The Water Mine

Over Memorial Day weekend we went on a family outing to Virginia to go to the Water Mine water park. A trip to the water park was a big reward Reed had been working to earn for a couple weeks through his performance at school. While it was Reed's efforts we were trying to encourage the other two kids were equally invested in the process. "Did you get a stamp?" were usually the first words from Ruby's mouth when we picked Reed up from school and many a prayer uttered by Max included "Please bless that Reed will get a stamp." When the final stamp was finally earned it really felt like a group victory.

Even with just the side of his face I can feel Max's joy in this picture. Ruby was feeling pretty happy about it too.


I wouldn't have minded if the weather had been a little warmer. Getting in was a little bit of a shock, but once you were in it felt great.



I was a little nervous about bringing my camera so close to the water, but I'm so glad I did. It was totally worth it and as far as I can tell it survived just fine.


The Water Mine was actually the perfect speed for our group. It was nice to go somewhere our entire family could all equally enjoy. We could all go on all of the rides, however I'm pretty sure Reed rode "Big Pete" about 50 times more than the rest of us. He was in heaven.



Ruby started off a little timid, but after I finally coaxed her down one slide with Max she was unstoppable.


She liked to wait until someone was coming up behind her then let out a shriek before launching herself down the slide.


Sam could barely grab her out of the water before she was trying to catapult herself out his arms shouting, "I wanna go again! I wanna to go again!"



Slides weren't the only water fun the park had to offer. Reed traversed this water obstacle like a pro.


The lazy river was also another favorite for everyone. Reed liked trying to sneak around the entire river without being seen. He was good at it too, maybe a little too good because I never did get a picture of him floating by.


Max loved all the tubes to climb through, too. He has also become very interested in miming recently (that needs an entry all of it's own) and never misses a good opportunity to try out his craft. He's actually not too bad for a budding street performer.


It really was a perfect afternoon. For kids who have been waiting all year to swim again, this was a pretty great start.