Down with the WP

Do you know what that means? "Down with the WP"? Well, for starters, WP stands for Water Park. I am down with it, meaning all for it, cool with it, big fan. We be WP people. (Ouch, bad slang, horrible grammar. It hurts to *be* cool.)

So now that I've made you equally cool just by reading this and knowing what WP means, let me tell you why this magical place has become such an important part of our summer lives during the past 2 summers.

Cold Clean Water. Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Some people may say, "Hey, crazy lady! You live 3 miles from the ATLANTIC OCEAN! Why on earth would you pay to swim in water and get a tan when you have that for free??" Well I'm here to tell you that the ocean isn't all it's cracked up to be. Carrying chairs, coolers, umbrellas, beach toys, and 2 kids to the beach IS WORK. You usually can't park anywhere near the actual sand, so you have to haul all of that a few hundred yards until you find a small space of beach to claim as your own for the day. And speaking of sand, that stuff gets EVERYwhere. In your hair, toes, bag, chairs, coolers, umbrellas, beach toys, and 2 kids. Not to mention the unmentionable places of every attendee. Then there is the ocean itself. Beautiful in pictures. Even more beautiful in person - watching the waves crash, hearing the earth's power at work before your very eyes. But did you know that stuff LIVES in there??? All kinds of crazy stuff like fish, sharks, jelly fish, stingrays, seaweed (ok, maybe that's not alive, but the way it attacks your thighs and won't let go will make you THINK that something live has gotten you.) Then there's the safety factor for the young kids. Isabel could swallow small shells and choke. Nicholas could wander off and get lost or, worse, wade into the ocean over his head and be unseen below the greenish-brown ocean water. Um, no thank you...

So, as I said, we be WP people. Nice clean clear water, where you can see every single thing in the water, no matter how deep the water is (hello, 6 ft. deep wave pool.) Free lounge chairs and sporadically placed super-huge umbrellas all around the park. Food court just a short walk away. Loads of fun slides and entertainment for the kids. Lifeguards galore (although yes, some of those 15 year old brats care more about flirting with other lifeguards than watching our children...) Plus, there's exercise to be had at the water park. Climb the stairs to just one slide one time and you'll burn off the calories from that slice of pizza you'll have for lunch. Do it multiple times, and you'll have an excuse to stop at McDonalds for a hot fudge sundae on the way home (calories = energy, or so says my Slim-Fast can every morning...) And did I mention they have this thing called the L-A-Z-Y River?? You get in a tube with the kids and force them to sit still for at least 5 mintues (30 minutes + if you're either very lucky or very talented/tricky/powerful and plan the lazy river trip for right after lunch.)

This place is a slice of heaven here on earth (in Myrtle Beach) for 3 months every year. We go nearly every Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. The doors open at 10, but we're usually the first ones in line outside at 9:30. As season pass holders, we can fly through the gates, flash the pass, grab a wrist-band, and then call "dibs" on *our* chairs. Yes, I'm calling them ours. 90% of the time we are at the water park, we occupy the exact same chairs. They are under one of those super umbrellas, right next to the large kiddie pool with all of the great slides for youngsters. We're right next to a life guard and at a central location to all of our favorite things (like the Snack bar I mentioned earlier that serves some yummy shoestring french fries.) We save a couple of extra chairs for the kids to chill out on when they need a break. We also usually pack a lunch or heavy hor d'oeuvres (haha, I just called kiddie food hor d'oeuvres...) to have in the picnic area. Once or twice a month we'll break down and let the kids have a full meal from the snack bar (hello, double dog meal with fries!)

It really is one of my favorite multiple-occasion memories from Nicholas' childhood thus far. I absolutely cannot wait to get Isabel in on the tradition this year. Just thinking of Nicholas' drastic tan lines and blonde hair gets me so excited, because opening day is only TWO WEEKS away! My favorite part of living in Myrtle Beach is right around the corner, and I am READY!

Enjoy these pictures of fun from the past two summers.

Squeezes & Smacks,

LaSon

Nicholas going down the "tree slide" with his swimmies on. This was summer 2006, when he was 2.

Nicholas playing in the water, summer of 2006 again

Nicholas at the very beginning of summer 2007. You can see some of the cool floating animals and waterfall mushroom in one of the kiddie pools behind him. We love to get on the gator or snake and ride them like horsies, bouncing in the water! (Did I say "we"? I meant the kids, not me...)

Nicholas and his water park princesses (read: not girlfriends. These are older women) Left to right: Shayla, Nicholas, Coral, & Gabby. You can see my prego back in the top left corner. See how we put the kids on a chair behind us in the shade? Cool, huh??

The most handsome 3 year old to ever hit Wild Water, modeling his super-cool goggles. This picture is taken from *our* chairs, which are poolside near the tree slide, shell slide, pirate ship slide, cave, etc.

Nicholas swimming in the kiddie pool. Look at that fish go!

Nosey People Annoy Me

So here's the thing. I'm not an overly private person, at least most of the time. I talk a lot, many times about myself or my family or my life. I enjoy sharing stories with my friends. But I am currently in a sit-u that is burning me up beyond belief.

Many of you know that just over 2 months ago, Carlos and I made the decision to pull our children out of public daycare. While there wasn't any one thing that happened to "set us off", we felt it was the best decision for our family. Nicholas was having difficulty with the lack of individualized attention he was receiving. Both kids had been sick continuously for the first 2 months of the year, passing colds back and forth with the kids in their respective classes.

It all came to a head when Nicholas was hospitalized for pneumonia. Coincidentally, one of our favorite teachers at the daycare (we'll call her Kelly) had been "released from employment" around the same time. Without getting into the nitty gritty on all that - Kelly made an anonymous suggestion to the owner that all employees should be treated fairly in order to improve morale. Needless to say, the owner didn't like that, figured out that Kelly had made the suggestion, and fired her during a staff meeting.


So, in one of the hardest weeks in my life, my child has pneumonia and ends up hospitalized, and I find out Kelly is "no longer working with" the daycare. I contacted Kelly and asked her to consider keeping my children at her home, and we struck a deal. I notified the daycare that the children would cease attendance and let them know the kids were moving to a home daycare environment.


Now for the past 2 months, the owner of the daycare has continued discussing my family, particularly my children, with her staff. She has said on multiple occasions that she knows Kelly "stole" my children from her, and has threatened to call DSS (Department of Social Services) to report her. FOR THE RECORD, the DSS website clearly states that the arrangement I have with Kelly is legal. She is not required to be licensed, or register as a home daycare. This is because the only children who she is paid to care for on a regular basis are mine. Of course Kelly and I already knew this, because she contacted them before agreeing to keep my children.


So the hothead protective mother in me wants to march into that daycare and give the owner a piece of my mind. How dare she threaten to call DSS in regards to my children? And for what?? She apparently does NOT know the law, or she wouldn't make these accusations and threats in the first place. The rational side of me knows there are better ways to handle the situation, and so I've been seeking advice from those closest to me. I am planning to send a certified letter to the owner requesting that she cease discussing me and/or my children with her staff, and instructing her to direct any questions or comments relative to my children TO ME.


I doubt I'll hear anything. But I'll keep you posted.

To quote the My Space page of a friend of mine:

"Junior High called. They want their drama back."

Squeezes & Smacks,

LaSon