We made our annual family trip to Kiddieland today. We had planned to go on Wednesday, but discovered that they had closed for the workweek on August 23. We've gone the past two years in August as well, sweltering in the heat and sun. Located just outside of Chicago at North and 1st Avenues in Melrose Park, Kiddieland is a small amusement park catering to the 4-8-year-old set. Most of the rides are designed for kids under 48", but there are a fair number that are for older kids and adults.
The park now offers e-tickets, so I bought our tickets online this morning. Ticket prices have increased to $23 for kids over 6 and adults, and $20 for kids 3-6 and seniors. When we arrived, we bypassed the out-to-the-edge-of-the-parking-lot line and went straight into the park at 11 a.m. The Boy wanted to go on the Kiddieland Unlimited first, but it wasn't working properly. I don't know whether it was because it was the end of the season or just coincidence, but "out of order" seemed to be a loose theme for the day. Later, I stood in line for 20 minutes to get a slushie only to learn when I got to the window that the machine was broken. And there was no soap for handwashing in the bathrooms.
The Boy has been begging to go to Kiddieland all summer. He was in heaven when today finally arrived. He and The Dad paired off for much of our visit, going on rides for which The Girl and The Tot were still too little (or too scared): Log Jammer, Scooters, Dip-N-Drop (roller coaster). In addition to these, he enjoyed the Kiddieland Unlimited, Roto-Whip, the pump-your-own-train-car in the Volcano Playcenter, and the Raceabouts. I also took him on the Scooters, which was really fun -- the bumper cars were my childhood favorite ride -- we had great fun ramming into people around us.
Unlike his older sister when we visited the park in 2006, The Tot only tolerated some of the rides and downright disliked others. He seemed to do OK by himself on the tiny racecar ("Midge-O-Racer") ride and was fine in the Kiddieland Unlimited and carousel with me. The highlights of the trip for him were a bucket of popcorn and a Popsicle Cherry Calypso cup.
The Girl's favorite rides this year were pretty much the same as they were on our first visit: the Roto-Whip, Little Autos, Dune Buggies, and the Raceabouts. She also rode the carousel, train, swings, and did the hand-cars once (and then got upset when the guide wouldn't let her go around again because she had had to push The Girl most of the way around the track). Unlike in previous years, she did not want to ride the flying elephants. She was frustrated by being just barely too short for many of the rides, especially since The Boy was finally tall enough to ride them. The Dad and I took turns taking her on the Raceabouts, which she really seemed to enjoy.
For some reason, I overestimate the food every year. My stomach always hurts after an afternoon at Kiddieland -- all that corn syrup, grease,and red dye -- although I managed to skip the Pepsi products this year. Instead, to stay hydrated in the 90-degree heat, we filled and refilled our 3 SIGG bottles with water. Maybe next year I'll employ my brain and pack a cooler lunch to eat in the car.
Other tips from this year: Because it was so loud, The Dad and I mostly communicated via text messages while we were separated. We brought in our wagon, but it was unwieldly and the only person who really wanted to ride was The Tot, so we swapped it out for our stroller and everyone was just as happy -- especially The Tot, who later fell asleep in it.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
XRT, Afternoon BBQ
Due to the holiday weekend, ARCC was closed; in the absence of ballet class getting us out of the house on a Saturday morning, we just lazed around in our PJs until noon. The Dad did some repair work on the garage rain gutters. And then I started painting a vanity table and stool in the garage, while rocking out to XRT. I forgot how much I like that station; The Girl wants to listen to Aqua's "Barbiegirl"ad nauseum in the car. It was nice to have some time alone during daylight hours to work on a project.
Later, we got dressed and went out, although we stayed in the 'hood. We went over to Caroline D.'s house for a late-afternoon cook-out. Allison and her kids were also there. It was very nice and the kids (mostly) played well together.
Later, we got dressed and went out, although we stayed in the 'hood. We went over to Caroline D.'s house for a late-afternoon cook-out. Allison and her kids were also there. It was very nice and the kids (mostly) played well together.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Back to School Carnival
On Tuesday, we will officially be Disney II parents. Last night was the "back to school" carnival, a somewhat chaotic, but very fun and neighborly 2-hour event in and around the new Disney II. The Dad, The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I caravanned over to the school at 5 p.m. for the start of the carnival. The Dad pushed the stroller, while I pulled The Boy's filled-to-the-brim blue IKEA bag of school supplies in the wagon.
We saw The Boy's new classroom (a modified "pod" structure that uses a partition to separate two kindergarten classrooms) and met his teacher, and ran our eyes over the class list. I think I knew one person in my class on the first day of kindergarten; The Boy will know five. All summer long he has declared that he doesn't want to go to school, but either its inevitability finally dawned on him or he found the carnival super fun because this morning he told Grandma Texas that he is going to kindergarten on Tuesday. Phew!
