Earthmovers and Sandcastles

Okay, some of the stress returned yesterday. We never do learn our lesson, but you’d think we’d make some headway toward figuring it out: every time we try to add in some structured event to the vacation, we run the risk of the boys standing in opposition, whether intentionally or just by being themselves.

Yesterday afternoon, after a pleasant morning at Wiley’s Woods, we decided to do the downtown area. Sam saw signs for Wizard Quest and was immediately taken with a need to go there. Every other store: “Can we go to Wizard Quest now? Please? Wizard Quest?” We asked him to stop nagging. I reminded him that when we looked at it two years ago, he was scared of it. (”I’m not little anymore! I’m not scared this year!”) He was hopping from foot to foot in excitement by the time we got there and priced it out. Gabe was extremely hesitant, but we made sure we could get money back for me (he went in free) if I had to take him out within the first few minutes.

But it wasn’t just him who flipped out when the doors closed behind us. Even though we had bought glowsticks to help them feel reassured, and even though there were stairs for people who wanted to avoid going down the darkened slides, and even though the whole thing wasn’t really creepy at all, both boys were shaking, freaking, and begging to leave for the whole fifteen minutes we lasted before giving up on trying to calm them. Gabe was convinced we would be trapped there forever; Sam just kept saying, “This is too creepy!” It was frustrating to have to leave (not to mention a waste of money), and it put a damper on the afternoon for all of us.

So we came back to the hotel, took a rest in the room, and then Eric and Sam went back to the waterpark to chill while Gabe and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching the Olympics. Everybody benefitted from the downtime, and it feels better now.

Today, since we never, ever learn, we’re going to try to go on a boat ride. Now, theoretically, this should be awesome, as the boys love boats; they even chose for souvenirs miniature versions of the boat we’ll be riding. Will it be fun for all, or a complete disaster? Tune in to find out!

Oh, and Sam lost his tooth yesterday. The tooth fairy even comes to the Dells! Yay!

No Comments »

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed