This Memorial Day Weekend, we decided again to be foolish and attempt a last minute camping trip to the White Mountains since Robbie had a long weekend and we have been itching for a little adventure. I say foolish because it is nearly impossible to get reservations at a campsite the week of a holiday weekend...for one night. Yet, with a little luck, we managed it. We began our trip with a leisurely hike up to Cascade Falls via Pickham Notch. We no longer had a carrier for Meo (a replacement was still in the mail) so we had to stick to something short in case he got tired and wouldn't want to walk anymore.
This was a great first hike of the season for us all though because it wasn't rushed at all, and both Link and Meo managed to hike the whole time (and enjoy it).
Link was a riot going down the mountain because he scooted on his bum most of the way.
Link also enjoys singing while he hikes as much as Meo loves to chatter excitedly.
I knew that the night we would be in the tent would be frigid, but I couldn't find my hat anywhere! Robbie says we are in "lockdown" mode financially so I wouldn't be able to buy a hat once we got there (that's actually how I ended up with my now missing hat a decade ago). Thus, I was given no choice but to raid my yarn drawer and knit myself a hat on the hour and a half drive there. Mission accomplished.
Here is my "scrappy gnome hat".
Despite the cold, camping was a lot of fun with the boys. We got a campfire going, and fixed up our favorite camp-out meal (Annie's mac and cheese with peas and rosemary and asiago rolls). We hung out in the hammock, played at the playground, and Meo even got to go on a little "hayride" provided by the campground for the holiday weekend.
The only problem we had was Link's moth-like attraction to the fire. I drew a boundry line around it for him, but he thought it was a fun game to try to walk past it. Pretty much he was a pain with the fire and we had to find ways to distract him from it. Besides that, he was a happy camper.
This was the most wonky/unsafe playground I've ever brought the boys to. Rightfully so, there was a sign that said "Play at your own risk".
Meo made friends with a couple little girls and they played catch with him.
Meo was very proud because he made a lot of progress with swinging on his own.
The actual sleeping part of our campout kind of sucked because it was so cold. Fortunetly, Meo and Link slept wonderfully through the night and seemed to be quite comfortable. I was cold and constantly worried about checking to see if they were warm enough and that they weren't being smothered by blankets or sleeping bags so I barely slept until like 3 am. Robbie had trouble getting comforable too. We survived though!
For breakfast we enjoyed some fruit salad I had made and chocolate croissants.
Then we packed everything up and headed over to spend the day at Story Land. We got a great deal on season passes on Black Friday last autumn so we hope to spend a lot of time there this summer. The boys love it, and its great that it's next to some of our favorite hiking trails.
We had a long wait in line to get our pictures taken for our season passes (an hour and 20 minutes!), but the boys were patient and able to sneak off to play a little during that time.
Then we were off for a day of fun! Because it was opening weekend and a holiday, it was crazy busy. So everywhere there was long lines. But the boys did awesome with waiting and we had so much fun.
Robbie told Meo stories in line sometime to keep him occupied.
Balloon ride.
And at lunch time we met up with some very wonderful friends who we were lucky enough to spend most of the afternoon with! Meo and big C caught each other up on their day in a very animated and especially cute way.
After lunch, Meo and C got to go on the Polar Coaster. They were soooo excited.
They even got to go in the first car!
When they first strapped Meo in he started to panick and I didn't think he'd actually stay on the ride. But Robbie kept him on, and Meo tucked his head into Robbie's shirt and peeked out with one little eye. Once they got to the top of the first big climb, Meo poked his head out and shouted "WHAT IS HAPPENING, WHAT IS HAPPENING!" Then was beyond happy and screaming gleefully for the remainder of the ride. He had the the BEST time. He cried at the end because he was so disappointed that he couldn't stay on and ride again. Robbie said going on that roller coaster with Meo was one of his best fatherhood moments so far. Link fell asleep on me while we waited in line for the coaster so there was no trading off in order for me to have a turn on the coaster with Meo unfortunately. Next time!
Shoe ride.
Tractor ride.
Erin and I with our two toddler sleepers.
When Link woke up, I was determined to have Link go on a ride he'd love, so we tried out the whale ride.
It was much faster than we expected and I had to use all my strength not to crush Link from the shear force of the centripetal acceleration (I should have had him sit on the inside!). Nonetheless, Link LOVED it and was laughing joyfully the whole time.
Carousel.
Pirate ship.
We truly had a wonderful weekend, and I am so grateful for such fun, adventurous, loving boys!
