Memorial Day Weekend

We had a very busy fun-filled weekend.  Saturday, we went to Mount Vernon.  We got there around 9:30 and watched the orientation film.  We saw it for the first time last year and Jack really wanted to see it again, but the girls were nervous about the war scene.  Fortunately for them, Luke only made it about 10 minutes, which actually isn't bad, before I had to take him out.  He is really loud.  He likes to hear the sound of his voice and the louder the better.  I guess he figures that his chances of being heard around here increases proportionally with his volume.

Because we have annual passes we don't feel the need to see everything on each visit, so this time we focused on the Pioneer Farm area.  The weather was perfect and everything looked lush and beautiful.  One of the historians told us that in May they focus on the sheep.  We were able to see them shearing the sheep and then the cleansing of the wool. After walking around outside for awhile, we went to the visitor's center. The kids still love the children's room. I will be sad on the day they outgrow it, which I fear is coming soon. Anna and Kara used to run right to the dresses and then play with the doll house (an amazing replica of Mount Vernon) for as long as we would let them, but on the last few visits they just weren't interested. I hate those signs that the older 3 kids are losing their status as "little." You go from baby, to toddler, to preschooler, to little kid, then kid, big kid, preteen, teen and finally adult (and, of course, all the stages of adulthood, but that's beyond my level of worry at this point). I really like where they are right now, but they are definitely growing rapidly.  Even my little baby is no longer a baby. Time just goes by too quickly.

One of our only Mt. Vernon pictures. How would you like this view from your back porch?  

Saturday night, we had dinner at the Darrow's house, one of my favorite Maryland traditions.  We have been alternating months at each other's house for about 4 years now.  Obviously, we have missed some months, but for the most part we have been pretty faithful.  It is something our family really enjoys. Alecia is a great cook and we just enjoy the company. 

Sunday, we were back at Kings Dominion.  We were braced for heavy crowds, but it was manageable.  We got there shortly after 10 and were able to walk on several rides, probably because we weren't going for the headliner type attractions.  Around 2, we decided to check out the water park.  It was far bigger than I expected and insanely crowded. We did not do any slides, but we let the kids play in both wave pools. They had multiple toddler areas, but Luke wasn't too impressed (I think he was pretty tired, his nap schedule was completely off track). It is definitely something we want to explore more.  After about 2 hours in there, we changed and went back to the park. We stopped for a snack and I lucked into a free funnel cake. I have been craving a loaded one (with strawberries and whipped cream) and the people in front of me ordered a plain one.  The staff misheard and made the loaded.  The workers were going to just throw it away, so they asked the line "does anyone want a free funnel cake?" I was the quickest to reply, so it was mine. I was nice and shared with everyone and didn't even begrudge doing so.

We walked around the dinosaur area and the kids spent probably a half an hour digging for bones. Jack was really funny, every time he found something new, he would call all the kids (mine and anyone else who would humor him) over to show them. He was really into it. I guess we have a bit longer of that "little kid status" left after all.  By now, it was about 6pm and we decided to get some dinner. Thomas and I figured we would probably leave after that,but we kept doing "just one more thing" until it was almost 9! I was actually the party-pooper who didn't want to shut the place down. I was so tired! Even Luke was wide-awake and cheerful. Of course, he was asleep before we even left the parking lot once he was in the comfort of his car seat. 

It was a really pleasant day. Everyone was cooperative and patient. It can be difficult because they all like different rides, especially Kara, so there can be a lot of standing around while someone else is riding. But, they were just so good that it was easy to stay and before we knew it, we had been there for 11 hours!

Anna is getting brave, she has now ridden all the wooden roller coasters there and some of them are pretty intense!  This is her riding solo on the kid's coaster, the Woodstock Express.

We ran into Sally, which was pretty cool...

until she tried to kidnap Luke!

It was a character-filled day

Luke loved climbing around on this gate.  I was taking a picture when he fell.

But, he just got right back up and wasn't the least bit upset (he didn't hit his head).

