Busche Gardens

On the last two days of our family vacation (May 16-17), we went to Busche Gardens Europe to get our fill of roller coasters and 4-D movies. Because Chelsea loves roller coasters, she joined Aaron and me as we hurried around the huge theme park, looking for the shortest lines to the most exciting rides. Julie took Christopher in his stroller through all the exhibits representing each country, enjoying the sunshine, wildlife, and bustling atmosphere. We met up with them after thrilling our way through two or three roller coasters, eager to share the excitement with Christopher. So we found the kiddie park in "Germany," and we released him from his stroller to discover the carosel, flying dragons, ferris wheel, train, and boats.

Christopher was delighted by the up-and-down action of riding the horses on the carosel. He shrieked in glee every time he came full-circle and saw either Aaron or me. We rode the dragon and ferris wheel rides with him, but the novelty of height wasn't nearly as thrilling as riding in circles holding onto a pole or a wheel. It seemed that Topher's very favorite was the boat ride, because he sat by himself in the back seat of a little motor boat attached to a pole that guided the boats in circles around the small pond. He steered and flirted with the cute girls who always sat in front, and he hooted at Aaron and me whenever he'd pass us by. As soon as the boats would slow to a stop, Topher was quick to use his pudgy little hands to sign for "more." And of course, we let him do more and more to his heart's content.

Eventually, we left the rides to watch some short shows at different places in the park: A trained pet show that thoroughly entertained Topher with the music, the dogs, the cats, the birds, and the pig; an Irish dancing program that got our kid tapping his feet as soon as he hit the ground; and a 4-D pirate show that sprayed water in our faces. But really, we were relishing in the thrills of fast falls after long waits in line. I liked simply hanging out with Aaron, holding hands and sharing stories and worrying about nothing.

By the last day, our feet were sore and our arms were brown and our kid was the epitome of tired. His final thrill from the theme park was standing by a fence overlooking the Pompeii ride and watching the boats climb up the cement slope, disappear into the volcanoe, and come pouring out over the edge in a steep waterfall. Each boat made a gigantic splash, which is when Topher would throw his arms in the air and flail his legs and cry, "Splash!!!" Then, of course, he would ask for more.

When it comes to adventure, we always want more!