Pure joy.
They say "I'm so happy!" and "I'm having the BEST time!"
But what these photos don't tell you is that five minutes later there was an epic meltdown over who got to be in the big stroller. And a few minutes after that, there were tears because "he has goldfish and I want goldfish but I want them in that container and not this one!!!" Add in a dose of 93 degree weather, 95% humidity and summer crowds and you will get a true sense of what our trip to Busch Gardens was like this past weekend.
We ventured down to Williamsburg, VA with the Grandparents this weekend to fill up on some old fashioned, amusement park fun. We knew it would be tricky with little ones, but we were up for the challenge. And boy did it serve us one! From the moment we landed at the hotel, Andrew was not having it. This is a kid who LOVES his sleep and LOVES his bed. One look at the hotel crib and a proper fit ensued. If you have ever shared a single hotel room with your toddler and 4-year old, you can agree that it is tight quarters! But we made it work and the moment the sun was awake so were the kids.
We hit the park first thing and headed straight to Sesame Street Forest of Fun. After all, we had been talking it up to James and he was determined to see Elmo. The smile on his face faded when he realized it was NOT Sesame Place and it was a whole lot different than where we were last summer. My Mommy heart broke when I saw his face fall, but as soon as we got his little butt onto Grover's Alpine Express roller coaster, he was all smiles. And that smile grew when he got to see Elmo. Mission accomplished!
And God bless Andrew - he was ALL IN when it came to Elmo's Castle splash area. We let the kid roam on his own and he had a blast. Phew!
We ventured down to Williamsburg, VA with the Grandparents this weekend to fill up on some old fashioned, amusement park fun. We knew it would be tricky with little ones, but we were up for the challenge. And boy did it serve us one! From the moment we landed at the hotel, Andrew was not having it. This is a kid who LOVES his sleep and LOVES his bed. One look at the hotel crib and a proper fit ensued. If you have ever shared a single hotel room with your toddler and 4-year old, you can agree that it is tight quarters! But we made it work and the moment the sun was awake so were the kids.
We hit the park first thing and headed straight to Sesame Street Forest of Fun. After all, we had been talking it up to James and he was determined to see Elmo. The smile on his face faded when he realized it was NOT Sesame Place and it was a whole lot different than where we were last summer. My Mommy heart broke when I saw his face fall, but as soon as we got his little butt onto Grover's Alpine Express roller coaster, he was all smiles. And that smile grew when he got to see Elmo. Mission accomplished!
And God bless Andrew - he was ALL IN when it came to Elmo's Castle splash area. We let the kid roam on his own and he had a blast. Phew!
I want to tell you that these smiles stuck around the rest of the day, but unfortunately, the heat and the crowds got the better of us. The whining set in which led to waning patience on my part creating a recipe for disaster. As we stood on a painfully long line to go on the 30-second Le Scoot Log Flume I thought about posting the smiling photos on Facebook to show the world that we are a happy family having a wonderful time. But then I stopped myself and decided to wait and share the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about our time in Busch Gardens.
When we open Facebook or Instagram or any other social media we now have at our fingertips, we see a small snapshot of what is truly happening in the lives of our loved ones. Usually the picture is of smiling, happy faces and we think, "Wow...they really got it together and are conquering this thing called life." But sometimes...a brave soul will show you what is really behind the curtain and give you an honest look at what a day in the life of having two small kids is really like. Today, I am that brave soul.
If I'm being completely honest, this trip was not a failure. Not by any means. I stupidly created an unrealistic expectation in my head that our 4 year old and 16 month old would have beaming smiles on their faces the entire day because we were at a place where fun is the main objective.
Bone-head move on my part.
The boys did as well as could be expected given the circumstances. I mean Andrew took a 2 hour nap in his stroller!! Seriously - the kid loves his sleep.
When we open Facebook or Instagram or any other social media we now have at our fingertips, we see a small snapshot of what is truly happening in the lives of our loved ones. Usually the picture is of smiling, happy faces and we think, "Wow...they really got it together and are conquering this thing called life." But sometimes...a brave soul will show you what is really behind the curtain and give you an honest look at what a day in the life of having two small kids is really like. Today, I am that brave soul.
If I'm being completely honest, this trip was not a failure. Not by any means. I stupidly created an unrealistic expectation in my head that our 4 year old and 16 month old would have beaming smiles on their faces the entire day because we were at a place where fun is the main objective.
Bone-head move on my part.
The boys did as well as could be expected given the circumstances. I mean Andrew took a 2 hour nap in his stroller!! Seriously - the kid loves his sleep.
The truth of the matter is parenting is hard. It's the hardest thing I have ever done and I know that it will continue to be hard as my little munchkins grow up. But for every difficult moment or difficult day there are a million and one awesome moments and awesome days. So yes...I will continue to post the smiley photos on social media and yes it will look as though everything is perfect and peachy keen. But remember, sometimes the truth lies behind the curtain. And that is pretty okay too.
