Frontier City and Miguel

Saturday my sister Amber's fiance, Miguel turned 24!!! To celebrate we went (with free tickets courtesy of Wendy) to Frontier City. It was Miguel's first time to an amusement park. He had never been on a roller coaster before or experienced all the craziness of lines and heat and annoying kids and fun. We were super excited to take him (although I admit to some jealousy since I LOVE roller coasters and couldn't go on much there). Here are some pics:

We start out in the car. Where are we going Miguel??? Surprise!!
The first ride...Diamondback. Yes he was scared and maybe we are jerks for making that his first roller coaster ever...
Crappy picture taken by park employee. You'd think basic camera skills would be part of the training.
Amber, leave that poor fake bison alone!
Quick Draw. You sit in a car and shot at things. Nate was ridiculously good at this, usually getting double what everyone else got. I did get to go on this ride.
The Carousel! Mighty spry for a 7 1/2 month pregnant woman!
Next, the log ride. I went on this too.
Surprisingly I felt fine on this spinney ride. Amber, however, almost vomited. Miguel spent a lot of time laughing (and probably a lot of time praying she didn't vomit straight on his shirt).
Bumper cars were next. Amber and I sat out- me, because of Peanut and her, because she was still feeling sick. But the boys had fun!
Somewhere around here we went out of the park and ate the sandwiches, pasta salad and fruit we brought. Nate made Miguel a dump cake with fresh peaches and blackberries- it was amazing!

Then there were some big rides I didn't go on and I begin to remember I was really pregnant and starting to get hot and sick and uncomfortable. I sat out for a bit.

Then we went on Renegade Rapids. It's a big tube, 8-seater ride through the water. We got soaked. Also we had a broken raft that didn't drain properly. This was gross for everyone else but allowed me to have my feet, up to my ankles, in cold water for several minutes. It totally revived me!

Somewhere around here I also got to the only employee that wouldn't let me on a ride. He never actually said no he just stammered and stuttered and looked so uncomfortable I felt sorry for him and left. It was the ride where you sit in an old car and drive around a track- ooooh the danger to my fetus!

Then Wendy showed up. She went with the boys on another spinney ride while Amber and I sat out. Amber couldn't even watch, it made her so nauseous.
Standing in line to go on the Rapids ride again. Wendy and Amber decided to make a happy face on my belly (it looks a little sinister)...
What happens when you've been standing in line too long and Amber has the camera:
Around here we went on the Pirate ship ride. Peanut was moving a lot as it got going. Then it got to the 'lifting your stomach into your chest' part and he stopped moving completely. As soon as it ended he went crazy! I'm not sure if he loved it or hated it but he definitely noticed!

Eruption for those not pregnant or too big...
Dinner at Red Robin completed the night. Happy Birthday Miguel!!!

Reasons NOT to get a Sunburn While Pregnant

I'd like to consider this post educational...
Let's start with a quiz.

1. What does SPF Mean?

2. What are the numbers measuring?

3. How do you know which number/how much/how often to apply?

4. What does sunblock actually block?

Answers (from wisegeek):

1. SPF is an acronym for Sun Protection Factor.
2. The number you see associated with SPF represents the length of time you can stay out in the sun without burning, multiplied by the corresponding number. So a person who would normally start to burn in 10 minutes, could theoretically have 150 minutes of sun protection with a sunscreen that has an SPF of 15.
3. Regardless of SPF number, testing of sunscreen does not really correspond to the amount of time you can stay out in the sun without burning because sweating, clothing rubbing against the skin, and water sports will all wear the sunscreen off. Tests also use much more sunscreen than do most people, so SPF number results can be inaccurate. Usually, an SPF 15 rated sunscreen will give your about an hour of protection before you should reapply sunscreen. This, of course, varies from person to person. It also helps to wear protective clothing, hats and sunglasses.
4. SPF number only relates to ultraviolet B (UVB) protection. Ultraviolet A (UVA) protection is not measured through SPF numbers, and until recently, frequently was not available in sunscreens. UVB rays are more potent, quicker to produce sunburn, and have been linked to skin cancer. UVA is associated with aging of the skin, and along with UVB exposure, may increase risk or facilitate skin cancer. UVA though milder, is still not safe.
This past weekend Nate, Amber, Miguel and I went to the Lake with all the dogs. We were only there 3 hours and I did apply sunscreen. Yet I am so toasty! Amber got burned, Nate got a little burned on his face/neck (he was wearing a shirt the whole time). Even Miguel got burned and he's Mexican! Apparently the UV Radiation for Saturday in our area was "extreme".
Top 5 Reasons Pregnant Women Should Not Get Sunburned:

5. We're already dehydrated. Most pregnant women are dehydrated (even more so than the average person). This is due to extra usage of water and the fact that while we try to drink a lot it's hard to make yourself when you're already peeing every 5 minutes. (PS All this while our little gummy bears are living it up in a fleshy water world)

4. Our skin is weird. Pregnant women have crazy hormones running through their bodies that affect their skin. They can get acne or have their skin clear up better than ever and they can be more sensitive to the sun.

3. We're already uncomfortable. Already we're telling our husbands about our aches and pains and stretching places. Now all of that is compounded by burning flesh.

2. We can only sleep on our sides. Now overall this hasn't been a problem for me. I was already a side-sleeper so this wasn't one of the pregnancy things that bothered me. However, when your shoulders are burnt to a crisp sleeping on your side is an entire night of flipping over and making sad pain noises (hopefully loud enough to keep your husband up so you don't have to suffer alone).

1. Big + White =Big + Brown =
Big + Red = or

Medieval Faire 2009

Well we spent all day Saturday at the Medieval Faire in Norman OK with Carlin, Aubrey, Baby Sam, Mitchell, Amber and Miguel. We occasionally ran into my other sister Wendy and her friend Paul(?) also. It was pretty fun. Sam who has lately had some stranger-danger, especially about Nate, was super friendly and willing to be carted around by anyone willing to cart him around. I'm pretty bad about taking pictures at things like this - I'd rather just have fun at the time. So here's all I got:

Pic #1 - Sam & his bottle...
While Sam was in a surprisingly good mood for someone begin carted around all day and missing 2 naps he did get fussy on occasion. Especially when we had the audacity to put him in the stroller instead of carrying him like the king he is. That is until Nate put his big medieval faire drink bottle in the stroller with him. He loved it. He sucked on it and hugged it and used it to prop himself up. Such fun!

Pic #2 - Sam the Knight
We found some little tiny swords and shields so of course we needed pictures. :)

Pics # 3 & 4 - The Boys found the Swords
Of course we had to spend ample time with the boys looking at swords. oh how fun... Nate found a sword that was almost 6 feet long. I can't even imagine how much it actually cost.

Pic #5 - The Ax Throw
Carlin, Nate and Miguel all tried the Ax Throw. The object was to chuck those weird ax-things at the shields on the wood trying to hit the small painted heart in the middle. Strength is needed but probably more important is releasing at the exact right time. Nate did hit the heart and was therefore 'Knighted'. He is very proud.