Boardwalk time!

In terms of the weather, it turned out to be a beautiful evening with only a few clouds and temperatures in the low 70's. In terms of the family, in turned out to be a beautiful evening as well! It was so fun watching the two boys on some of the rides together. The first ride they did were the mini boats and it was just adorable watching these two little guys smiling and riding together and having a grand time as brothers. It's a big year for both of the boys because now Matty can ride some of the rides without us and Tyler hit the big 42 inch mark to be able to do lots of rides without anyone else. One of my highlights was riding the "crazy bus" with both boys. I knew Tyler would enjoy himself because we did it together last year, but we took a chance with Matty. As we'd go from bottom to top and around he initially had a face that would be best described as "what in the world am I doing right now" and then very quickly changed to that face that he always does when he's really excited and says "ohhhh". It was clear that both boys were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Just before the dinner brake, Tyler became very brave and really wanted to try the rocket roller coaster. He's finally tall enough and I thought I'd do it with him for the first time. The first loop around I was a bit surprised at how fast it went and looked over at Ty and he was grinning from ear to ear. Then the rest of the ride was the two of us with a major case of the giggles. He was laughing so hard that I couldn't help myself either. It was awesome! We settled ourselves down after that and had a nice picnic dinner on a bench overlooking the beach. We had sandwiches, fruit, soft pretzels, and the family favorite...cotton candy. What a mess, but it was worth it and fun! The boys were in such a sweet, pleasant mood and Daddy and I would look at each other with such love and contentedness. It was a great family moment. We did a few more rides after dinner and as the grand finale, Tyler wanted to do the rocket roller coaster again and he did it completely by himself!!! We were so happy to see his growth since last year and seemed so much more confident and willing to try any of the rides. He would have done all of them if he was tall enough. It was a pleasure to see his excitement and bravery! I loved it and loved the whole evening.