The one about Reed's first amusement park

My company picnic was at Frontier City- Oklahoma City's only amusement park. Even tho we have lived close for three years and see the Ferris wheel spinning in the sky multiple times a day- we've never been.  Well our tickets for the company party were deeply discounted admission and that's always a very convincing reason to go.  I was anticipating a different reaction from Reed. He didn't love it as much as I thought he would.  He liked it okay, but I really expected him to enjoy it much more.  He loves to be swung around, hung upside down, spun, dropped, and tossed.
His day was perfect- we spent the early afternoon at Mike's bike race and then Reed got a good nap in right before we headed to the amusement park.  I wanted him well rested for all the excitement that was about to go down.  We met up with my coworker, Carrie, who Reed loves and she hung out with us the whole time.  We have her to thank for all the family shots.
The first thing we did was ride the little train around the perimeter of the park.  Reed was sort of in that "post-nap" zone and didn't break out many smiles.  Then I rode the spinning tea-cups with him.  He looked so big sitting next to me buckled in!  He didn't get upset - but like I said, he didn't love it either.  He was approaching the whole thing very seriously.  We spun in our little tea-cup while Mike took pictures and when we were done, Reed showed neither relief nor regret.  Mike and I had different views on the ferris wheel activity.  He was concerned about Reed being afraid of heights and being stuck at the top screaming his lungs out.  My argument was that he really had no depth perception and wasn't going to be able to tell how high we were anyway- my evidence was his persistent nose-dive attempts off the bed.  While we waited in line Reed made sure to point out the colored buckets circling in the sky.  He didn't want us to miss it. While "boarding" the attendant asked us if Reed could walk.  This question elicited many sarcastic comments from the three of us as soon as we were out of ear shot.  Did she mean that if he fell out from the top could he walk? No, could you? Did the ferris wheel require walking these days, because I was under the impression that it was a seated ride. He did pretty well  on the ferris wheel. He was happy as long as he was being held but Mike was right, Reed was not comfortable and very suspicious of the mechanics.
The real fun came when we were touring around the children's area with the small houses lined up.  Hotels, fire station, a jail house and the like lined the street. Reed was in heaven. He just couldn't believe that there were houses with small doors made to fit him and windows that he could see out of.  His favorite was the fire station- a well known obsession with firetrucks fueled this.
Carrie could do nothing but make Reed laugh.  She could have yawned and he'd start cracking up.  I suppose we have her to thank for any pictures we got of him laughing and smiling. Carrie, we are so glad you were able to meet up and hang out with our family that day!
I can't say if we will be going back to Frontier City before my next company picnic- if I had to bet I'd say no.  However, I will be really excited to take him back again next October and see how much more he enjoys it.  Reed is generally very adventurous and out going. We are proud of his independent personality and curious nature.