Trot, Trot to Boston

The pool is closed for repairs today, so I decided to take the girls into Boston for a fun adventure.  The train we were aiming for didn't leave until 9:35, but regardless of my countless assurances, Julia was SO nervous we were going to miss it that she sprint-walked the less-than-half-mile distance down to the train station.  Since we had left at 9:15, we REALLY had plenty of time, but Julia was thrown by the fact that the train was already there, idling.

JULIA: (speed-walking ahead of Madeleine and I, glancing back in rigid anxiety at us) Come on, Mama!
ME: Honey.  It's okay.  I really PROMISE that we're not going to miss the train.
JULIA: But how do you KNOOOOW?
ME: Because the train isn't set to leave for another ten minutes.  Don't worry.
JULIA: Uh, what's that SOUND?  Is it leaving Mama?  Mama, come on, HURRY UP!  I don't wanna MISS IT!
ME: Julia.  We are NOT going to miss it.  I promise.  Just trust me.
JULIA: (glancing back nervously as she hurried along ahead) Well, Mama, I really DO trust you.  I just don't trust MYSELF.

The part of herself that Julia didn't trust clearly urged her to race forward and board the train ahead of her sister and I, which means if we really HAD been on the verge of missing the train, she would have been headed off to Boston while we were left behind.  But because we still had ample time, Madeleine and I were able to mosey on board and greet a nearly-freaking-out Julia who had been frantically waiting for us.

Once we got settled, Julia and Madeleine were absolutely delighted to be sitting on the train.  In fact, after our big rush to get there, Julia then asked, over the course of the next ten minutes, "Mom?  When is the train going to MOVE?"  (Good thing we had raced on over to get aboard.) 

Excited girls on board the train


Once we finally got going, the girls enjoyed exclaiming over the various things they could see out their windows.  As we headed into West Roxbury, Julia pointed out the track, football field, and brick building of a private school.

JULIA: Oh, I know!  That's a SCHOOL!
MADELEINE: (leaning towards the window, wide-eyed and innocent) Julia, is it HOGWART'S?

Julia was also full of commentary on the names of the various stops.

CONDUCTOR: Now entering West Roxbury.
JULIA: Mom?  Is West Roxbury, like, full of ROCKS?


And also frequently misheard the stop names as characters from Harry Potter.

CONDUCTOR: Next stop: Hersey.
JULIA: (brightly) Wait!  Did she say "next stop: PERCY?"


CONDUCTOR: Next stop: Bellevue.
JULIA: (gleefully) Next stop NEVILLE?
ME: Bellevue, honey.
JULIA: (deflating) Oh.


CONDUCTOR: Next stop: Ruggles.
JULIA: (excited) Now did they say next stop Neville?
ME: No.  RUGGLES.
JULIA: (even more excited) Muggles??
ME: RUGGLES.

When we arrived at Back Bay, we got off and had a nice long walk to the Boston Common, showing up just in time for the puppet show we had been aiming to see.  Madeleine was especially drawn into the show, taking pleasure in the chance to interact and point out the various insects that the main character was looking for:

At one point during the show, the main character, Rosalita, got stuck in a spider web, and dead-panned: "Help!  I need somebody.  Help!  Not just anybody.  Help.  You know, I need someone.  HELP!"

ME: Julia, did you hear what she said?
JULIA: (oblivious) What??
ME: (repeating the lyrics to "Help")  Isn't that cool??
JULIA: (reprimanding) Mamaaa!  We're not supposed to TALK during the show!

Sheesh.  Okay, little miss rule-follower.

After the show ended, the fun was not over for the Rowe girls, as we headed to the Frog Pond for some wading pool action:

After they'd had their fill of water play, the girls got in line for the carousel.  It's amazing to me that they're both big enough to ride on their own now, so I got to stand outside the gate and wave to them as they went round and round.  I thought I would make Julia's day by continually yelling things like, "Hey, do I see Hermione Granger riding a horse right there?"  or, "Hey, is that Ginny Weasley I see?", but instead she stared stoically ahead, making me seem like a wack-a-doo parent who is a little TOO into "Harry Potter."

Riding the carousel

Next up, after the carousel, was:

Tadpole Playground, and OMG, they had fun.  So much fun that neither kid bothered to register the fact that Daddy surprised them by meeting us there (as arranged via text between Ethan and I.)  However, we were finally able to drag them away so that we could all go to lunch together, which was a really special treat.

As we sat around the lunch table, I asked the girls what their favorite part of the trip to Boston had been.

ME: So, Julesie, tell me, what was your favorite thing we did?  Was it the puppet show, or the Frog Pond, or the carousel, or the playground, or the train ride, or was it lunch with Daddy?
JULIA: Mmmmm...electrical Daddy.
ME: Electrical Daddy?  What??
JULIA: Mama.  YOU JUST SAID 'the train ride, or electrical Daddy.'

No, no.  I really didn't.

Lunch got even better when we stopped at Starbucks for some cake pops as a dessert:

Although Julia was thoroughly confused by the whole ordeal.

JULIA: (looking at her pop) But Mama.  What IS a cake pop?
ME: It's a lollipop that's made out of a ball of cake.
JULIA: (examining it) So...should I lick it first??
ME: You just take a bite out of it hon.  It's just a piece of cake with frosting covering it.

Julia was dubious, but her first bite proved fruitful, and I think from that point onward she was a cake pop convert.

Our final leg of the Boston trip was visiting Daddy's work so the girls could meet some of his co-workers and see his office.  The girls were happily re-united with Butt Crocodile, who has been hanging out at work with Daddy ever since Julia cleaned out her bedroom toy bin and decided he was expendable.  Madeleine managed to completely mutilate Butt Crocodile in her attempt to change him back and forth between tadpole and frog, leaving him in this scary-looking state:

You wouldn't think an adult office would hold so much of interest to two young kids, but au contraire.  Whether it was the dry erase boards, the dangling overhead door decorations, or the giant bean bag chairs, the girls were like explorers in a new world, delighting over every single little aspect of the office.  They especially enjoyed playing "work" while sharing a giant bean bag:

I think they were ready to spend the afternoon there.  But alas, we had a train to catch, and a LONG walk to get to it, so over the next forty minutes we hauled our buns through downtown Boston to get ourselves back to the commuter rail station.  The girls were SUCH troopers; I am so proud of them for hauling it like they did.  Sure, Madeleine face-planted twice, which reduced her to tears, but I just scooped her back up and we continued high-tailing it.  We literally made it to the train station with about a minute to spare, and spent our ride home in a very different state from that of cheerful adventure which had started our trip:

Tired girls on the train

All in all, it was a fun day's adventure, and a great change of pace - literally and figuratively!