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!