Kennywood, AKA Our First Family Trip to an Amusement Park

Here in Pittsburgh, we have one of the oldest amusement parks in America.  When I was growing up, I went to Kennywood almost every summer!  I was always so excited to go!

Surprisingly, Grant and I never took our kids to Kennywood. I know, I know...BAD parents. Out of the past 8 summers, I spent 3 of them pregnant and 3 of them with young babies! Dylan and Lexie didn't even express an interest in going until recently.  It was on our summer bucket list this year, and we fit it in just in time!

On Labor Day, we met my dear friend, Steph, and her awesome family, at Kennywood. Our families completely match up.  Dylan and Andrew are the oldest kids in their families, Lexie and Reagan are the oldest girls, Lily and Lily are BFF's, and Liam and Violet are the babies.  PERFECT.  They're like family to us, and we were so excited to spend the day with them!

Dylan and Lexie couldn't wait to go.  It's all they talked about for weeks! 





After Steph and her family arrived, we ate some lunch, then headed out to explore the park. We decided to get family photos out of the way first.  There were a few complaints, but they cooperated!

 



We finally made it to our first ride!  The dads took the babies while the rest of us stood in line. 



The ride was a hit!  Lily completely enjoyed her first amusement park ride. I'm so glad I got to share that moment with her, but I confess, I can't handle spinning rides anymore!



We headed straight over to the carousel after we got off the ride.  Liam was asleep, so he missed the only ride he could go on.  Of course, Liam came down with Roseola a few days before our trip. Thankfully, his fever broke the day before and all he had was the rash.  He slept almost the entire time, so it worked out!



Lexie surprised us all when she said she wanted to go on the biggest and scariest roller coaster in the park.  Steph and George stayed with the 4 youngest while Grant and I went with the older kids. Lexie was JUST tall enough.  I thought for sure that she was going to chicken out before going on The Phantom's Revenge, but she was a trooper!  It was the first roller coaster ever for both Dylan and Lexie, and they chose the biggest one!



I rode with Reagan, and Andrew and Dylan were behind us.  Grant and Lexie had to wait for the next ride.  At the top of the first hill, I heard Dylan's terrified scream "Get me off this thing!!!"  I turned around to calm him down and he loved the rest of the ride. After our ride ended,  I waited at the gate for Grant and Lexie.  I was positive she was going to come off the ride crying.  I was wrong.  She was laughing!  I couldn't believe it!

It was hot, so Steph and I took care of the babies while everyone else stood in line for a water ride.



They waited and waited, and just before they were going to get on the ride, lightning was spotted.  They shut the ride down, and we headed to a pavilion to wait our the rain.  Luckily, it ended quickly, and we headed back out for some more fun!  




Our first stop was at the Jack Rabbit, which is an old, wooden roller coaster.  It was a childhood favorite of mine, and I couldn't wait to ride it with the kids!  Lily was tall enough to ride her first roller coaster, so she rode with me! She looked a bit shocked as we went down the first hill, but she had her hands in the air by the end of the ride!






After that, everyone went in different directions.  Grant and Dylan headed over to a new roller coaster, George took a break, Reagan and Andrew headed to another ride, and Steph and I took the girls and babies to Kiddieland.














Dylan and Grant returned from "the coolest ride ever" and Dylan took Lily on a ride. Lily was a daredevil!  She loved going high up into the air and being dropped!










It was HOT outside.  We didn't have luck with the water rides earlier in the day, so we went with an easy trick: Stand at the bottom of the Pittsburgh Plunge.  We spent more time there than anywhere else!








The lines faded, so Grant, Dylan, Reagan, and Andrew went on the Pittsburgh Plunge.  Everyone else chose to stay at the bottom!  The big kids ended up riding it over and over and over again!















We eventually dried off, changed clothes, and rode a few more rides.  Steph and I took the girls on the turtles for our last ride together.  



After that, George took the younger girls on a ride, Steph sat with the babies, and Grant, Dylan, Andrew, Reagan, and I went on the new roller coaster.  It was fast, scary, and dark.  Perfect way to end the night!

We had a great day at Kennywood with some of our best friends!  We are so thankful we got to spend the day with them!  It was a beautiful day, and everyone had a great time.  I spent more time with Andrew and Reagan than ever before, and I'm glad I got that chance.  Dylan, Lexie, and Lily had the best time with their friends and couldn't stop talking about their amazing day and their favorite rides! 



It was definitely an unforgettable day.  I think we need to make this a yearly tradition!  See you next year, Kennywood!



We love you, Steph, George, Andrew, Reagan, Lily, and Violet!