Knoebels Krazy!

Well, this weekend was opening weekend at Knoebels.  And as is our tradition, we had Zoe's birthday party up there.  I don't know about anyone else, but I'm having a hard time realizing that Zoe is actually 9.  I mean, just the other day we were planning her baby shower (which she crashed!)  She can't be 9 already... then again, Boo is almost 2! (eep!!)
It was a cool (ok, ok, cold) damp and gray day.  But we haven't let that stop us before!  Luckily the rain held off until 6:00, right as the rides were all closing down.
Over all we had a very good day.  We even left the house on time!  Gak decided to stay home and have a veg-out day.  I don't really blame him.  The weather wasn't great, we've all been under a LOT of stress lately and going almost non-stop.  So, instead of having an almost empty car on the way up, Joan and Mel rode with us, as well as Mel's boyfriend Lane.  Yes, I said Mel's boyfriend.  Yes, she's too young.  Of course, I'd probably say that when she's 20 as well...  None of my "nieces" or "nephews" should be old enough to date yet!  It was a fairly enjoyable ride up.  Boo only napped the last half hour or so of the ride because he was too fascinated and entertained by the older kids riding with him.  He did surprisingly well for not napping.  (Of course, we had his pack-n-play with us, but it really was too cold for him to want to nap outside.)
Last year the weather was bright, sunny and about 90 degrees out.  The place was packed wall to wall.  This year, the park was almost empty.  I think somewhere in between would be nice.  Kinda like 4th of July there last year.  Just enough people to be busy and beautiful weather without being too crowded or too hot.
The first part of the day we spent wandering around a bit and Boo only got to go on 1 ride, and I got to go on a total of 2.  We were just enjoying hanging out with the rest of the crowd.  After cake though, we headed over to the kiddie area with the younger crowed.  (Mind you, Boo's the baby of the group, and Alayna, who's name I know I haven't spelled right yet *sigh*, was the next youngest at 5...) Zoe's friend Leah came this year and Leah and Boo became fast friends.  Then again, Boo will follow just about any girl around.  Leah was very happy to take Boo on just about any ride that he, or she, wanted to go on.
Boo did very well with the rides.  I think we've created a monster.  At first, he wasn't so sure about the rides. He wasn't sure about getting onto them, but once they'd start, he'd have this grin on his face.  Then the ride would stop, and he'd be fussy because he had to get off.  Only, there were so few people in the park, that often times he could ride twice in a row!  This surely spoiled him.  I have lots of pictures, but not many good ones of him smiling.  Usually he was smiling when the ride was in full motion so... blurry pictures.
We were very lucky.  It started to rain right at 6:00 when the rides were closing.  When we were just about loaded up into the cars the heavens opened up and the rain came pouring down.  We made it home by about 9:00.
So, yeah, yesterday was a good day.  Saturday was a good day too because we spent the better part of the day over at Kat's.  I did laundry in the morning with Boo, then we came home for a nap.  Well, for Boo to nap and for me to attempt to get some chores done.  After we picked Gak up from work, we all headed over to Kat's.  She needed to borrow my crock-pot for Sunday.  We ended up staying until just about 10:00 that night.  Dinner was very good, (pork country style ribs grilled over apple chips and charcoal...) and the company even better.  We even had a campfire.  It was a very nice evening and good to see everyone together.

Today, on the other hand was a crappy day.  It was crappy because it's a Monday.  It was crappy because I feel like I didn't get enough sleep last night.  It was crappy because of the weather.  It was crappy because I didn't have the productive day that I should have had.  What made it the worst though is that I had to go to a funeral.  You see, Kat's nephew Frankie passed away last week.  No, Frankie wasn't a little kid.  Frankie is actually 10 years older than Kat and I.  (Kat really wasn't planned... at all.... mom was dad's 3rd wife, he'd already outlived 2... he was over 60 when Kat was born....)  Frankie was almost more of an older brother to Kat than a nephew.  He's the one who helped her learn to ride a 2-wheeler.  He's the one who did a lot of the "big brother" kinds of things because... well... he was the oldest of the "kids".  Frankie was only 44 years old.  He went to sleep one evening last week and never woke up.  So, yeah.  It sucked.  I don't like funerals much to begin with and well, when it's someone as young as Frankie, I hate them even more.  It was a good service and there were many, many friends and family there.  I just wish I hadn't had to run back to work right away.  Luckily Scott and others were there for Kat as well.

I just hope the rest of the week gets better.  This year is looking a little too much like 2007 for my comfort.  Of course, it is beginning to look a bit brighter, but still a ways off from being there.

Anyhow, I'm tired, I've posted lots of pictures up on Flickr.  Go enjoy them.  I'm going to get the trash together, find a book or something for a few minutes and then go pass out I think.

Peace to all and may your weekends be wonderful and your Mondays far from crappy.