Mudgie's favorite weekend EVER!

Last weekend we told Mudgie that we were going to Storyland this weekend. He didn't know what Storyland was, but he understood this was a great place when we told him he could ride on the train there. Once he heard that, it was all he could talk about. It was the first thing out of his mouth when he woke up in the morning, and the last thing out of his mouth as he went to bed at night. I've never seen him so excited for anything. It was so cute! Every day we'd tell him how many more days he had to go to daycare, and then we would drive to New Hampshire, and then we'd go to Storyland.

On Friday, we were finally ready to start our trip. We planned the drive so that both boys would sleep in the car. Aaron did really well, and Mudgie slept for much of the ride. When he woke up, he kept looking for tracks for the train to go on! We got to the hotel and showed Mudgie his bed. He was thrilled to have an entire big bed all to himself! I was worried about him rolling out, so I made him a little pillow nest by putting pillows all along the perimeter of the bed. He looked like a king in there! The boys were really on their best behavior that night, and we went out for our first restaurant meal as a family of 4. Aaron slept through the whole event, and Mudgie was very well behaved, leaving us to actually enjoy our meal. It was as close to a romantic anniversary celebration as we are going to come this year!

On Saturday morning, we got to Storyland just after they opened at 9am. We headed straight for the train. Mudgie was in heaven. He was so excited he didn't know what to do with himself. We also went on the antique cars (Mudgie drove), the flying shoes, the spinning cups and the teacups (yes, they were different rides), the giant treehouse, the pirate ship, the tractor ride, and probably others that I'm forgetting. We were there until 4:30, and the park closes at 5! Mudgie had so much fun, and he did really well, especially considering he didn't take a nap the whole day. He had a little meltdown when we had to wait for the pirate ship, and we almost didn't go on, but I'm so glad we gave it another try. Mudgie had so much fun on that ride, and he came up with these elaborate stories about pirates in the water and how they saved us (from what I'm not sure). He is now obsessed with pirates, and I might need to get him another Halloween costume. He did have a giant meltdown when it was time to leave, but I guess that was to be expected. He cried the whole way back to the hotel, and then collapsed in a wet, sobbing heap on top of the bed and fell asleep almost immediately!

On Sunday, we went to the North Conway train station to see some real trains. Mudgie got to see the "real steamie" leave the station, and a diesel train was in the station as well. Of course he wanted to go on the trains, but he was happy enough to come hiking with us. We hiked up Mt. Willard (2800 ft.). Mudgie rode up on Daddy's back, and I had Aaron in the front carrier. Mudgie seemed to have a great time, and Aaron, while he slept through much of the hike, was awake for quite awhile and seemed quite content to just look around the beautiful foliage and take it all in. It was his first "real" hike, and he did great.

While the ride home from New Hampshire was not exactly peaceful (Aaron wanted nothing to do with the car), we all made it home in one piece. It was truly a fabulous weekend, and I can't imagine a better way for Dave and I to spend our 5-year anniversary!