Conquering fears

I think the tears are starting to well up even before I start this entry. Today was so special yet so simple. Words can't really explain so I am going to post a TON of pictures. Some of the main things that happened today are: 1) We took our ASD child to a water park, it was small but a place full of water 2) Our ASD child had the most fun I have seen him had in a long time 3) My 8 year old who is fearful of just about anything conquered her own big fears those are slides and diving boards 4) we avoided a trip to the ER ( the past two summers on any fun family outing I manage to get stung by a bee without my epi pen and land in the hospital) We had a few close calls but made it out safe!

This family has been through hell this summer and even though things have been tough Chris and I realized we had to do something. I can't have these kids memories filled with sadness. So last night Chris said we should go for the water park and just do it! We figured with the cheap entry fee, and the ability to bring our own food we could honestly pull this off. If you have ever been to Hurricane Harbor or big water parkers you know those fees quickly rise all in all we spent well less than that and I think had more fun than a big overcrowded water park. 

That bright pink spec on the diving board is Ella jumping!

He enjoyed bouncing up and down in the water!

After lots of attempts he finally decided to go down the waterslide on his own just like his big sisters. 

Ella was so scared to do this but the helpful lifeguard told her if she sat up it would make it slower. 

So proud of doing the slide by himself. I think he did this slide another 100 times before we left

He got brave and decided face first was more fun because he could open his mouth and proceed to drink the water as he got to the end of the slide!

This was a fun rope course they had and Ella did it without falling into the water. That kid has incredible upper body strenth

That spec on the board is Hannah doing her big huge cannon ball!

So tired he couldn't even put his water down before he crashed out!

Hannah fell asleep right after this picture and has been out like a light since we got home

Somehow she managed to stay awake the whole ride and is still up as I write this!


So that was our three hour day at the Camp Bowie Family Aquatic Center.  I really had tears of joy as I watched my children just be kids today. They encouraged one another and just had fun being together. Its things like this that make all those struggles worth it.
The manager of the water park was amazing we told her H's situation and she came and checked on us throughout our stay. I had tears in my eyes when I told her thank you for making this day so awesome for us. She made the 1hr and 20 min drive so worth it. She was so sweet and was urging us to come back again and stay longer. Baby steps, baby steps.
So I guess we did get a vacation this summer. Autism took a vacation today and we were a typical family. It was so different and while I enjoyed it I wouldn't change H at all. It was just nice to not have to worry about big crowds and getting lost. The staff was aware of his eloping and you could tell when he was around they took notice. They might have been teenagers but I think some of them took it seriously.
Its 4 hours after we got home and I am still smiling! Is it really Monday tomorrow?