Father/Son Trip
Well, it's been a week and I still have not blogged about the trip with Mitchell. I have had several people ask about it, so I am finally sitting down to write. For those who didn't know, I planned a weekend trip with Mitchell last weekend (Oct. 22-24) to Branson, MO. The purpose was twofold: have fun with my son & have a conversation about adolescence.
The trip started bright and early as I loaded the van with all four kids and left Hesston at 6:45 a.m. The kids were so excited about seeing the sun rise. However, it was too cloudy and they didn't get to see much of a sunrise. We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's and continued on to Yates Center where I dropped off Mackenzie, Megan, and Molly at my parent's house. Then Mitchell and I hit the road.
I told him we were headed to Branson because it was a surprise. However, he found a cup that gave him a hint that it might be Branson. As we left Yates Center, I explained that this weekend was to be a lot of fun together at Silver Dollar City and Branson and also listening to some CD's together talking about adolescence. So the plan was to listen to CD's 1-3 on the trip to Branson & CD's 4-6 on the way home.
The first CD addresses inferiority in adolescence, the second conformity and peer pressure, and the third puberty/sex. After each CD by James Dobson, I asked if he had questions and also asked him questions to see if he had been listening. He loves to listen to books on tape so he was able to recall the main points of each CD. The first two were very helpful to him as he had expressed feeling some of things discussed in them. The third obviously was a more personal (and probably embarrassing) topic and seemed a little early for him, but I was glad that we talked about it. He had already told me that at school they talk about puberty in 5th grade. We had previously read an age appropriate book together regarding sex so it was not completely new information to him. I made it clear that if he ever had questions regarding puberty or sex to come and talk with me even if it felt uncomfortable.
Now for the fun! We checked into our hotel (Deer Run Motel) and then walked to Silver Dollar City. We were inside the park by 1:30. We headed straight to our favorite roller coaster: Powder Keg. Then we hit other rides for the rest of the day. It was very busy on Friday! At 6, we headed back to the hotel to rest a little before going to supper. He wanted to go to the place where they throw you rolls. So, we went and ate at Fall Creek. He loved it! Too bad the roll thrower only came by us one time and I didn't even get one roll. Then we headed back to hotel, packed our lunches for the next day, and went to bed.
We were up early on Saturday as we wanted to be on Powder Keg the first thing of the morning. We got to the park by 9:15 and quickly ran through the park to Powder Keg. It was worth it because we were the first people to ride Powder Keg for the day. The lines continued to be short so we rode it a total of 4 times in 2o minutes. We then decided to head to our other favorites: barn swing, WildFire, Thunderation. The lines were short on Saturday so we got our fill of rides. We rode so much that Mitchell agreed to go to a couple of shows too. It started to rain around 4 so we headed back to the hotel since we had ridden so many rides with no waiting. That night, we ate a quick supper at McDonald's and then got ice cream from Cold Stone. Then I surprised Mitchell with the 2nd big surprise: the Kirby VanBurch magic show. He loved the magicians on America's Got Talent so I knew he would love it. He was on the edge of his seat. We even went backstage to see the animals after the show. It was a late night so we went to sleep very easily.
On Sunday, we slept in later and then packed the van and headed back to Silver Dollar City. We were there almost at opening this day too, but again was amazed by the short lines. We rode Powder Keg several times before heading to other rides. I got to ride the train and some other rides at Grand Exposition. I told Mitchell we needed to be leaving by 2:30 p.m. But let him know I would get him a souvenir to remember the weekend. He picked a notepad and pen that said 50th Anniversary of Silver Dollar City. We then headed for the car.
He was an exhausted boy at this time. He wanted to try and be difficult about listening to the CD's on the way home, but I explained how it was not an option. We began listening to the CD's which talk about emotions, beliefs, and questions with teenagers. We finished the CD's at about Iola and stopped for some A & W before reaching Yates Center where we picked up the girls. The kids watched How to Train A Dragon while I drove back to Hesston.
It was a great weekend and highly recommend it to all parents and their children. If at all possible, fathers should take sons & mothers should take daughters. I plan to put together a training for parents of 5th/6th graders at Hesston MB to help them do something similar. If you are a parent of a boy, 10 is probably the youngest you would want to take them. However, because girls mature faster than boys 10 might be too late depending on the girl. I think Dobson's Preparing for Adolescence material is very good. It is dated, but it covers the essentials. If parents want to choose some other material or talk on their own, that is fine too. The most important thing is for parents to be having these discussions with their pre-adolescent children before they enter this phase so it is not such a shock and mystery to them which can cause more difficulties.
