Sunday, July 8, 2012

Day 1 - Story Land

If you live in New England, you know how quickly the weather forecast can change.  After the rain and hurricane of our past two trips to North Conway, I was hoping for nice summer weather.  I checked the forecast a few times during the week before our trip and at lunch the day before we left.  It was supposed to be sunny and warm.  I failed to check the updated forecast for Boston so I was a bit surprised to wake up to cloudy skies and rain Friday morning.


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After driving in NH for a bit, the skies cleared and remained bright and sunny for the remainder of our trip.

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We arrived at Story Land around 12:30 and remained until closing at 5:00.  My girls LOVE Story Land and I love Story Land because of that.  I sometimes think that adults judge places on whether or not they have fun, regardless of whether or not their kids enjoy it.

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Story Land had changed a bit from our visit last August.  Two years ago, single strollers were available for  use at no charge.  Last year, we rented a double because all of the single strollers were taken.  This year, all strollers have to be rented.  No more freebies.  They also now offer character meals, which we did not do, and the costumes (especially Cinderella's) have been upgraded.    

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Teacup ride

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I told them to look down if they were dizzy.

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We had been at SL for about an hour when Allie spotted some kids with their faces painted.  She asked if she and sissies could also have their faces painted and I said yes.  But we needed to be over in that section of the park so we would finish up the rides where we were and then head over.

Every 5 minutes - "Mommy?  Remember when you said that we could get our faces painted?"

As we were coming off of the carousel, she asked.  Again.  I responded with, "I'm going to tell them to paint your face to look like Oscar the Grouch."  She didn't think it was funny but a man waiting for his kids did.


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What I found hysterical is that once the girls' faces were painted, they became part of some club.  Other kids walking by with their faces painted would give them a head nod as a sign of respect.

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As we were eating our shaved ice, two little girls stopped short in front of Anna.  One of the girls pointed and exclaimed, "WHOA!  Cool."

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We didn't have time to ride all of the rides but I feel like we were able to squeeze in more now that the girls are older.  Rich and I both commented on how getting around was noticeably easier than in the past.  The Bamboo Shoots ride was the girls' favorite and we rode it multiple times.  At one point, we were waiting in line and I was holding Anna (with her face painted.)  I forget how the conversation started but a girl who was a few years older was surprised that Anna was going on this ride.  She said, "Wow!  She's brave.  When I was little, I was too scared for this ride."

The girls wanted to swim in the hotel pool that night so we knew that dinner would have to be quick.  I didn't want fast food so we stopped at the Scarecrow Pub & Grill.  There are so many great restaurants in the North Conway area but we didn't want to have to wait for a table and then our food.

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There were folks at the bar but no one in the restaurant section so we had no wait.  The food was average and our waitress was attentive and even brought Rich a complimentary Hoodsie cup.  Eating out at a restaurant is definitely easier but it seems like every time my food is placed in front of me someone announces "I have to go poo poo."

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Entertaining themselves by performing a dance recital.


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Allie and Em are okay to sleep without bed rails but Anna still rolls all over the place.  I was able to push one of our beds against the wall so she and I slept together the first night.  Em slept with Rich and Allie slept on the cot.  She was the last one to fall asleep and when I woke up in the very early morning hours to use the bathroom, she was still sleeping in the same exact spot.  Heavy sleep after a very busy, active day for little ones.

9 comments:

Sarah said...

I have been a reader of yours for a long time, but this is my first comment!

I grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia but we did a lot of traveling growing up. We spent a week every year in NH and Maine. We also went EVERY summer to Story Land.

I just had to write because my brother and I have a picture with Humpty Dumpty every year from when we are 3 on. I just love that your girls have their picture with him too...it brought back a lot of memories. Many thing's haven't changed there from the 80s to now!

Hilary@BabyMooHoo said...

oh, i'm so glad you're sharing story land details! that's where we're doing a family getaway weekend later this month & i've never been there before. so glad to see you guys love it!

Unknown said...

I love the facepaint! That is super cute. Have you guys ever been out to Davis Farmland? It is a bit pricey, but if your girls like animals it is worth it.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sarah said...

I don't know if this would help, but recently read a tip about bringing along an inexpensive pool noodle on trips. Tuck it under the fitted sheet on the edge of the bed. The idea is to help little ones from falling out of bed. Might not work or be useful to you, but thought I'd pass along the tip in case you ever wanted to try it.

The photos are precious and the girls's are as adorable as ever!

Summer said...

Aw, I have great memories from Story Land and lots of pics of my sisters a nd I visiting there. Can't wait to bring my daughter.

Hope's Mama said...

Such gorgeous girls, Sarah.
xo

Kayla said...

So much fun. The girls crack me up. As for the sitting down to eat - yes, EVERY time a meal is served, someone has to poop, whether or not they just went before dinner comes. It's automatic.

Wendy said...

omg the look on Anna's face in the Cinderella picture :*) She looks like, "you're not fooling me, lady." I love their face paint- it looked really great.