The last day of school arrived bright and early today and we were not ready. Or maybe one of us was. It definitely wasn't Carolina who spent yesterday at the doctor's office and running around the city with me with a slight fever and a negative strep test result. We made the most of our time around Madison Square Park but still by bedtime, it wasn't looking good. She had a fever overnight and woke me a couple of times for more to drink since she must be parched with all her body is doing to fight this infection. By morning, I was a sleepy mess and Elisa's last day energy was much appreciated. She begged to wear something to school that wasn't her uniform and since this was the first time in five years, I figured a "Yes" was warranted. She picked out her favorite peekaboo top and that was that. By mid-day I tried to figure out what was going to happen next with Carolina still too feverish to go up to school. Fortunately, this is when having neighbors as friends and fellow AOC parents is such a blessing. I called up Skylar's mom Kathy and asked if she could pick Elisa up and take her with Skylar to the out of school picnic. As a trade, I would take Skylar along with Elisa to the Dream Machine exhibit in Williamsburg this afternoon. I bought timed entry tickets weeks ago and figured it would make a last day of school surprise for the girls. I guess I just didn't know which girls...
The Dream Machine was just about everything I thought it would be. We had about 10 minutes to wait before going in and then our Dream Technician took us through the first cloud room. I could tell immediately some of the teen/twenties goers were just there to hog the photo ops and navigating it with kids was going to be a bit tricky. But fortunately, the girls found room to play and enjoy themselves without photobombing everyone. And I was able to work the angles and get the shots I wanted. I mean, what? I wasn't going to write home about it. Photos. I wanted lots of them. In the bubble room, we managed to hang back enough that the girl working it gave us a few extra minutes as she waited for the next area to clear out. And then we caught back up with everyone in the laundromat room with the cotton candy. Elisa and Skylar both snarfed theirs down and asked for more and at $28 a pop, I figured they could oblige us (and they did). The pool ball pit was probably the highlight for the girls and I enjoyed it except the dude working it was blocking the best light and we got barked at to get out after what seemed like just a few minutes. Oh well, on to the next! By the end, the girls didn't want the fun to stop and I have to say that was a fast 45 minute stroll. But we had our share and now the dream was over.
