Our "Yes" Trip

For most of my childhood, the weekend after Thanksgiving was spent downtown enjoying all things Cleveland.  I looked forward to this little trip every year and knew it was something I'd want to continue with my own children.  Having just lost a parent, I felt more compelled than ever to hold tight to to my favorite tradition.

Mate went to work on Friday and then we piled in the car for our weekend away.  Once we were settled into our hotel, I explained to the girls that this was a "yes" trip.  As long as they behaved, I'd say yes to just about anything they wanted to do.  While not our normal parenting style, it's the way their Grandpa Steve would have done things, so that's what we were going to do, too.

On the first night, we met up with some friends for a hockey game.  The girls thought it was pretty cool to walk from our hotel, through Tower City over to the Monster's Game.  They also enjoyed the face painting, colored hair and cotton candy. 

 

This kid told just about everyone who would listen that the Monsters beat the Moose 4-1

A handful of baths later and there is still some evidence from this adventure. 

By the time the game was over, it was way best our bedtime.  We fell fast asleep listening to lullabies.  All the "yes" stuff was really fun, but there's nothing better than the quality time we got to spend with each other.   

We started Saturday out with a trip to the swimming pool and lots of cannon-balls.  Then, we headed over to the Arcade for a little local shopping and to lunch at Jack Flaps.  Pancakes for lunch . . .  yes.

Next was a carriage ride around the block.  They LOVED this part.

 

We went over to the Cleveland Public Library to visit with some reindeer, look at toy trains and eat some cookies.

 

A lengthy nap for our three little ladies was next on our list of things to do.  

 

After a rest, we watched the Toy Soldier performance and went to dinner at Barrio (these four first-timers were quite impressed).

 

We skipped the actual tree lighting festivities since the girls are afraid of fireworks, but enjoyed a late-night stroll to take a quiet look.

 

Maybe next year they'll get over their fear.

 We took 5,364 pictures next to the fancy tree before giving in to the fact that picture cooperation is just not our thing.

After a delicious breakfast at Sans Souci, we went back to Tower City for the most anticipated part of our weekend: Kringle's Inventionasium.  But, first, we had to throw a few coins in the fountain and visit Bruce the Talking Spruce.

 Apparently talking trees are scary, but some Daddy snuggles made everything better just in time for the big event:

 We were paired with a really sweet family and the girls became instant friends.

 Making snow is so exciting.

The best Santa around. 

 

A great end to our weekend.