Riding the Carousel @ North Point Mall

Earlier this month, when some of Kate's cousins were here, we hit North Point Mall--and Kate had her first carousel ride! Boy, did she ever enjoy it!

Here's how it went down: We were on a schedule and needed to visit some of the hot spots--The American Girl Store, Build-A Bear, The Children's Place, etc., etc. By the way, if you have kids, North Point is a VERY kid friendly mall. So anyway, we worked our way down the list of must-stops and then ate at the newly renovated food court--home of the infamous carousel. Even before Kate was born, we often hit North Point with our siblings' kids so they could enjoy the fun carousel.

A little mall walking

Well, after lunch, we walked over to the carousel. They've revamped how they do things. Now you have to buy a token (which is $2--a little steep in my opinion, but we paid it, of course). Well, there are only a couple of token machines, and there is a big traffic jam of kids and parents trying to get their tokens, etc. Of course, one of my stinkin' dollar bills kept getting rejected by the machine and I was in a hurry because some the girls wanted to make the cutoff for the next ride. Anyway ... bottom line: I think they should reeeeaaaaallllly re-think this new token process. (Used to, you just paid a real person and not some stupid machine. But whatever.)

So the girls--Rebekah, Riley, Abigail and Anna-Claire--are in line with their dads. Robin, Anne, Kate and I walked over to the side so we could take some good pictures. (Well, Kate rode in her stroller--'cause that's how she rolls, homes.) Well, Kate is just MESMERIZED by the carousel. She is just staring at it and acting all excited. I started feeling guilty because I hadn't bought her a token. :o( So ... at the last minute, I told Robin and Anne that I felt bad, and they encouraged me to run and try to make the next ride (with the rest of our group). We were scrambling for some change to get a stupid token, and we made it just in time. (I think I still owe Anne some money for that, LOL!)


KATE LOVED IT! She kept staring at all the lights and the different colors and mirrors--oh, there's just so much to look at and enjoy on the carousel. Aren't they magical?

Steven is actually holding Kate in this picture--he is crouching down to make it look like she's sitting on the horsey all by herself. haha!

I must say, however, that it was HARD WORK to keep holding her up on the horse--especially when it started going up and down. Steven (my BIL) came over to help me out after a while, and I was able to take a few photos while he was holding Kate. :o)

Rebekah

Riley

Abigail & Anne

Anna-Claire & Johnny

Anyway, North Point Mall is a fun mall to visit--especially if you have kids. There are a lot of fun stores for grown-ups, too. In fact, a new H&M just opened there earlier this year.

Random thought: North Point has some of the biggest, stroller friendly elevators I have ever seen. Also, I remember going there one weekday before Kate was born and thinking, "I don't think I have ever seen so many women out with strollers!" It was stroller city! :o) Of course, I don't have a problem with that. ... I'm just sayin'.

Here are a few more mall shots:

Walking in ... awwwwwwww ...

American Girls

Ri, Beck, Abs

Oh yeah--I met one of my Internet friends IRL that day--yay! It's Donna! It was sooooooo great to meet her--too bad her hubby and son weren't with her at that moment. But maybe we can get together one day soon!