C. & H. Visit: The Beach

Today was the last day of C. & H.'s visit.  We had a blast and all the kids behaved much better than both C. and I thought, but two headstrong almost-five-year-olds together for almost four days mixed with a tired toddler became a little too much for everyone by this morning.

We packed up for the beach where we decided we would play until lunchtime.  The big kids had a blast swimming with C. but unfortunately LittleL.G. decided after five minutes of swimming that she wanted to go home and nothing would do except me holding her on the blanket in the scorching sun.  We held on for a while but had to cut the morning a bit short so LittleL.G. could come home for a much needed nap.  Since the big kids were at each other everyone took a break while C. packed to head home.

A little more playing and it was time to say goodbye.  We had a great time C. & H.!  Thanks for coming and see you soon!

C. & H. Visit: Great Escape

Today was a low key morning.  The weather started out pretty soggy so we spent most of the morning playing inside until it was warm enough and not quite so rainy and the kids went out to dance in the rain.  Too cute!

The girls and I had a service to attend at 11, so C. & H. had some time to explore downtown Saratoga on their own.

We met back at home for lunch and headed to the Great Escape for the afternoon.  Since it was so miserable out this morning, the park was hardly crowded and their were no lines for anything.  We started out at the rollercoaster while LittleL.G. took a mini snooze in the kinderpack.  Next came the log flume and then the kiddie area before we headed over to the waterpark.

It was impressive timing because just as the kids were ready to jump in the water the sun came out and it heated up.  The big kids had a blast sliding while LittleL.G. splashed around in the kiddie area.

We stayed at the waterpark until it closed and had time for a couple car rides before the whole park closed at 7.

Another fun and busy day!

C. & H. Visit: Adirondack Animal Land

Our friends C. & H. are visiting from NH this week.  This is their 4th almost annual summer visit (it just didn't work out last year).  MiniM.E. has been looking forward to it for a while, and we tried to plan a week full of exciting Saratoga adventures.  Since C. & H. have done all the tourist-y things we added in some new activities to the agenda this year, like Adirondack Animal Land and the Great Escape.

The ride from NH can be long with a mini-backseat-driver and C. & H. got a late start so they arrived Monday just before dinner.  There was just enough time for a backyard swim before a late dinner.  The kids were bit wound up with the excitement of the visit but we finally wrangled them to bed.

Today we planned for Adirondack Animal Land.  It was a steep learning curve this morning getting all three kids fed and dressed and ready to go.  Plus, everyone wanted to take a bike ride to stretch their legs before we left.

Poor LittleL.G. was so exhausted from the excitement she fell asleep in the car on the way before 10am!

As always, Animal Land was a blast.  

After a little rest in the afternoon we headed over to the new spray park.  MiniM.E. and H. splashed and played while LittleL.G. had some mommy time on the swing at the playground.

More fun tomorrow!

A Fun Weekend

This weekend we had a great time at a summer party and BBQ, a Daddy's work sponsored SPAC event with catering and the Philadelphia Orchestra playing along to Ratatouille and a backyard BBQ at our friends'.

While we waited for C. and H. to arrive today we played at the sprayground.

And dressed up some dolls.

A Day Trip To Maine

Today we drove up to Maine to visit York's Wild Animal Kingdom and see the ocean.

After visiting the Friendly Farm and Animal Land, York's was a bit underwhelming as the animals were much less accessible.  MiniM.E. did get to feed some baby goats:

The girls loved being frozen bananas:

And we got a good look at the lions:

We took a break from York's to walk down to the town and get a snow cone and some taffy.  MiniM.E. wanted to see the water, but the beach was just a sea of umbrellas and it was too overwhelming to try to get to the water.  We promised we'd stop at a beach on the way home and we headed back to the zoo for the best part of the day, the camel ride. We had to wait until 1:00 for the big camel to take his shift so the three of us could go together.

It has been a while since I've been on a camel ride because MiniM.E. has only wanted Gram to take her in the past few years. I remember our first ride and how for weeks we talked about the "wibbledy wobbledy" camel. I had forgotten how "wibbledy wobbledy" it was.

After York, even though it was past LittleL.G.'s nap time, we decided to head to Fort Foster to see the water because we couldn't leave Maine without MiniM.E. getting to touch the ocean.

Both the girls had a blast by the water.  MiniM.E. explored the rocks and LittleL.G. decorated them with wet sand.

We reluctantly headed home, stopping by Stonewall Kitchen and ended a great Maine day with a stop at Johnson's Dairy House for an ice cream dinner.

Back to NH

This week we are in NH again, taking advantage of having a pool and a hot tub and a trampoline and now a ZIP LINE right in the backyard.

MiniM.E. is continuing to get better at swimming and has just about mastered diving as well!

LittleL.G. loves splashing around in the pool for a few minutes but then gets cold and wants to swim in the hot tub where she can be without a floatie on.  She does get a kick out of watching MiniM.E. in the pool though.

The Great Escape

Daddy had a vacation day to take so to celebrate a long weekend and the girls finally being able to swim again, we decided to go to the Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom.

MiniM.E. has been begging to go back to the "outdoor" waterpark since the first time we went, and it seemed a better idea to go on a Friday than on a weekend.

We had some time to ride the rides before the waterpark opened.  MiniM.E. and Daddy went on the BIG roller coaster while LittleL.G. and I hung around the kiddie area.  Even though LittleL.G. loved the swing the last few times we went, today was not a swinging day.  She tried her first roller coaster:

... and had a miserable time. It was way too bumpy and jerky and because she is so short, her head kept banging the restraint bar.

The tiny spray area was a huge hit though.

Time for just one more balloon ride before the waterpark:

And then we spent a few hours splashing and swimming and sliding. It was a great Friday!