes quiet . . . not saying much, but trying to put on a brave face.  When we got to the tower, the attendee helped us into our harnesses and got us hooked up to the zip line.  The boys were a bit hesitant to let go of the ladder even though I was trying to show them that they were secure.  As we were just about to be released Josh turned to me and said, “Wait, I just want to think about this for a minute”.  My response like any good parent was “too late, we are going soon”.  The attendee unclipped Jamie, ran over and unclipped Josh and then finally me.  When I looked over, the boys had a vice grip on the rope and Josh had his eyes closed for a few seconds.  Once they realized they were okay they started to whoop it up and let go of the rope.  As Josh said, “once you get going . . . you get more confident the further you go”.  He was right.  Josh thought it was “cool being the tallest one there and looking down on people”.  Jamie said when he “looked up and saw the teensie tiny rope that was holding me and it was scary.  When she let go of me, I felt that I accomplished something”.  Emma can’t wait until she is a little bigger to go ziplining with the boys.

The boys are still holding on with two hands  for dear life.

Josh pulling of the Superman and Jamie giving Michelle the double guns.
The boys are a lot more confident at this point.

I love these little moments when the kids surprise me by doing something that I didn’t think they had it in them to do.  Taking risks and pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone is what gives them that sense of accomplishments and a sense of life.  Experiencing the kids’ “Firsts” with them is what I love about spending quality time with them . . . I need to continue to remind myself of letting go of everything else and being all in with them . . . being, as one of my friend’s said, present . . . not just physically, but more importantly mentally . . . tuned into them and the moment. 

A great family day!