In fact, Madeleine had seemed completely oblivious to the fact that we were ever going to leave New Hampshire. Yesterday, as we rode in the car, Julia brought up the fact that our vacation was almost over.
JULIA: This vacation just flew by! I can't believe tomorrow is our last day!
MADELEINE: (alarmed) Of vacation?
JULIA: Yes.
MADELEINE: (slightly panicked) We're going home tomorrow??
JULIA: Yes.
MADELEINE: (tears filling her eyes, hanging her head droopily in sadness)
At any rate, we decided to make our last day an adventure-packed one. We planned a trip to Santa's Village, a first for the girls, and they were so excited about it that they could hardly keep still during breakfast at the hotel restaurant. While we waited for our food, Julia started a game of "Telephone" which quickly turned raucus, with Madeleine loudly "whispering" things like "Pancakes are poopy!" when it was her turn to come up with a message. Ethan and I decided to try and tone things down a bit.
ME: Okay, that's enough. No more Telephone and no more potty talk.
MADELEINE: (serenely) Let's play "Show Your Own Creation." This is my creation: (gesturing down to her knife, fork, and spoon, which she had criss-crossed on top of each other to make an asterisk.)
Before long, Madeleine was trying to make her own creations out of things like ceramic coffee mugs and water glasses, so we had to put a halt to that game as well.
Luckily, it wasn't long before we were off on our drive to Jefferson, and the kids were delighted. Madeleine, in particular, has been desperate to go to Santa's Village, ever since I picked up a travel brochure of the place back in April on a drive home from visiting Nana and Gramps in Vermont. I had intended the brochure to be simple entertainment for the bored kiddos in the backseat of the car, thinking they could look at pictures and maps of the park, but instead, Madeleine became obsessed with the place. Particularly the water play area, which is called "Ho, Ho, H2O," but which, for some reason, Madeleine decided is called "Splashin' Pool Party." For months, we would have this conversation:
MADELEINE: But Mama. When is vacation?
ME: At the end of July, honey.
MADELEINE: (with a drooping lip) But Maaaamaaa! I want to go todaaaay to Splashin' Pool Party!
or:
MADELEINE: Mama? Is it almost vacation?
ME: Yes, we're going next week!
MADELEINE: (ecstatic) So Mama, we can go to Splashin' Pool Party??
Never fear, the day finally arrived, although we decided to hit the dry amusements before getting wet:
After we spent a few hours riding rides, searching for elves (as part of the Elphabet Challenge; Julia and Madeleine successfully found all 26 elf statues in the park, one for each letter of the alphabet), and climbing on statues, we headed over to:
The girls had the time of their lives in the fountains and waterslides. They could have stayed all afternoon, but after four hours of Santa's Village fun, it was time to climb into the car and start our drive back to our house.
On the car ride home, Madeleine had a pressing question for Ethan.
MADELEINE: Daddy? Do you believe in Santa?
ETHAN: Uhhh....uhhh...
ME: (trying to rescue him) I think Daddy definitely believed in Santa when he was a kid like you.
MADELEINE: But do you believe in Santa NOW, Daddy?
ETHAN: Uhhh...well, what do YOU think about Santa, Madeleine?
MADELEINE: I think you don't believe in him.
ETHAN: I think you're very observant.
MADELEINE: Well Daddy. I believe in angels, AND Jesus, and God, AND Santa.
I guess she's not going to let her non-believer father stand in HER way.
The kids got bored during the drive, which is to be expected, and Julia was especially antsy as we approached Massachusetts. To keep her entertained, I encouraged her to look out for signs saying we were entering Salem, the first city we'd pass through in MA.
JULIA: Ooooh! Wait, can we GO to Salem?
ME: Not today, honey.
MADELEINE: Julia? What's Salem?
JULIA: It's this REALLY cool place that's very Halloweeny! Because Madeleine. A long time ago, when they thought people were witches, they would accuse them, then have a trial, and then HANG them.
MADELEINE: Uh, Julia, uh, WHAT would they do with the witches?
JULIA: Hang them.
MADELEINE: Uh, Julia, WHAT would they do with the witches?
JULIA: They would hang them.
MADELEINE: Uh, Julia, uh...WHAT did you say they do to the witches?
JULIA: They would have a trial and then...well, Madeleine, it's just really Halloweeny there.
I'm glad the conversation ended there, because I was not particularly looking forward to explaining what "hanging" means to a four-year-old.
At any rate, we Rowes are safely back home and already missing our lazy days of vacation! As they say, time flies when you're having fun!!
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