Horsing Around & A School Playground

The rest of the weekend we spent swimming in the pool and playing in the yard.  My aunt and uncle came to visit from CT and we swam with them and had a cook out.  Sunday the weather wasn't as nice, but we spent some time playing inside and went to the playground at my old elementary school.

Story Land

Daddy drove to NH after work on Thursday to meet us at Gram and Grumpy's.  Yesterday we took off for Story Land in Glen, NH; a long hour and fifteen minute drive away (since LittleL.G. is such a lovely car companion).  We went last year and had a great time with Gram and Auntie Jen doing the "riding" with MiniM.E. since I was so pregnant with LittleL.G.  Daddy was sad he didn't get to go and was excited to take Auntie Jen's spot this year.  Again, he and Gram did most of the "riding" because I was hanging out with LittleL.G. who is going through an intense bout of Mommy-itis.

This year was a huge success, mostly because of the weather.  It started out as a rainy day, but cleared up pretty quickly with only a few passing showers so there were NO LINES for almost everything.  Anything MiniM.E. loved riding on, she could hop off and run around to the queue again, and hop right back on.

Last year we missed my mom's favorite part of Story Land, the Mother Goose Play Area, with little houses and playscapes designed after Mother Goose nursery rhymes.  This past year in school MiniM.E. did a lot with nursery rhymes and knows quite a few now, so she was really excited about seeing the scenes from her favorites.

not having fun yet... still a little rainy...

ringing the bell in Mary Had A Little Lamb's Schoolhouse

timid about Miss Muffett's Spider

cutest Queen of Hearts

let's try it again... 

the tea cup ride

one of the favorites, the Dutch Shoes

riding an elephant

...with LittleL.G.

the turtle twister: the only ride that wasn't a hit

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

Baked in a Pie... 

If you remember this post from last year, we waited for almost an hour with an extremely patient 2 year old to ride the swan boats.  This year we hopped right on.  MiniM.E. loved it just as much, though I can't say the same for LittleL.G.  Might have been the life jacket that was almost as big as she was...

at Cinderella's Castle (but she was at lunch)

so Daddy filled in

family "hot air balloon" ride

LittleL.G. trying to escape

finally meeting Cinderella

It was a fantastically successful trip.  It was the first time we took MiniM.E. someplace and she actually seemed to be enjoying herself while we were there.  Usually she is "contemplative" when we are in the midst of an activity but gets really excited about it long after we've gone home.  It was nice to really see her enjoying something.  See you next year, Story Land.

A Week In NH

This week we are in NH enjoying the warm weather, the heated pool and having everything we need for fun summer days right out the back door.

swinging with H

"I don't think I like this Mom!!"

double sink bath! 

Downtown and the Peerless Pool

Thursday the weather was beautiful.  Sunny and much cooler.  We haven't been downtown much this summer because it's been hot and LittleL.G. likes to be worn, which makes me hot.  MiniM.E. would prefer to be swimming anyway.  But once in a while she loves a ride on the carousel and she's always up for seeing if there are any new baby ducks.

We got really lucky because there was a mounted police officer in the park and we got to pet the horse, King Tut.  

Next it was on to the carousel.  LittleL.G. gets really excited about seeing the horses go round and round so I took her off so she could ride with MiniM.E.  Definitely NOT interested in actually riding the horses.  She wanted off before it even started.

We met our friends O. and M. in the park and the kids threw rocks in the stream together.  Rock throwing pictures are always adorable.

Yesterday we went to the Peerless Pool.  The water in the big pool was reasonably warm and we swam there for a while.

Last time we went the kiddie pool was even warmer, but this time it was so cold my feet were cramping.  Why wouldn't you make a pool for water-wary toddlers 60 degrees?  Needless to say LittleL.G. wanted nothing to do with it.  Surprisingly, MiniM.E. braved the water and waded for more than an hour.

We got tired of the cold and I thought maybe LittleL.G. would like to try out the big pool.

At least someone had a good time.

American Girls' Night Out

Last night MiniM.E. and I had a Mommy-Daughter date.  We went to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for American Girls's Night Out; the pre-show to the NYC Ballet.  We'd heard great things about it from reviews of local mommy bloggers and other moms that had taken their girls so we were pretty excited.  MiniM.E. was thrilled to dress up her Bitty Baby for the occasion.  She picked out a pink dress for herself and even requested that I wear a pink dress to match.

We got there early and met our friends.  We were expecting a lot and unfortunately the pre-show didn't really live up to our expectations.  The "tea party" was no more than some hot, sticky cookies and lemonade, the "give-aways" were American Girl Dolls that we had to stand in line just to put in our raffle tickets for and the "craft" was putting stickers on a luggage tag.  The girls were happiest at a small games station with hopscotch and chalk.  We had seen what there was to see within an hour.  A few friends decided to go home but MiniM.E. was set on seeing the ballerinas.

I am so glad we stayed because the ballet was definitely the highlight of the trip and we stayed until 10!