The Weekend of Fun Part 1

On the Steps of Monticello

The kids had a long weekend this weekend (Friday but not the Monday holiday, clear as mud?).  I decided that we would just have a couple super special days.  The last few months have been so jammed with shows and plays that we haven't done much else at all.

We started with Thursday actually because Jeffrey had a field trip to the mountains.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be up in the mountains.  The kids talked a little about preserving the national parks land (Don't pick flowers, don't get too close to animals, etc..)  They played some games in the meadow on the mountains and took a little hike.

While Jeff and I were driving home we came upon a cluster of cars and people in the road.  Turns out there was a bear high up in a tree right at the side of the road.  I pulled over and got the camera out and Jeff and I spent quite some time enjoying watching him pull leaves from the trees.  We were even still watching when he decided to climb down the tree right in front of us.  He was absolutely not bothered by us at all when he got to the bottom.  Simply hunted for a few nuts and moved on his way.  Pretty exciting to be able to watch a bear for that long.

Hello Mr. Bear

Just Rooting Around

On Friday, the kids had the day off for a teacher work day.  I've been promising to take them to Monticello.  At the beginning of the summer Erin picked out a Little House book to read and got through about half of it.  We also listened to 2 Little House books on CD during our summer travels.  Both kids were enjoying learning about life in the past.  So I thought they'd enjoy visiting Monticello.

My Boy LOVES His Maps

There's a new visitor's center at the house with a large hand's on learning room.  The kids really enjoyed exploring that area before we headed to the house.  They got to try out some of Jefferson's inventions, lie in his cool bed, build with architectural blocks etc...  During the tour Erin really latched on to some things.  She even came home and wrote a little report about her trip.  Jeffrey was more drawn to the architectural aspects of the house and got a little bored with the tour.  He did really enjoy exploring the grounds though.  Especially the gardens.

Contemplative Girl

Petting the Herbs

After touring the house, we headed to a nearby apple orchard for some apple picking.  The kids had a great time filling the bags and we quickly picked 15 pounds of apples.  Guess we're going to be having some apple pie and crisp this week!!  It was a really beautiful day and from the "mountain" looking east you can see quite a bit.  Both kids stood on the observation deck and looked out, then turned back to me and said "Mommy!  I can see the ocean!"  Then not to be outdone, Erin decided she could really see New York ;)

Goofy Faces

We met daddy for dinner and then headed to the UVA men's soccer game.  What a fun and exciting time!  The kids had a blast.  The team was handing out little flags at the entrance and Erin waved her flag throughout the game.  It was a close game, and by the final few minutes, most of the stadium was on it's feet waving flags.  I bought Erin a Virginia t-shirt and then at halftime we caught one for Jeffrey too.  At the end of the night, the team lined up at one end of the field and signed autographs for the kids.

Go Hoos!

Autographs From the Goalie

It was certainly a special day that both kids will remember for quite a while.