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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Our New Hampshire Vacation

A long long time ago, the Big Giraffe and I went on a couple of fabulous vacations including a spontaneous trip to Paris. Walking along the Seine hand in hand in hand, we looked forward to our future; to other fabulous vacations. Some day we vowed not only would we come back but we would also visit other places like London, Ireland, Hawaii and Glen New Hampshire. Alright definitely not the last one, but what can I say except that a lot has changed since we made that vow; by which I mean we became parents.

All joking aside, Storyland in New Hampshire is a really neat place. It's an amusement park for younger children. They also have different little houses and play structures based on nursery rhymes. Basically if you can walk, you can go on about 90% of the rides there. Unlike kiddie sections in larger amusement parks, the rides are made for parents to be able to go on them too. Depending on your feeling on amusement parks that can be a good or a bad thing! I should add that doesn't mean that the seats are much larger. It's just like Magic Kingdom where it doesn't matter if you're a newborn or a hundred, you can all go on the Winnie the Pooh ride or ride on Dumbo. The only difference is at Storyland you are flying on a wooden shoe. My kids fail to understand why this continues to crack me up.

The Big Giraffe and I took the boys this weekend to Storyland. They had a great time. We did too. I also solved one big parenting mystery. I wondered why the parents who were standing outside certain rides taking pictures looked so happy. At first I thought it was because they were happy their kids were having so much fun. Or how you smile at kids to get them to smile for a picture. It's sort of a reflex. Then I got on the Whirling Whales. Storyland has a policy where if anyone doesn't like the ride, they just give the thumbs down sign and the attendent stops the ride. Let me just say that I seriously considered taking them up on their offer*! I asked the attendant at the end if parents had ever done the thumbs down sign for themselves and not suprisingly they have.

That's when it dawned on me why those parents outside the ride looked so happy. They had escaped! They had suckered their partner into taking the kids on the ride ! During the Tilting Turtles ride, I too was a happy parents taking photos of the Big Giraffe and the boys. Guess who the sucker was?

Sunday we went to Santa's Village. Much like how long ago the Big Giraffe and I took a Ferris wheel to see the Seine, this time we took a Ferris wheel to see Jefferson, New Hampshire. Practically the same thing, right? The boys really enjoyed Santa's Village and the Big Giraffe and I did as well. Monday we went back to Storyland.

This morning the boys were incredibly crabby. After such a busy weekend, we kind of expected it. We knew we were playing with fire. Of course now that one parenting mystery is solved, I'm left with another. Why is it that YS takes so long to take off his shoes that I've gotten about two new gray hairs in that time span yet in the three seconds it takes for the barista to hand me a cup of coffee this morning (hey I'm tired too!) YS managed take off his shoes and socks in a temper tantrum? Guess who the sucker is now?

*For the record, I subsequently went on the Whirling Whales a few more times without getting sick. I was a little nervous there because I have big plans for the boys and I to go on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith when we go to Disney in a couple years.

Labels: vacations

posted by Alex Elliot @ 1:27 PM 2 comments

2 Comments:

At 5/26/2009 8:20 PM, jodifur said…

I went to storyland when I was little. I can't believe it is still around!
At 5/28/2009 9:56 AM, Goofball said…

Isn't Santaland a bit strange in Spring? Does it get you in the mood?

So what about plans to ever visit Belgium?

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Name:	Alex Elliot
Home:	MA, United States
About Me:	Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 5 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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