Busch Gardens

It's a well-known fact in my family that I (as well as my sister and brother) LOVE Busch Gardens. I don't know if it's because I grew up going there (I have home video of me at 9 months taking some of my first steps at the petting zoo area) or if it reminds me of my mom or what...but I really do have a special place in my heart for Busch Gardens - as cheesy or tacky as it may sound to say that hahaha. So every time I go to Virginia I make Busch Gardens a priority. I just love the ambiance - it's a beautiful park; I love going to all the different countries and seeing the shows, I love the themed rides, I love the music and the food. I just really enjoy it hahaha. Get it? Good haha.

I have video of Ava when she was 8 months old at Busch Gardens and I remember sitting at Elmo Land and watching her crawl through the splash park talking to Kaitlyn about how I should tell Bryson I had just found out I was pregnant with Gavin. And this year I was able to take both kids and they both could ride so many of the rides I remember going on as a kid.

Ava was FEARLESS - in every sense of the word. I honestly think she would ride a rollercoaster and not even flinch. She rode the Battering Ram (the ship that goes back and forth) and at first I sat with her in the very middle so it wouldn't go so high. She loved it, of course. Threw her hands up in the air right away, laughed the entire time and shouted then, "Wets do dat again!" when it was over. The next time, Bryson took her and sat in the very back - I was nervous she would get a little freaked out by how high it went. There were teenage girls in line in front of us who were panicking because they were so nervous to go on - then they looked down at 2-year old Ava and said, "She's going on THIS?" Yup - she was obsessed. So after this ride, the "baby" age-appropriate rides didn't seem to really do it for her anymore - she kept shouting, "Higher! More higher" hahaha. So funny. My aunt kept reminding me, "Ava is an exact CLONE of you as far as personality goes - you were JUST like that."

Gavin loved most of the rides, too! He is definitely more cautious than Ava has ever been - he will ride anything, as long as I am right there with him to hold his hand. SWEET BOY! He did NOT like meeting the Sesame Street characters hahaha. He clung onto me and wouldn't go anywhere near them. Can you blame him, really? Ava, on the other hand, loved and adored them all and showered them with hugs and kisses every chance she got. Gavin LOVED the splash pad part of the park and could have stayed there all day. He also loved the Little Balloons ride - he would wave to all the people as it went around and around and when it would stop, he signed "more, more."

We ended up doing one full day from open to close at Busch and then a couple hours here and there several days before and after that...so we were there a lot. My aunt said one night in her sleep, Ava shouted out something about Busch Gardens and the "coasters," which is not surprising to me at all. She still begs, "Mom, we go the coasters 'gin?" I'm just glad my kids loved Busch as much as I do!