This weekend I enjoyed being a kid again.  I went to the Mall of America near Minneapolis which has an amusement park in the middle of the mall!  A friend’s 8 year old nephew, Alex, and I got to run amuck through the park.  Last year, when he visited the mall, he was not tall enough to ride the “big kid” rides.  This year, he was 3 inches above the required height of 48 inches, a major right of passage.

He was like “a kid in an amusement park” trying to decide which ride to go on first while we purchased tickets.  “The Spongebob Roller Coaster, or the Avatar Skateboard, or the Log Ride!” he’d yell out while dancing around the ticket counter.  As we entered the park, what ride did he choose?  The first ride he saw, the Spongebob Roller Coaster.  It was his first “big kid” rollercoaster he’d ever ridden and I must admit, he chose the scariest of them all first.  This ride literally has a vertical drop and a couple loops.  He admitted he was nervous, but he was so excited, he danced through the entire line.  The picture taken of us while on the ride showed the pure little boy joy in his face.  I’d say it was a priceless picture, but $15 for the picture is ridiculous Continue Reading