Monday, we had a more low-key day. We do understand the purpose of Memorial Day and we made sure our kids understood why they were out of school. That being said, we still think it is perfectly appropriate to enjoy family time, so as we've done in the past, we decided to visit Washington's birthplace and have a picnic. Our picnic tradition for Pope's Creek is to stop at the Walmart in King George and let the kid choose their lunch. They love Lunchables, but we only buy them on rare occasion. So, when we told them the picnic idea, all the girls could talk about was what they were going to choose for lunch. Jack asked me to pack him a traditional lunch, but the girls were all about the Lunchables. It was pretty funny how excited they were about that. 

Pope's Creek was nice and we enjoyed walking around.  However, the bugs were really bad and we didn't end up staying very long. It was still beautiful and fun and we took lots of pictures. I think it is one of the most beautiful places in the area and it is really fun to picture a little baby Washington taking his first steps there.

Anna started to sneeze right as Thomas was taking this picture

Our annual bench photo.  I wish I had asked them to take off their hats.

We just love this bridge.  So fun to walk, run and play on.

To complete our weekend, we had ice cream sundaes for dinner. The kids are all hoping that was the start of another Memorial Day tradition. We gave Luke a little bowl of ice cream (I did also give him some "real" food). He proceeded to hold his spoon in his left hand and eat the ice cream with his right. Thomas tried to help him out and Luke screamed at him and shoved his hand away. It was pretty funny how adamant he was about feeding himself, so we just let him at it. Jack, Anna and Kara all remarked that they can't wait to tell their class about how they had sundaes for dinner. They each have a circle time where they can share something from the weekend and that is what they are going to share. After all the amazing experiences we gave them this weekend, it is the ice cream for dinner that made the biggest impression.  We love our littles!

We had everyone in bed by 7:30 and hopefully they will be refreshed and ready for school in the morning!

A Scary Day at Kings Dominion, a Tantrum and Mother's Day

We recently bought annual passes to Kings Dominion.  We decided instead of doing our annual trip to Dutch Wonderland and having just 2 days of fun, the money would be better spent on a full season of fun at Kings Dominion.  We have currently been 3 times, including one awesome Friday where we took the kids out of school early.  Most recently we went yesterday.  Our friend and neighbor, Amanda, and her two children, came with us (her husband was working).

We left right after Jack's soccer game and go to the park around 12:30.  Because we bought a meal plan that includes two meals with each visit we had waited to have lunch until we got there.  After lunch, we got started on the rides. Around 3, we were heading to the children's area, when we realized Jack was not with us. Amanda took the other kids to one of the rides and Thomas and I began searching.  We had seen him probably a minute before, so we didn't think he could be far away.  However, we couldn't locate him.  After about 5 minutes, I reported him missing to an employee, who took me to the Family Care Center. They asked me his name and made a phone call. About 5 minutes later, I was told security had a little boy they were bringing over.  I went outside to wait.  Meanwhile, Thomas was visiting all of Jack's favorite rides. After about 10 minutes, I learned that the kid they had found was not Jack.  I was upset that we had lost so much time and began to get really worried.  I saw a security guard outside and she took me back in to do a more formal report.  I gave them a complete description of Jack and waited while she got permission to broadcast this info to all security in the park.  Then, she left me with another security guard who took down my phone number and said he would call when they found him.  

By this time it had been 40 minutes since we had seen Jack and I was extremely worried.  Anna was with me and she was crying and saying over and over how she just wanted Jack and how he was a great brother who was so nice to her.  A report of another missing child came over the radio, this one had been missing for 25 minutes and I had the (irrational, I suppose) thought that someone had kidnapped our children.  I was really upset with myself because while we talk about stranger-danger fairly often, and even role-play various scenarios, we hadn't talked about what to do if they got separated from us.  We also hadn't told them to never leave the park without us.  I was extremely afraid that someone had lured him into the parking lot by saying that we were out there, or something similar.  Every minute that ticked by increased my stress level exponentially.  

