Birthday Extravaganza and Lots of Surprises!

On Tuesday, I turned 38.  I feel old, particularly having a one-year-old.  Especially since my "cut-off age" for having children was 34.  But, there is nothing I can do to stop the passage of time, so I might as well embrace the fact that I am getting older. Fortunately, those around me are also inclined to embrace the aging process and my birthday week was pretty eventful. It started with a dessert get together with some friends on Monday night. I always enjoy quiet, uninterrupted conversation and it was so nice to have time to catch-up with these delightful ladies.

Tuesday, the kids were extra-special-nice-to-me. They actually made it through the whole day without fighting (which is what I always ask for whenever anyone asks what I want for a gift). It was AMAZING! I didn't raise my voice once the entire day. I had no idea how blissful a peaceful house could be. Unfortunately, it took a lot out of them and even though they also commented on how much they enjoyed the calmer atmosphere, the only commitment I could get for the future was from Kara and that was a weak "I'll try". Thomas had to work, but he had prompted the kids well and they were awesome. At one point, they tried to get me to go and take a nap while they "babysat" Luke for me. We went out to dinner and came home to a made-from-scratch strawberry cake that Thomas and the girls had made. It was one of my best birthdays ever!

Thomas' birthday is 2 days after mine, so we typically do something to celebrate on the day in between. This year, he tried to surprise me, but there was a miscommunication with the babysitter, so the element of surprise disappeared. But, that just meant I got to look forward to the day. Anyway, the plan was for a day at Kings Dominion with just the two of us. We go to KD all the time, in fact, we went three days in a row this week, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, Wednesday, just the two of us with a plan to ride all of the rides that we typically can't go on together because one of us has to wait behind with the kids. We got there early and did a a few rides before heading into the water park. I was having a great time, but unfortunately, Thomas got a terrible headache. He pushed through without complaint, but I could tell he wasn't having the best time. We did get to try some new things, including one of the big roller coasters. I even got Thomas to go on the giant swings--300 feet up in the air.  He hated it and his hands were cramped from the death grip he kept on the restraints, but at least he tried :)  We left the park shortly after dinner. I know it is cliche, but we really, really, enjoy being together and it was nice to just focus on each other.

Thursday, Thomas turned 40! Having just finished a book about Pope's Creek, he really wanted to go to George Washington's birthplace. We got there around 10 and enjoyed exploring. It was a beautiful day. There were some master gardeners out working and I loved hearing about the garden and the purposes of many of the plants grown in the 1700s. We had a nice picnic lunch and visited the family burial site. Luke fell and narrowly (like no more than an inch) missed hitting his head on one of the stone plots. The girls are convinced that an angel from the Washington family was looking out for him. I am not going to discount the possibility--the angle and the height he fell from would have resulted in major injury if he had hit the stone. I was actually a bit shaken. But, all was well and Luke wasn't even aware how close he was to disaster.

Even though it was Thomas' birthday, we decided to go to KD after GW birthplace. We were already halfway there. The kids had no idea. We had let them bring their Kindles in the car and that kept them so distracted, they didn't even realize we weren't driving home. Kara did at one point look up and wonder where we were, but we just told her it was an alternate route. We approached KD from the back and the kids were super-excited, Kara just kept saying, "can we go, can we go?" Jack and Anna immediately knew that we had planned the surprise, but I think Kara must have thought we were lost or something. It was very cute. And, it wasn't our only surprise of the day.

We had them put on their bathing suits and went straight to White Water Canyon. It's a raft ride (in the main park) that completely soaks you. Thomas and I had previewed it the day before and felt the kids would love it. They did. From there it was onto Soak City. It was around 2 and we thought we would just stay until the water park closed at 8.  The other times we've done the water park, we have felt more hurried, but since we knew we were going to be there for 6 hours, we were much more relaxed. There was no worrying about doing things quickly to try and accomplish both parts of the park. We had a great time. 

Feeling lazy on the lazy river

You may recognize this Luke position from our Nationals game blog. Luke's favorite form of protest.

We were going to leave at 8, but somehow ended up staying until the main park closed. Thomas decided to try the Drop Tower and Jack went with him! I was so nervous for them. But, Jack got off and pronounced it was awesome, so Anna decided to try as well. Kara and I watched nervously. The twins looked so small, I was a bit nervous that they would just fly right out of the restraint! Of course, they didn't and all three of them loved the ride. It was a super fun, very busy, day.

