So the day finally arrived...
Neither child slept the night before and they woke us up way earlier than planned. The sun was barely above the horizon and I swear, I would have cried if I had to be awake for the rest of the day. Thankfully, they were talked back down to sleep, in our bed, for another hour or so longer. But, not before they chatted in rapid fire about what they were doing first when they got there.
After the false start, we packed our car, ate breakfast, then drove our way to the campsite that awaited for us.
I have been going to this amusement park since I was 7 years old. It's a lovely vintage park that is nestled among the trees and hidden from the streets. The admission is free and you could either obtain a ride all day handstamp, or pay as you go, or just sit and watch on the quaint benches that are scattered throughout. My husband and I started taking my daughter here when she was newly two and I was very pregnant. And just like that, this place has become a family summer/fall tradition among our lives, just like it was among mine.
Last fall, for the first time, we rented a cabin in their campground, which is inside the park. We had such a wonderful experience that we had to do it again. It's a lovely concept because, you could come and go as you please and ride and eat at your convenience. But we only stayed for 2 nights and everything felt rushed. This year, we booked it for 3 nights, so we could experience camping, use their pool, and ride the rides without feeling like we're racing against the clock.
Our days were still a constant go, like all vacations are. Children are so very excited to do everything they can to maximize their days. And as parent's, you want them to have the very best memories possible. So, by the end of the trip, the adults were very robotic. We broke each day up between the pool and the park, meaning, we spent a few afternoon hours swimming, then came back to the cabin to change our clothes and ate, then finished the night off at the park, riding rides from 5:00 pm on.
I must say, I'm very lucky with my children, because whenever we're on vacation, they are always on their best behavior. Of course, in the past they had typical "toddler tantrums" but nothing like I've seen from other passing children. They were content to do whatever anyone wanted and to move at a slower pace. However, there were no tantrums on this trip and no whining from either child, which was the first time that has happened yet.
The temperatures ranged from low to upper 90 degrees each day we were there. The pool was wonderful, but not as wonderful as the splash pad. Every place should only have a splash pad. They are a remarkable play area for children of all ages, my husband and myself included. As my regular readers know, I'm a very hands on parent. I play with my children and engage in their day to day lives. I'm not only watching their childhood unfold, I'm participating in it. So at the splash pad, my children and I played games, swam together (which must have been a sight watching an adult female who is 5'7" pretend to swim in a foot of water), and they chased my husband under the waterfall. We had fun. Lots of fun.
Our park days were repetitious, riding all the same rides over and over again. My husband went on a ride where it dropped multiple stories, and his facial expression on a zoomed camera was priceless. I didn't get a chance to ride adult rides, I only rode the ones with my children. My son rode the ferris wheel for the first time and loved it. My daughter had several false starts with riding the roller coaster and even stood in line during the final hours of the evening, but couldn't brave it. My son on the other hand, absolutely loved it and rode it 5 times in a row. He threw a fit, begging to go on and I thought he wasn't ready to do it, but I was wrong. So wrong. By the second turn, he had his arms high up in the air like all the bigger kids. I have to say, I was impressed. Last year, he only liked the much slower paced rides. You know, the little boats that run like 2 mph. But this year, he stepped out of his shell and even rode rides that his sister wasn't on. Which would never have happened any other year.
My daughter continued to ride every ride at the park that wasn't a roller coaster, however, I think she may have had some water in her ear from all the constant swimming over these past weeks because, she became dizzy after riding some spinning rides like the tea cups. But hey, I'm 34 years old and I can't ride anything that runs in a circle, so I get it. But she was sad that she had trouble riding her two favorite rides, the himalaya and the scrambler. Both spinning rides. And both made her sick. So we moved on and didn't attempt to ride those two rides again through the duration of the trip. I told her how sorry I was for her that she had trouble and I know she was looking forward to riding them, but we're coming back in the fall and she could try them again at that time. Instead, we rode the ferris wheel like 500 times, per her request, and she was content with that.
During the second day, when her brother was stroller bound eating a pretzel, she helped a younger girl on a ride and decided to sit with her so she didn't feel scared. These two girls rode a few different rides that we right around us within a half hour time frame. Then, they moved onto the bumper cars and waited a few turns to get first pick of the two pink cars. But, my daughter hopped out of her car to help the younger girl with her seat belt, some random girl jumped in the pink car behind my daughter. There was only a blue car left. So my daughter looked at me sadly and I spoke loudly across the ride to her, hoping the parent's of the car stealing girl would hear me, and said, "that's ok baby, I'm proud of you for putting kindness first and helping the girl with her belt. It's ok that you lost your long awaited pink car in the process. You could always ride again to get the same car, but good deeds are better than a ride." So we walked back into line, because the parent of the child didn't come over and tell their daughter to switch cars, or the parent's weren't even watching, which seemed to be a common theme. While waiting in line, the staff came over and handed my daughter a lemonade voucher because she was impressed at my daughter's kindness and said, "kindness should always be rewarded." My daughter was very thankful and hugged the staff lady. I was grateful for her to reinforce what I said.
Then, she bought her lemonade right after the ride was over.
We ended the last day by sitting on the benches that surrounded the imagination theater and waited for the play to start. We do this every year and each year, they have different stories. Here, everyone gets to join in by dressing up and silently acting out the parts of each character, while the narrator tells the story over a microphone. My daughter and I were mermaids and my husband and son were pirates. They loved it! And I think my husband did too, as he usually does. It's the same pattern every year, my husband says, "no, I'm not participating." Then my children say, "please daddy!." And then he dons the outfit. It's a pretty simple routine.
After the play was over, we walked our tired selves back to the cabin, where we were thankful for strollers, fresh squeezed lemonade stands, and the 3 days we had to create such wonderful memories.
Throughout motherhood, I've found that taking family vacations has become different each year. Because each year, my children are constantly aging and changing. And for me, it's hard to witness all the differences a single year brings. Last year, my son barely rode anything and clung to his sister's shadow. This year, he was a thrill seeker and independently sought rides. My daughter was always the hyper one who eagerly sprung from ride to ride. Whereas, this year, she was quieter and patient.
They both enjoyed hanging outside the cabin and playing with their toys, without rushing everyone. And trying to warm themselves up under the pine tree because we couldn't regulate our thermostat. They were OK with jumping in the campground pool that was apparently just filled with hose water. And laughing when daddy jumped in first, thinking it was much warmer than it actually was. My daughter patiently helped her brother pan for gems and fossils and was very animated and loving when her brother found gold. And she held him close when they were both on the little whipper and he wanted to put his arms in the air.
They acted like grown ups, and that tugged at my heart strings.
I'll never be OK with them aging. It's just something I have to live through. Thankfully, with being a sahm, I don't see the changes that happen because, I'm always with them. It isn't until they're compared with previous events, that makes me want to savor time even more. So I was the mom, who took too many photos and videos that I know I'll scroll through during the darkness of night. I'll sit at my computer with my cup of tea and cupcakes and tear happy tears at the thought of how much fun we had together. And how I know next year, they'll be even more grown up.
Because that's what vacations should do, they should be a happy, memorable experience that leaves the images and vocals imprinted in your brain and keeps you yearning for more days just like the ones you had.
** As always, thank you so much for your continued support. I enjoy reading your comments and seeing your likes and follows. Instagram is my main account that I use. I try to post daily. And when I do, I post a photo and tell a little story about it. So head over there and like my page, the_happy_days , so you could keep up to date with my Happy Days. Thanks again! **
No comments:
Post a Comment