And the rain came tumbling down

We woke up on our first day in Connecticut to rain. We spent the next 10 days trying to think of things to do in the rain. The news informed us that Connecticut had had rain for 26 consecutive days at that point. There were a few breaks when it was only threatening to rain.

First we went to Dinosaur State Park because Will had told us he "wasn't scared of the dinosaurs now." The Motts will be glad to know that we watched the claymation Dinosaurs movie and it was just as great as it was 15 years ago. We brought plaster and made our own cast of a real dinosaur footprint. It weighs about 20 pounds though so it is at my parents' house. Saturday was Connecticut State Park day (or something like that) so we went to a free tour of the Goodspeed Opera House (the children didn't particularly enjoy it, however) and then headed over to Gillette Castle.

It was mid-nap time at that point and the kids had shown how fond of tours they were at our last destination, so we didn't take the Gillette Castle tour. We wandered around outside and got an ice cream. Sawyer's favorite part was throwing the garbage in the trash can and then he felt it was his duty to pick up all the other nasty garbage he found on the ground. I don't have any pictures because I left my camera at my parents' house. Mollie took pictures...with a film camera...so those aren't particularly easy to share.

Another day we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese, because Will had been promised a trip and I put it off until we were in Connecticut. I'm glad I did because the CT C.E.C. was much nicer than the Utah one! It didn't smell (miracle!) and it actually had new games and rides. Mollie and I were pretty amused too.

Another day we made a short trip to the beach. The water was freezing, of course, so we only put our toes in, but the kids had a grand time finding shells and digging in the sand. Then Sawyer became obsessed with finding cigarette butts. I guess he likes to pick up garbage.

The one other time I recall being outside because it wasn't raining was when Mollie and I took the boys on a walk down the street to the pizza place and got a slice of pizza. Will remembered doing that with Grandpa last summer, but last summer he did it with a stinky diaper. He was quite pleased with himself that this year he wasn't wearing diapers. When I told him months ago that we were going to take an airplane and go to Connecticut he enthusiastically replied "And I can hang out with Uncle Evan and the big guys because I don't poop in my pants anymore!" Ah, the perks of growing up.

Will spent most of his free time "hanging out with Uncle Evan" or playing up in the attic. Once he learned what an attic is, and where to find it, and discovered that Grandma's was full of toys he was a big fan.

Sawyer spent the first 3 days terrified of the ancient family dog, but after that they were the best of friends. Actually, I think Sawyer liked the dog much more than the dog liked him. He would wrap his arms around its midsection, lay his head down on its rear, and follow it around the house. On more than one occasion I found him laughing hysterically snuggled up on the floor with the dog while the dog licked him all over. He's my little animal lover...except when he gets an ornery streak going and takes it out on them.

Of course, we also made multiple trips to Xpect Discounts (a little disappointing this time), No Anchovies Pizza (still called Michelangelo's in my house and still yummy), and Friendly's (Reese's Pieces Sundae...mmmmmmm).

We also fought over the bathroom because what would a trip back home be like without fighting over the bathroom?