Mike and I have a good-natured competition to see which one of us Annie takes after the most, so we were very excited to bring her to Knott’s Berry Farm’s Camp Spooky this past weekend to gauge her reaction to her first amusement park.
Would she prove to be an amusement park lover like me for whom no roller coaster is too scary? Or would she be lukewarm on amusement parks and hate roller coasters like her (weirdo) father?
I have to admit, I was a little nervous at first. Annie was a tad cranky when we arrived, and then when we met Snoopy she became shy/freaked out instead of being all, “OMG! I am meeting THE Snoopy!” It was a very Mike-like display of “amusement park party pooper-ness.” I, on the other hand, was perhaps a little too excited:
Snoopy’s expression says, “This lady scares me.”
Mike had no time to savor his “victory,” however, because Annie soon spotted one of the kid friendly rides – race cars that go around a track – and yelled, “Cars! Cars! Cars!” It was a very Heather-esque display of amusement park enthusiasm. Score.
Annie went on the ride with Mike, and though the cars whipped around the corners pretty fast, she was all giggles and squeals of joy. I was very impressed, especially since there were some older kids who stumbled out of their cars at the end, teary-eyed.
“Watch your back, Danica Patrick. There’s a new girl in town.”
Girlfriend was only getting started. She literally took off sprinting around the park, determined to find more rides.
Unabashedly rocking a Disney costume at Knott’s.
She climbed aboard a train ride and honked the horn the whole time…
Conductor Annie
…and then found a Merry-Go-Round and went on it twice!
“Faster, Seabiscuit, we can win this thing!”
Yup. Annie most definitely takes after me when it comes to amusement parks, and for that I am so happy. I can’t wait until she’s old enough to go on a roller coaster with me so we can hold hands and scream our heads off together.
Kate @ UpsideBackwards says:
So lovely! We all had our first visit to an amusement park when Pearl was 2. She wore us out! We were begging her to let us go home around 9pm, having been there about 10 hours, but she wasn’t nearly finished, loving every ride and having a fantastic time
This year I took her to Disneyland, and – like Annie – her favourite ride was the Carousel. Awwww.
Jenn says:
“I can’t wait until she’s old enough to go on a roller coaster with me so we can hold hands and scream our heads off together”.
Sounds PERFECT!!!!
Greta says:
Love the picture of Mike and Annie in the racecar. Mike looks like he has a long ponytail!!!
Elle P. says:
LOL, I was going to say the same thing! I did a double take because it looks like he has a pony tail.
susanmig says:
i was going to say the exact same thing about the ponytail!!
Robyn says:
Haha. I saw that too. Looks like long flowing locks in a ponytail.
Laura says:
I thought that too!
Colleen says:
Hey, Snoopy DID look creepy, can’t blame Annie there. I also love amusement parks; she’s a champ, and very cute one.
Melanie says:
How fun! I didn’t get to go to an amusement park this year since I just had a baby in July. I’m sad, but there’s always next year! My kids love the rides too.
I was so confused when I first saw the picture of Mike and Annie in the race car. It looks like Mike has a ponytail because of the background.
Shan says:
She is an adorable Tinkerbell!
Meg says:
Yay! Glad it proved to be a good time and Annie enjoyed herself (and you did, too!). My dad was always the hit-every-rollercoaster, nothing-is-too-scary parent, while Mom was the one holding our stuff while she waited for us to return from the rides. That must have been boring. Now that I think about it, she had the patience of a saint!
Maggie says:
Ahh….I can relate!! I ‘trained” my son at a young age to LOVE amusement parks. His father is also the party pooper (cry baby). I wasn’t taking any chance that he would be like his Dad about it! I started him around the age same age as Annie. We worked our way up, cheering and triumphed with each height requirement barrier we overcame. I now have my roller coaster buddy where ever we go!!
Jen says:
Cutest Tinkerbell EVER! Love it!
lisaj says:
I love it!
Ironically, we went to visit WDW this weekend, as S is still afraid of the head mouse.
She is VERY brave about talking it up : “see Mickey mommmmeeeeeeee!!!!!”, and she waves and giggles in line, but once up close?
She snubs the head cheese himself!
But we are getting closer. And she likes the merry go round and It’s a Small World, so we are on our way!
SO glad you got to take Annie to KBF, Heather!
Andee says:
Ahh, the cars at Knott’s. On our first trip there my middle child, who was I guess about 4 or 5 at the time, rode those cars. And when the ride jerked to a stop so suddenly her little kid bobble-head smacked forward right into the “dash” and killed her tooth. Literally. A dead, black tooth. Fun times.
Mel J. says:
This picture freaks me out on so many levels. It’s afternoon here and I just woke up. I have a horrible sinus infection that massive amounts of meds. can’t fix and between the giant Snoopy who is creeping me out and Mike’s ponytail I should get started on sevevral cups of coffee. Annie is so cute, though.
Pattie says:
Score one for us amusement-park aficionados! And she is beyond cute in that Tinkerbell costume — the hair makes it perfect. Thanks for giving me hope that my little one will grow up to enjoy roller coasters with her mom too someday.
susanmig says:
annie looks adorable in her costume! made me remember when people would confuse her for a BOY!!! no WAY would that ever happen now….she is all GIRL!!!
Marie says:
My word, she looks so grown up on that merry-go-round. And what a beautiful color for her outfit. You go girl!
I had to go back and look at Mike’s “ponytail” lol. I never noticed that until your reader mentioned it. He looks good too!
Hugs from Minnesota
Marie
Glenda says:
Annie is too freaking adorable… ahhh the memories…
I love this part the most “I can’t wait until she’s old enough to go on a roller coaster with me so we can hold hands and scream our heads off together.”
Mother/daughter bond = unbreakable
Lanie says:
So fun!! Glad that she takes after you on this one. Thanks for sharing. Take care.
Steven Ecker says:
Pretty much reminds me of my childhood. Back in the days with my Mom and we both scream at the top of our lungs. Lovely picture you have with your daughter
kelley says:
Oh my gosh that sweet little girl is so beautiful! I know y’all know that, but she really is!!!
Glad you had fun – Kelley
Walkingborder (Karen) says:
When she is old enough, bring her to Ohio and take her to cedar point. There is no better park for coasters. At. All. Mike might want to stay home…
Jen says:
When you are ready to take her on the rides at Disneyland, let me know. I have a pretty good hookup there.
Christa says:
Took P to Knotts a few weeks ago. Those cars were so fast! Disney has so many more rides for her. Going Wednesday with two other kids Annie’s age, from our Gymboree class. You should join us!
Dee Dee says:
Alert! Heather! You must pull the photo of Annie on the Merry Go Round! She looks way too grown up to be the baby girl I have been watching so closely on your blog!
AmazingGreis says:
Wait, what? Mike doesn’t like roller coasters?
So glad Annie takes after you because ROLLER COASTERS are amazing!! I wish I had an amusement park near me!
Leah says:
I saw the ponytail too.
Gayatri - Life.Unordinary says:
Beautiful kids you have there. I will keep stopping by. Gayatri.
Ray says:
Love that you put her in a Disney costume to take her to an amusement park. ;o) She’s got her momma in her, that’s for sure. Yay for liking the rides! ^o^