Seth has a love for boating and being on the water with his friends and family. He enjoys wakeboarding but doesn’t necessarily like to stay up for very long. He prefers to get up, attempt a trick, and then be done. Last year, the trick he wanted to try was a back flip. He would get up on the wakeboard and would immediately go outside the wake. He would then turn back into the wake and attempt a back flip. He didn’t catch much air, but he did bend his back enough to land in the water mid-flip. We caught it on video, which was a hit with several of our family members and friends.
This year, his challenge was to get up on one waterski (slalom ski). For an 11-year-old, that is a big accomplishment. I figured he would try it once or twice and quit, so for extra motivation, I told him he could drink one whole can of Red Bull if he got up. We do not advocate giving children energy drinks — especially those who do not need it like Seth —- but he had been asking for a long time, and I didn’t think it would do him that much harm. Plus, he wasn’t going to get up anyway! Seth tried 25 times and failed to get up. That’s by far the most times he has ever tried and failed to perform any trick. Finally, even being completely waterlogged, he made it. He was anxious and excited for his prize. He was a little upset, though, because he had to wait until the next day for his drink. We needed to get our sleep to prepare for Seth on Red Bul. One of Seth’s favorite hobbies is lighting off fireworks. He loves all kinds — the bigger, the better. They are magical to him. His vacation choice is usually Evanston, Wyoming. It is a small town just across the border from Utah. Wyoming has more lenient laws on fireworks. They have a lot of cool fireworks year-round that are illegal here in Utah. For as long as I can remember, people have been driving an hour or more to Evanston to pick up fireworks for the fourth of July.
This past year, Seth decided to make his own firework. He had dismantled other fireworks to see how they were constructed. He transformed a toilet paper roll into his own creation using duct tape, a fuse, and a tiny amount of powder from a roman candle he took apart. He was a good boy and did not light it without permission. He asked for weeks to light it, and after some time, his mom finally let him. It worked! It was not a high-flying firework, but one that stayed close to the ground. That must have satisfied his curiosity because there have been no homemade fireworks since. That may also be because of our “no more black powder” rule. In the last year or so, Seth has found a passion for roller coasters. He watches YouTube videos of rollercoaster rides, reviews, and even tutorials on how to construct them. He has actually typed up summaries (with pictures) of the best roller coasters in America that he reads to whoever will listen. Our family has heard about Cedar point, Ohio many times.
This summer, he has been asking us daily to take him to Lagoon, our local amusement park, to ride their new coaster named Cannibal. On July 22, for his older brother’s birthday, he got his chance. The ride delivered and was everything he had hoped it would be. His brother, on his birthday, was nice enough to buy Seth a Cannibal T-shirt when his mom refused. He also rode a ride called Spider. This ride is a roller coaster with a spinning element to it. He rode this ride alone and decided he would like to video the experience on his iPod. His mom had told him no iPod on the rides, so when she left for home and it was just me, of course he took advantage. What he didn’t expect, was on the first hard spin, the iPod flew out of his hand to the ground (exactly what his mom said would happen). The ride attendants saw the iPod leave his hand and stopped the ride. They sent three people down to see if it was anything that could be a potential hazard to the ride. Afterward, Seth got off in tears, fearing his iPod was gone forever. Seth saw the attendants find his iPod and was afraid they would not give it back. We went together to ask for it. After speaking with a supervisor and proving the iPod was his, they did, in fact, hand it over. Seth was relieved and said he would not take it on a ride again. Lucky for him, there was one really cool aspect of the event: Seth’s iPod caught the whole experience on video, including the plunge from the roller coaster to the ground below. |