Permasuit

Permasuit (per' ma suit) n. - 1. The look of a bathing suit when not wearing one due to excessive sun 2. What Suzanne has due to lack of reapplication of sunscreen at a waterpark.

The kids and I went to WaterWorld in an attempt to avoid the heat on Thursday. I needed something to do and I figured that a day at a water park would keep us busy and mostly out of trouble. I was planning on meeting a neighbor, but the park was so huge and busy that I actually never saw my neighbor. That was probably for the best as I was constantly counting and keeping my eyes on the kids.

As soon as we got to the park I made sure that everyone got sunscreen. I even remembered to have Jack lather up my back, which is where I tend to burn due to forgetfulness. Apparently when I applied sunscreen to my shoulders and chest it was a drive by application. My back was fine, but I didn't get a thick enough layer up front to do any good. Needless to say, I'm in a little pain today. The good news is that the kids didn't get burned.

So, comments on the water park. The kids area was great. It has a lazy river, a small pool, a couple slides, and a "Fun House". The fun house was a three story maze that had booby traps to spray unsuspecting passerbys and water cannons to shoot as well. This was a big hit, it was hilarious to watch grown men wait in line for the water cannons and then go crazy once it was their turn.

Outside of the kid's area there are a couple wave pools and tons of slides. Most of the slides we didn't go on because Emma wasn't tall enough and Jack isn't a big fan of the unknown. The wave pools...well, there's a story.

When we first got to the wave pool there were no waves. Emma was less than impressed but we played in the shallow end of the pool to appease Lily. As soon as a wave started in the deep end of the pool there were screams of delight and fright. People stared rushing toward the shallow end of the pool. Not Emma. She started screaming and running into the wave. That was a priceless moment.

By the end of the 30 minutes or so that we spent in the pool the kids were getting a little more daring and playing in the slightly deeper water (2 feet deep vs. 2 inches deep). Lily loved the waves and didn't want to be held which was actually nice and gave my arms a rest.

Well, it was the last wave of the day did me in. Being in the deeper water meant that it was a little more crowded and there were intertubes as well. When the wave came, all I saw coming at Lily and I was a wall of people and intertubes. I snatched her up and turned around hoping that I could brace for impact. I didn't stand a chance. The wave crested at my shoulders and the wall of intertubes knocked us down. All I could think of doing was holding Lily up and trying to keep her out of the water. As I scrapped my knee on the bottom and then arched up into someones head, I made eye contact with a guy that saw Lily and I getting trampled. He grabbed Lily as I went by. I couldn't thank him enough.

Jack, Emma, and Lily wanted to wait until the next wave, but I had to veto that. I was ready to leave. Other than too much sun and getting knocked over in the waves it was a fun day.