Viriginia

Like I mentioned, we vacationed in Virginia last week. The drive down was stressful and the drive back was SUPER stressful. But it was nice to get away and I'm glad we endured the traveling just to be away for a while. We figured that with Jack starting kindergarten next year, this would be our last chance to take a fall vacation, and my parents had a condo in Williamsburg booked so it worked out perfectly.

On our way down to Virginia, we stayed in Pennsylvania and visited the Flight 93 Memorial. It was rainy and cold, so I ended up sitting in the car with the boys for most of our visit, and that was okay because it was really emotional and I was having a hard time keeping it together. As you might imagine, Jack had A LOT of questions and we did our best to answer them in the most age appropriate way possible.

The condo we stayed in was a really nice set up. There were two units. We were in the bottom unit with the boys, and my parents, aunt and uncle were in the upstairs unit. As early as the boys were up, and with as much noise as they make, I'm sure my parents and aunt and uncle were glad to have their own space.

We went to colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. THe boys behaved at those places about as well as you might expect a 2-year-old and 4-year-old to behave while learning about the colonial times and the revolutionary war. Honestly, though, I can't believe how much Jack retained. Both boys enjoyed the Jamestown settlement . . . including the ships that they got to board and walk around in.

When we were in Yorktown, I walked around outside with them while the adults took the museum tour. I thought they might enjoy seeing the turkeys and chickens. One of the chickens was so loud and the trip resulted in both boys screaming like maniacs, while I frantically pushed the stroller in the opposite direction. I had no idea they would react that way. It's humorous as I think back on it now. It didn't seem humorous at all then.

We took them to the pool one morning and they both acted as if they had never been in the water before. Jack, the child who had to be consistently told all summer not to go too far out into the water, flipped out any time we tried to take him past the steps in the pool. I think Ben would have been fine, but he normally follows Jack's lead. Eventually they warmed up to the idea, but I could tell they were both a little apprehensive the whole time. It was odd.

The boys loved hanging out at the condo, visiting the Living museum (kind of a cross between a hands on museum and a zoo), mini-golf and just spending time with us and their grandma and grandpa. Oh, and the fact that I let them watch Disney junior every morning while they ate breakfast. TV in the morning WHILE eating breakfast . . . and getting to watch more than one show in a row? It was like Christmas.

The hardest part of the trip was eating out so much. Typically, Ben's a challenge in a restaurant . . . but a manageable challenge. By the third or fourth day of eating out, he was spent. Maintaining restaurant etiquette was more than his 2-year-old mind could handle that many days in a row. On our trip home, we had dinner at a Pizza Hut. We were there for 5 minutes before I had to take him out to the car while Kyle got our food to go. I was down on myself all week for feeling like I couldn't control my child in a restaurant when it hit me . . . he's TWO YEARS OLD and he's been out to eat once or twice a day for more than a week. What did I expect?

Also, on the way home, baby girl decided that it was no longer time to hide behind the anterior placenta and make herself fully known. She had been fairly quiet all week and had me worried several times about her lack of movement . . . not uncommon for this pregnancy. But on Saturday morning she started kicking and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon. Not just kicking . . . the rolling and shoving herself into places she doesn't belong. Just enough to make the ride that much more uncomfortable!

With the exception of the first day, the weather was beautiful. It would have been sweeter had it not been warmer in Michigan than it was there! Who would have guessed that Michigan temperatures would be in the 80s in October? At least the warm weather was nice to come home to.