Thumbs up!

From there, we went to surprise #2--a hotel across the street. The kids were definitely confused by this one. They love hotels and were shocked that we were actually staying at one. They couldn't believe we had packed stuff without them noticing. We then told them about that surprise #3, which was they could choose an activity for Friday. The choices were the Richmond Zoo, a Children's Museum, or another day at KD. By a vote of 2-1, they chose the Children's Museum. Everyone went to sleep easily and happily (it was 11pm after all).

We were all awake by 7:30 the next morning (thanks to Luke) and anxious to start the day. We had our free hotel breakfast and checked-out. The museum was only 20 minutes away. It was pretty nice, but smaller than others we have been to. It would not be worth the 2-hour drive on its own. It also got really crowded with daycare groups, so we only stayed about 2-hours. We were really close to monument row, so we decided to drive down that street before lunch.

This was the girls' favorite area

Perhaps Jack is teaching Thomas the correct way to spell blue?

Stock photo of Monument Row, we did drive by this one.

When we got our annual passes to KD, we added a dining plan. It was pricey, but has been very nice and convenient. Since it was still early and on the way, we decided to go to KD for lunch and let each kid chose one ride. Kara had voted for KD because there was something she wanted to try. I think she felt left out because J&A had tried the drop tower and everyone was so proud of them. We did her ride, which was the Flying Aces, first. She liked it and felt brave. We had lunch and then Thomas, Jack and Anna did the Drop Tower. Then, we just kept adding more rides. We walked through the Dinosaur Area and somehow decided to stay.

One of the life-sized dinosaurs

That one was all Thomas. I was tired and so ready to go. But, everyone was having a good time and it just kind of happened. Kara wanted to try another new ride--Ricochet, which has a small roller coaster feel to it. Kara hates roller coasters and anything with "big hills".  I waited in line with her and Jack and Anna. But, Kara decided she had to go to the bathroom and left the line. She was upset and convinced me to try again with her. So, I did. She was nervous, but determined. I was not forcing, or even encouraging her. We got in the car, got buckled in and she freaked out. She just started crying, "I don't want to do it, I don't want to do it." The attendant came and let us out and we did a walk of shame down the ramp. She was upset with herself and still felt like she wanted to try the ride. I told her I was done. 

A bit later, Thomas took pity on her and back to the line they went (time #3 if you are counting). She got on the ride and started crying again, but this time she still wanted to ride. Thomas said the workers were giving him the evil eye and they kept asking her if she wanted to leave. But, she didn't want to leave. He explained that she was scared, but really wanted to try and finally they let the car go. She hated the drop, but enjoyed the rest of the ride. She isn't sure if she would ride it again, but we were glad she tried something new.

Is it waaaaa! or wheeee! ???  No one knows.

Inspired by Thomas and the kids, I tried the Drop Tower.  Never again!

Don't be fooled by my smile.  Hated it.

Even Luke enjoyed the rides. He rode more than he ever has and actually seemed to enjoy the rides. It was fun to see. 

The only bad part of the day is Anna got stung by a bee. She had her hand on a hand rail and must have touched it. I felt terrible for her. She has awful luck with bees and has been stung more than any of us, and always through no fault of her own. She was barely 2 for her first sting--she picked up what she thought was a dead bug and it turned out to be a hornet with a stinger. Another time, one flew up her dress and couldn't get out. Then, she was just standing on our deck and happened to be directly on top of a nest we didn't know existed. The poor kid is understandably terrified of bees now.

This is getting much longer than I like my blogs to be.  So one more highlight was when Anna and Kara sang "Let it Go" on stage at Kings Dominion.  They have a karaoke show and Kara and Anna were feeling brave and signed up for it.  They did a good job and it was really fun for them. Even though we only stopped off at KD to grab lunch, we ended up staying until closing so we could watch the fireworks. Thus, we didn't get home until midnight.  It was a whirlwind three days and I think everyone is pretty much exhausted.  We all slept in until 8:45 this morning (a record) and today we all plan on just relaxing, bringing to end the 2015 edition of the Kori and Thomas Birthday Weekend Extravaganza.