Best~Day~Ever part 2 of 3

Memorial Day 2011

Traditionally on Memorial day, we visit the cemetary.  We have also spent this day marching in parades in honor of my brother John...Annika's Uncle Buddy.  But this year, we did things a little differently.  It was the path less-travelled and it made all the difference.

David and I took Annika and her brother Lex who is 3 out to Glen NH to StoryLand.  It is a 4 hour drive from where we live in Warwick RI which we drove from 2:30 to about 6:30 pm on Sunday night.  We stayed overnight and visited the park on its opening weekend!  Family bonding time never goes out of style, no matter how old you are.  Our 4-piece ensemble certainly loves times like these together.  We spent the whole day laughing and exploring the park together.  Annika is getting older and so her tastes have changed.  She has never been much of a thrill-ride kid.  She prefers the water rides.  Annika really LOVED the Hanneford Circus.  There is a young performer there named Ariana Alvarez who does a hula hoop act and also performs with her brother and parents.  She is wonderful and Annika is a huge fan!  As a family we really enjoy their show.

Annika always looks glamorous.  She is so charming to everyone she meets!  And she is an exceptionally loving sister to her sometimes pushy little brother.  She spoils him and gives him anything he asks for!  We were all surprised when we measured her height and it turned out that she is old enough to ride without supervision!  GASP!  Fortunately she blatantly refuses to ride alone...it is not her style.  What is her style were some sunglasses we bought her there at the park.  That and her beach towel which she traipsed about in all afternoon. 

Annika was very conscienscious about what she ate, even while on vacation.  I love how at 9 years old she will calculate what she has eaten  and how it balances out.  For example, in this picture above when we stopped for lunch, Annika ate a grilled cheese sandwich.  Later in the car, after an ice cream, she announced that she needed only an apple for dinner to balance out the more carb-rich and fattening foods from earlier that day.  She is so organized!
 

These were Annika's favorite views from the road on our drive home.  On our first trip to New Hampshire last summer we stopped to feel the cool water of a small waterfall along the highway.  On this trip, as we were driving, I had my camera pointed along the landscape and remembering I had seen a waterfall along the drive up, but had not pointed it out quickly enough to her, I was on the lookout.  I snapped a picture and told Annika to look.  She was so excited when she saw it as we were passing.  It would have been nice if we could have spared just a bit more time to explore it, but we can do that next time.  Clearly, Annika is a fan of water!