About 5 minutes after I had given the guard his description, the same guard walked in the door with him.  I started crying out of complete relief.  He had been missing for 45 very long minutes.  Jack had gone on a ride.  He said he thought we knew he was going on and when he got off and we weren't there, he just started wandering the park to find us. Finally, someone asked him if he was lost and then brought him to the security officer. I have never felt such immense relief in my life. 

We then waited outside for Thomas, who was still circling the park. I found out that he had the same progression of thoughts that I did and was also convinced that Jack must have left the park, because he was sure that he should have been found before that. Talking with Jack, we must have just missed him on several occasions because Thomas did look in all the places he said he was.  Of course, for all I know, he was off riding his favorite roller coaster and enjoying the unexpected freedom (I don't really think that, but it is funny to imagine).  It was an interesting experience, to feel so many emotions in such a short period of time.  From slight annoyance to extreme worry and finally immense relief all in less than 60 minutes.

Later that day, we all took a bathroom break and guess who wandered off again?!?!?! Fortunately, Amanda spotted him and dragged him back to us.  This time, I smacked his bottom and yelled at him in front of a very surprised crowd.  I think the emotions of the day had gotten to me and I was so mad that he could have walked away from us again. The stroller had never moved, so I felt like it was an intentional act.  I am sure the astonished parents watching just thought I was an awful mother abusing her poor, crying child.  It was a rough afternoon.  But, it spite of it all, we actually had a really good time. Poor Thomas had a headache and stayed with the littler kids while I got to do all the fun rides. I tried out another of the big coasters (my goal is one each trip until I do them all). The kids all got along really well and were very well-behaved (minus the Jack incidents, of course).  We ended up staying until 9pm and were close to staying for the fireworks at 10. We really love that place and I am looking forward to many more visits. Here is the photo dump, but I didn't take any pictures yesterday, so they are from our first two visits.

Luke was not impressed with the carousel.

Dino Dig area

Joe Cool's Driving School (I think this is the cutest ride, it has stoplights and I love watching the kids wait for the light to turn green.  Makes me laugh every time :)

Another of a non-thrilled Luke

Some decent Mexican food

Jack and Thomas are in the front car.  I love this ride.  Definitely one of my favorites.

Can you believe Thomas and I rode this?  It is the tallest coaster there, by far.  It is aptly named "The Intimidator".

The only "roller coaster" Kara likes. 

Hanging out with the Luke and the girls while Thomas and Jack were on the coaster behind us.

Taken by my friend from the top of the "Eiffel Tower" (1/3 to scale).  Look how huge the Intimidator is! It just dwarfs everything.

In other news, Jack is playing soccer, Kara is doing t-ball and Anna is still in dance. Guess when they have their practices?  Mondays.  It has been a nightmare in logistics. Actually, it's not really a nightmare, just a long miserable day. They only do one thing and they just happen to all be on the same night.  I do think each one of them is getting better at their chosen activity, although I have no idea if they will continue beyond this season.

Last Thursday, Jack and Anna were in a show at school.  As first graders, they were only eligible for the chorus, but they had been rehearsing for months and it was a very exciting time.  Unfortunately, during the show Kara decided to throw a tantrum so I missed the first half. Kara is generally well-behaved, but when she chooses to act up, she goes all out.  It was both embarrassing and infuriating. I really wanted to see the show!  Thomas had been sitting separately in the back with Luke, so I had to bear the initial brunt.  Then, he came out at intermission and took over.  She was upset because she wanted popcorn.  I told her if she was good I would get her some at intermission, then I realized I didn't have any money.  I could have borrowed the dollar from any number of people there, but I wasn't thinking when I said this and I made the incredibly stupid mistake of telling her this during a break in the show.  So, I have my share of the blame.  Of course, screaming, crying, kicking and acting like a fool is a pretty disproportionate response to being told no popcorn, so I am not taking full responsibility.

Today is Mother's Day.  We had donuts for breakfast, the kids made lots of thoughtful gifts and Thomas got me some beautiful flowers.  He also let me enjoy a nap, and, as mentioned went to Kings Dominion, despite having a terrible headache and being unable to ride the rides.  And, he did it all cheerfully!  I am very lucky in life!!!