This is the season pass that never ends. And here it is, barely past the first
week of December and we have already frequented Winter Wonderland
twice. The first visit the weather was generally warmish, we had a spare hour and the ticking time bomb named Dominic seemed to be standing down, so I dragged them all there, my three people. We had the place to ourselves and the lights glowing in our eyes. As usual Letty had started coming down with something and was a tad prickly... but David? Oh those lights are boo-ee-ful! Every time he sees a house lit up, or even a town square, he starts to clap and yells: good job dad-dy!!! Matt was quite the busy little elf this holiday season, all those lights. Every ride he went on he said: that was fun! I think he enjoyed the freedom of being without a stroller. He also enjoyed roaring at the Santa-clad dinos.
The second visit was with my parents on a cold and busy Saturday night. My mom. As you may have guessed, she likes the Christmas lights as well. All of us fought through the holiday weekend visitors and bargain shoppers towards the worst place to be this time of year, Route 30. We started off with an incredibly tasty and salty dinner at Red Robin, which is where my sister and her little family left us for warmer pastures.
The kids enjoyed showing off their stomping ground and going on rides with Nonna and Poppop. Especially the horses (carousel). David enjoyed taking Poppop to each and every dino on Exploration Island, as long as he was sure that we do NOT touch. Letty wanted Nonna to say the words on every sign about each dino, say, not read. At one point I really threw David off his routine when I wouldn't allow him to travel directly from the trains to the planes. We had to wait for his sister. This was not according to the general routine and schedule and so necessitated a tantrum ending with laying on the ground. A "lay-in" if you will, until conditions improved. We (and my we I mean my parents and I. I'm pretty sure the kids could have cared less and Matt was on David duty as he is at flight risk) watched the light show that they run every fifteen minutes. Letty attempted to catch faux snowflakes on her tongue....and then we rounded out the night with some hot cocoa topped with whipped cream. And straight to bed, I said.
And yes. Both kids were sickly that night. I tend to (read: always) push my kids when I should just leave them at home. In my defense this time, I have a very strict schedule to keep should I want to get all festive activities done prior to a certain someone's arrival. Dominic, not Santa.
I think it's safe to say, DW, that this was our last visit for the year.
You've been good to us. We will miss you. But we will be back. All five
of us. Heaven help us all.