The Dad has been volunteering with the technology coordinator in the building all week; he was impressed by how much they had gotten done renovations-wise in only 48 hours. The Girl's classroom was still under construction, so she didn't get to see it. But she did get to meet her teacher, Mr. Manesis, again and ended up playing with his 3-y/o girl on the playground.
We saw the building, dropped off supplies, ran into lots and lots of people we knew, ate food from Smoque and Chicago's Pizza & Pasta, watched the Jesse White Tumblers, and ran ourselves crazy on the playground. The Tot, The Girl, and The Boy were all exhausted by the time we left and got them all into bed.
We saw The Boy's new classroom (a modified "pod" structure that uses a partition to separate two kindergarten classrooms) and met his teacher, and ran our eyes over the class list. I think I knew one person in my class on the first day of kindergarten; The Boy will know five. All summer long he has declared that he doesn't want to go to school, but either its inevitability finally dawned on him or he found the carnival super fun because this morning he told Grandma Texas that he is going to kindergarten on Tuesday. Phew!
The Dad has been volunteering with the technology coordinator in the building all week; he was impressed by how much they had gotten done renovations-wise in only 48 hours. The Girl's classroom was still under construction, so she didn't get to see it. But she did get to meet her teacher, Mr. Manesis, again and ended up playing with his 3-y/o girl on the playground.
We saw the building, dropped off supplies, ran into lots and lots of people we knew, ate food from Smoque and Chicago's Pizza & Pasta, watched the Jesse White Tumblers, and ran ourselves crazy on the playground. The Tot, The Girl, and The Boy were all exhausted by the time we left and got them all into bed.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Summer Wanes
We got up and out this morning to meet Cheryl and her kids at the North Park Village Nature Center. When we arrived in the center at 10 a.m., the guide asked us if we were there for the preschool program. We weren't--I did not know there was such a thing--but we decided to join anyway. I wish I had known about it earlier! Sean, the guide, was really good at both engaging and controlling about 15 kids aged 3-6. We read a book about water (The Water Dance) and then went outside to experiment with water and a trough of sand. The Girl was especially entranced by Sean and the outside activity, but The Boy got into it, too.
After about 1/2 an hour, I went back to find Cheryl and her kids in the discovery room. Her son joined in the river fun. Then we all went on a nature walk on the main loop. The Tot fell asleep in the sling during the walk. Around noon, we were all hungry, so we headed back to the parking lot.
I took the kids to Target for lunch and a few odds and ends. Afterwards, we stopped at a small grocery store on Peterson and Lincoln that I imagined was going to be like the Family Fruit Market. It was similar, but much smaller. At first, I thought it would be carry a lot of kosher products, given the number of Orthodox Jews I observed exiting the store, but it turns out that the specialty is Greek. We got some yummy, hand-formed Challah bread, bananas, rice milk, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, and fresh mozzarella cheese.
I took Jersey Avenue south to get home, mistakenly thinking it would turn into Kimball Avenue. Instead, it turned into Kedzie Avenue. The Boy said, "Hey, that's where S. lives!" so we turned down her street and ended up having an impromptu playdate with S., F., G., and their mother. On the way home, we stopped for another unplanned side trip: the gas station and car wash. The Girl has been begging me to go through the car wash every time she sees one or thinks about it, so I took The Great White Moose in for a bath after filling up her tank with gas. The Tot seems to have recovered from his fear of the car wash; he was wide-eyed and curious about it the trailer took us through the automatic car wash, but he did not once cry.
After about 1/2 an hour, I went back to find Cheryl and her kids in the discovery room. Her son joined in the river fun. Then we all went on a nature walk on the main loop. The Tot fell asleep in the sling during the walk. Around noon, we were all hungry, so we headed back to the parking lot.
I took the kids to Target for lunch and a few odds and ends. Afterwards, we stopped at a small grocery store on Peterson and Lincoln that I imagined was going to be like the Family Fruit Market. It was similar, but much smaller. At first, I thought it would be carry a lot of kosher products, given the number of Orthodox Jews I observed exiting the store, but it turns out that the specialty is Greek. We got some yummy, hand-formed Challah bread, bananas, rice milk, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, and fresh mozzarella cheese.
I took Jersey Avenue south to get home, mistakenly thinking it would turn into Kimball Avenue. Instead, it turned into Kedzie Avenue. The Boy said, "Hey, that's where S. lives!" so we turned down her street and ended up having an impromptu playdate with S., F., G., and their mother. On the way home, we stopped for another unplanned side trip: the gas station and car wash. The Girl has been begging me to go through the car wash every time she sees one or thinks about it, so I took The Great White Moose in for a bath after filling up her tank with gas. The Tot seems to have recovered from his fear of the car wash; he was wide-eyed and curious about it the trailer took us through the automatic car wash, but he did not once cry.
Last day
Today is the last day of summer vacation and I'm feeling uninspired about what to do with it. But in the middle of posting this, Cheryl called to invite us to go on a nature walk at North Park Village. Sounds good.
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