Loitering On Sesame Street

Today we took our annual trip up to Langhorne Pennsylvania to visit Sesame Street. I mean Sesame Place. Street? Place. Hmmmm.

According to the show, Sesame STREET is in New York City. Maybe that's why they called it PLACE. Sesame PLACE is in Random-Town Pennsylvania. Makes total sense to me. After all, have to protect the privacy of Oscar the Grouch's REAL house...

We've gone every year since we moved here in 2010. Mainly because it's free admission for active duty military. And I'm all about free. 

We do have to pay for parking. FIFTEEN dollars for a slice of pavement that was already there in the first place. I never have understood the theory of paying for parking.

I forgot to take the picture of the boys with the sign until on the way out. Calen face explains how he felt about leaving.

This year was especially fun because Calen is older and more tolerant to theme park rides and can talk much better and was really aware of his surroundings and all the Sesame Street themes. Though I expected, because of his sensitive and cautious nature, that he wouldn't be going on certain bigger kid rides ("bigger kid" in this park's case is for like, age 5) like the little rollercoaster and those tower dropping things (that's like, maybe 20 feet tall. But you know. Still enormous to a 3 year old). 

But Calen's dramatic change of character/coming of age/alien cloning the last few weeks exposed itself once again today at the park. We barely even got through the front gate when he begged to go on the big rollercoaster. 

Me: "Calen, that's for big boys. It might be scary. Are you sure?"

Mommy translation: Calen, you are going to scream and whine and cry on that ride and then it's going to RUIN the entire rest of the day so for the love of God don't go on it. 


Calen: "Yes I go on rollercoaster NOW okay?"


Calen translation: Eff you. I'm going to do it just because you recommend NOT to. 


Fine. Go scar yourself for life. Take Daddy and I'll stay here and take pictures of your doom. 


And you know what, that little toddler that once was my little scaredy-puss is now a big brave BEAST. He.loved.it. He loved it enough that throughout the course of the day he went on it four times. This is Calen. MY CALEN! Unheard of. 

Calen. On a rollercoaster. Laughing. Unheard of.

The other thing that's changed with Calen is that he isn't as whiny when he's tired and crabby. He's ornery. 

Calen: "Mommy I want eat breakfast" (every meal is "breakfast" to him)

Me: "Want to go sit down and eat lunch?"

Calen: (curled nose crabby face, glaring at me, stomping his feet as we walk): "NO!! I NOT eat lunch Mommy!"

And then we sit down, and he inhales food. ::Sigh::.   


DEFINITELY proves that there is a personality microchip implanted in his head. DEFINITELY. 

We did the usual bouncy room and creepy Elmo flying fish ride thing and added in a ride on the drop tower (yep, he loved that too). Camden was pissy and overtired so most of the time he sat in the stroller and moped, but he did go on the carousel with Calen once. He enjoyed it but was really too cranky to go on again.

The only time Cam actually went on a ride, but he loved it. After this picture.

Once we got the theme park stuff out of the way it started to get hot, so we ate lunch and then went to the water park side of things. We did the splash pad - Calen really loved it this year and wasn't upset about the water on his head. Camden walked around in it but was a grouch about it. Brad lovingly consoled him by snatching him up and running him through the splash pad a few times. Oh what gentle parents we are. Then Calen and I did a quick lap in the lazy river while Daddy took a break and Cam took a literal seven minute nap. Then we hit another wading pool and spent a good while there.

If it weren't for that water park I'm pretty sure the four of us would be puddles of mush on the pavement of that park. It is SO hot. 

Anti-Melting System

Then came time for the parade. Which equals sitting on our beach towel on the hot pavement in 100 degree weather (we did find a tiny shadow to hover in and escape the sun) and wait for 15 minutes for the parade to start. Brad and I weren't too excited since the parade the last two years was run down and dirty, and laaaaame. 

But this year, Sesame redeemed itself. The parade was awesome (I mean, you know, by preschool standards. ::cough:: ahem...). New floats, new character costumes, More dancing, more interactions with the crowd. 

Camden and Oscar the Grouch had matching personalities today.

Calen loved it but it was hard for him to watch all his favorite characters dance right.in.front of him. "I go see him and say hi?" Which he had been begging me to do all day. You could PAY to go say hi to Elmo or Cookie Monster (his favorites). You know what's better than paying $20 for a quick visit with Elmo? Sitting on the hot pavement for FREE and watching them dance past you. We pacified Calen by giving him a giant lollipop that he had no hope of ever finishing before his 12th birthday. 

A 3 year old's pacifier

And then, dreams came true. There came a point where the dancers came and picked out kids to dance with them and the characters. And one of the dancer peoples chose Calen! And he DANCED. With Telly the monster. And it was probably the cutest thing I had ever seen and everyone was pointing and saying "look at that little boy dancing with Telly! How cute!!". And I was that mom was cheering and laughing and almost crying and yelling "that's my boy!!" like he had just won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics or something. But he didn't. He danced with Telly Monster. Baby steps to the gold medal podium. 

MY boy. Dancing with Telly. A proud parenting moment.

We left shortly after and I bet $10 to Brad that the boys would be sound asleep before we hit the freeway/parkway/whatever-way. We were both dumbfounded that both kids stayed awake forever. Cam fell asleep after maybe 45 minutes. Calen never did fall asleep and even through his exhaustion chatted us to death the entire two hour drive back. Turds. 

But really it was a fun day and we had a BLAST and can't wait to do it again (for free) next year.  

 

 

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