Atlanta, Day 6

While Julia has stated, with each passing day, how much she doesn't want this vacation to end ("I wish tomorrow wasn't THURSDAY!  Then we only have TWO MORE DAYS!"  "I wish tomorrow wasn't FRIDAY!  Then it's our LAST DAY!"  "I wish it was SUNDAY today.  Like, I mean, like LAST Sunday when we first GOT here."  "I wish we could stay here on vacation FOREVER!"), Madeleine still seems utterly confused as to why we're not at home doing our usual thing.  Last night as I put the girls to bed, Madeleine couldn't seem to stop chattering away about our red house.

MADELEINE: Mommy?  When are we going to go to our RED HOUSE again?
ME: On Saturday.  Why?  Do you miss our house?
MADELEINE: Mmm-hmm.
ME: What do you miss so much about home?
MADELEINE: Because...all my TOYS are at the red house.  Mom?  Can we go to our RED HOUSE right now so I can play with my toys?

She does seem to finally understand where we are and where our black Kia Soul is, although for some reason she is insistent that we're not on vacation.  Sometimes she gets pretty vehement about it:

MADELEINE: Mommy?  Why are we in Atlanta Georgia?
ME: Because we're on vacation!
MADELEINE: No, we're not.  We're NOT on vacation.
ME: Yeah, we are.  Just like when we went to New Hampshire last summer.  This is our family vacation.
MADELEINE: It's NOT!  Mom.  We're NOT at vacation.  Mom.  This is NOT vacation.
ME: Yes, honey, it is.
MADELEINE: It's NOT!!

I'm not 100% sure of the logic behind her certainty that we're not on vacation, although she did try to explain it to me today.

MADELEINE: Mom, vacation is NOT when you go to somebody's houses or INPARTMENTS or to HOTELS.

I wonder what exactly she thinks vacation *is*.

At any rate, it's no real surprise that she's confused, when you consider the bevy of deep thoughts swirling around inside her brain.  For instance, she spent a lot of time this morning thinking hard about tongues.

MADELEINE: Mom?  I have a PURPLE tongue!
ME: You do?  Just like the giraffe at the zoo?
MADELEINE: Mom?  I'm gonna grow my tongue LONG.  Because...sometimes people can grow their tongues LONG.
ME:  Oh, really?
MADELEINE: No, Mom!  Don't say "Oh really!"  Say, "Oh, yeah, sometimes people CAN grow their tongues long!"
ME: Oh, yeah, sometimes people CAN grow their tongues long!
MADELEINE: (cheerily) Yeah!  So that's what I'm gonna do!

Then there was this conversation:

MADELEINE: Mom?  Why can dolphins not dive under the water?
ME: Well, they actually CAN.
MADELEINE: But why can't whales dive under the water?
ME: Whales CAN.  Remember we saw the whales at the aquarium?
MADELEINE: But...NOT whales with HEAVY heads.  Because...whales with...with...with...with HUGE heads are just BETEND.

Just one extremely logical thought after another.  Nothing random about her thought process at all.  It's amazing what a concrete thinker she is.

This afternoon, we met up with cousins Emily, Jack, and Parker at Riverside Park, where the kids got to play on all kinds of playground equipment, as well as visit the ducks on the Chattahoochee River.  Despite the fact that they haven't seen each other for two years, and didn't even wait for an introduction, Jack and Madeleine became fast friends:

The kids all had so much fun at the playground that Madeleine was heart-broken about leaving - contrary to the fact that she would really rather be back at our red house playing with her toys.  During the drive back to our hotel, Madeleine decided she still needed a play-mate, and tried to engage Julia in a game of "Diaper," which, according to Madeleine, entailed clapping her sandals and Julia's flip flops together on her hands.  Unfortunately, Julia was tired and didn't want to play, which ultimately led to me sitting in the backseat between the girls to intervene in their argument over whether or not Julia should be required to play "Diaper."  Once I was back there, both girls wanted a piece of me, so we rode back to Atlanta with them draping arms and legs over me and leaning their heads against my shoulders.

And that's not all!  I got to watch Madeleine make modeling poses!  Fun galore!

MADELEINE: Mom, so tell me, what do you think of THIS model?  Mom!  Turn your head and LOOK at me.
ME: (turning my head to see Madeleine waving her arms around and tilting her head to various angles.)
MADELEINE: Mom!  You're supposed to say "Ooooh, that's so FASHIONA!"
ME: Oooh.  That's so fashiona!
MADELEINE: Okay.  MOM!  Turn your head and look at THIS one!
ME: Oooooh, that's so fashiona.
MADELEINE: No.  Mom.  Don't say "Ooooooh, that's so fashiona."

I couldn't win.

At any rate, we are heading into our final full day of vacation, and it will be interesting to see the reactions both girls have when we make decisions on how to spend our last bit of time here in Atlanta.  Oh, wait.  We're not on vacation.  We'll have to figure out how to spend our last bit of time at hotels, people's houses, and inpartments.

Where's our black Kia Soul??