Have a great weekend!
The trip started bright and early as I loaded the van with all four kids and left Hesston at 6:45 a.m. The kids were so excited about seeing the sun rise. However, it was too cloudy and they didn't get to see much of a sunrise. We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's and continued on to Yates Center where I dropped off Mackenzie, Megan, and Molly at my parent's house. Then Mitchell and I hit the road.
I told him we were headed to Branson because it was a surprise. However, he found a cup that gave him a hint that it might be Branson. As we left Yates Center, I explained that this weekend was to be a lot of fun together at Silver Dollar City and Branson and also listening to some CD's together talking about adolescence. So the plan was to listen to CD's 1-3 on the trip to Branson & CD's 4-6 on the way home.
The first CD addresses inferiority in adolescence, the second conformity and peer pressure, and the third puberty/sex. After each CD by James Dobson, I asked if he had questions and also asked him questions to see if he had been listening. He loves to listen to books on tape so he was able to recall the main points of each CD. The first two were very helpful to him as he had expressed feeling some of things discussed in them. The third obviously was a more personal (and probably embarrassing) topic and seemed a little early for him, but I was glad that we talked about it. He had already told me that at school they talk about puberty in 5th grade. We had previously read an age appropriate book together regarding sex so it was not completely new information to him. I made it clear that if he ever had questions regarding puberty or sex to come and talk with me even if it felt uncomfortable.
Now for the fun! We checked into our hotel (Deer Run Motel) and then walked to Silver Dollar City. We were inside the park by 1:30. We headed straight to our favorite roller coaster: Powder Keg. Then we hit other rides for the rest of the day. It was very busy on Friday! At 6, we headed back to the hotel to rest a little before going to supper. He wanted to go to the place where they throw you rolls. So, we went and ate at Fall Creek. He loved it! Too bad the roll thrower only came by us one time and I didn't even get one roll. Then we headed back to hotel, packed our lunches for the next day, and went to bed.
We were up early on Saturday as we wanted to be on Powder Keg the first thing of the morning. We got to the park by 9:15 and quickly ran through the park to Powder Keg. It was worth it because we were the first people to ride Powder Keg for the day. The lines continued to be short so we rode it a total of 4 times in 2o minutes. We then decided to head to our other favorites: barn swing, WildFire, Thunderation. The lines were short on Saturday so we got our fill of rides. We rode so much that Mitchell agreed to go to a couple of shows too. It started to rain around 4 so we headed back to the hotel since we had ridden so many rides with no waiting. That night, we ate a quick supper at McDonald's and then got ice cream from Cold Stone. Then I surprised Mitchell with the 2nd big surprise: the Kirby VanBurch magic show. He loved the magicians on America's Got Talent so I knew he would love it. He was on the edge of his seat. We even went backstage to see the animals after the show. It was a late night so we went to sleep very easily.
On Sunday, we slept in later and then packed the van and headed back to Silver Dollar City. We were there almost at opening this day too, but again was amazed by the short lines. We rode Powder Keg several times before heading to other rides. I got to ride the train and some other rides at Grand Exposition. I told Mitchell we needed to be leaving by 2:30 p.m. But let him know I would get him a souvenir to remember the weekend. He picked a notepad and pen that said 50th Anniversary of Silver Dollar City. We then headed for the car.
He was an exhausted boy at this time. He wanted to try and be difficult about listening to the CD's on the way home, but I explained how it was not an option. We began listening to the CD's which talk about emotions, beliefs, and questions with teenagers. We finished the CD's at about Iola and stopped for some A & W before reaching Yates Center where we picked up the girls. The kids watched How to Train A Dragon while I drove back to Hesston.
It was a great weekend and highly recommend it to all parents and their children. If at all possible, fathers should take sons & mothers should take daughters. I plan to put together a training for parents of 5th/6th graders at Hesston MB to help them do something similar. If you are a parent of a boy, 10 is probably the youngest you would want to take them. However, because girls mature faster than boys 10 might be too late depending on the girl. I think Dobson's Preparing for Adolescence material is very good. It is dated, but it covers the essentials. If parents want to choose some other material or talk on their own, that is fine too. The most important thing is for parents to be having these discussions with their pre-adolescent children before they enter this phase so it is not such a shock and mystery to them which can cause more difficulties.
Have a great weekend!
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