Zion had an appointment at University of Virginia with an pediatric orthopedic doctor on our 13th anniversary. There are so many things to see in Charlottesville, and we've only ever gone straight to the hospital and home, so we decided (since a date for two is nowhere on the horizon) to make a family trip out of it.
Zion and Shiloh are terrible travelers. I think Benj was permanently scarred by our last trip to UVA, where Zion commenced whining as soon as we got in the truck, and kept up a tearful litany for nearly the entire two and a half hours. And Shiloh generally shrieks the whole time he's in any vehicle, so we were braced for an awful trip. Benj even brought his MP3 player with earbuds--something we both would have considered rude when there are other passengers before we had children--and I encourage him to use it to cut down on the distraction so he can concentrate on keeping us safe. HOWEVER, we had a good trip! Shiloh slept most of the way, with only about 15 minutes of protest, and the older three listened to Odyssey, drew, and played with cars (and of course, had a fair share of snacks). They also played nicely during Zion's appointment. So, shunning Monticello, Ash Lawn, Michie Tavern, and a whole host of other historic and educational things we COULD have done, we took them to Bounce-n-Play, an impressive indoor playground. They played hard for two hours, and I think Mercy would have stayed longer if the boys hadn't started getting overtired and hungry.
There was a gated area for ages three and under where Zion and Shiloh had fun, without fear of older children trampling them.
The ball pit
Magnetic bugs
Mercy and Judah must have done the slide 50 times
They loved this room where they could paint the glass.
There was even a koi pond where they fed the fish
They were so excited to stay in a hotel for the first time (Well, the first time they remember. Mercy and Judah were babies the first time.)
Mercy eating breakfast in bed
Zion eating his breakfast
Mercy was a fish. She loved the water. We took the boys along after supper the evening before, and they weren't impressed. Judah kept saying he would drown if he got in. So after breakfast, Benj took Mercy back to the pool by herself (while the boys played in the tub in our room.)
Our next stop was the Museum of Frontier Culture in Staunton, Virginia. The "old world" display had homes or farms from the countries immigrants came from in the 1700's. The American display showed what the homes and farms they made in America would have looked like.
This is the West African homestead. It was representative of a home of a man with two wives. The separate buildings were actually used like we use rooms in a house.
The first wife's kitchen
Benj demonstrating how to sweep the dirt floor.
Because they've never seen goats before. Silly kids.
Two thirds of the family. It was supposed to just be a picture of the kids, but Zion wouldn't stand on the fence...this is the child whom we believe scales walls with his bare feet to reach things he shouldn't. No doubt his sudden fear of heights is because we ASKED him to stand on the fence.
The English farm. The earliest part dated to the 1630's. The house was brought from England, and the timbers and bricks were numbered and reassembled in their original places.
Can you tell Benj had the camera for this shot?
Playing a game of old-fashioned ring toss. Word of advice: don't ever play ring toss with a two year old when the rings are large, metal, and heavy. Just don't. I about lost teeth to Zion's wild throw.
Zion got the idea--he just walked up and dropped the ring on after a few failed attempts at throwing it.
The Irish Forge
Irish farm
Of all the things to see and do, Judah chose to chase the chickens
Mercy settled in by the fire and didn't want to leave. She has Benj's pyromania.
The German farm. This was by far my favorite. It was the cleanest and brightest.
Judah tried on the wooden clogs
Feeding the chickens (and rooster)
Judah tried unsuccessfully to pull the wagon out of the barn.
The drama queen demonstrated how tired she was and the monkey imitated her.
We only saw the old world part of the display. It took us three hours to get through, and the children behaved well and seemed to enjoy it (so did the grownups). As we were headed to the American display, Judah started crying because he was so tired, and Mercy and Zion weren't far behind. Benj always says that when it's not fun anymore, it's time to go home. So we did:
And one day, I will get to Monticello, even if my kids have to push me there in a wheelchair!
