Ride n' Slide

This weekend, Mia and I got to take full advantage of the perfect fall weather, and the off-season lull (which allows for great deals, like the Hiawatha trail and Silver Mountain Water park combo pack...who could ask for more?) with Gma K and my sisters.

This tunnel on the trail is a thrilling 2ish mile ride of darkness.  Mia wore this little headlamp and sang a hugely echoing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" to keep things "light."

Here we are about to be engulfed by the cold, scary tunnel:

Whew!  As we zoomed along following our tiny  light, 

we emerged unscathed, with our family, and next to a beautiful waterfall.

Perfect set-up for an object lesson?  It sure felt like it!

We had felt ambitious at the beginning of our ride, and planned to replace the shuttle by riding back the way we'd come.  At the end the ride, we happily hopped onto the bus. 

Mia thought it was fabulous to ride sans seat belt and next to Gma K. 

Then, as if the beautiful ride wasn't enough, we got to top it off with this.  Although I have long had a phobia of public water facilities, since I've been a mom, Mia's excitement has overridden my fear of swapping fluids with fellow swimmers...and it was worth it!  We had so much fun, that these three pictures (three of the countless trips down Mia's orange slide) are all we documented.