Family Fun

So, let me tell you about the rest of our vacation. We traveled over to Williamsburg, VA after our stay in Lynchburg. It is about a 3 hour drive and I want you to know that we fit 4 adults and 3 kids and a whole lot of luggage and snacks into a Chrysler minivan. What this means is that we had 3 kids in the back seat most of the time and occasionally it would be two kids and a squished adult in the middle just to keep some peace in the van. There was one other family member along for the ride and that would be "Squishy". Matthew got Squishy when he was a baby and he loved Squishy very much and mommy was so paranoid that we might lose him (Squishy, not Matthew), that we don't just have one squishy, not two, not three, not four, not even five, but six Squishy dogs living in our house. However, Elizabeth and Matthew will tell you that they are not all Squishy. One is Carrot (who knows) and one is girl Squishy and one is boy Squishy and I don't know about the other three. (Just for clarification, only one Squishy traveled with us, not six)

Here's Squishy taking a nap with his best friend.




All in all it was a great trip and the kids kept the fighting to a minimum. If there's no fighting between the siblings at your house, then PLEASE share your secret. Honestly, three's a crowd. Someone is always the odd man out. For example on most coasters, there are only two seats. Who rides by himself?

I'm glad you asked. Matthew does in the very front car. He's crazy on coasters. His biggest hindrance right now is that he can't ride the big coasters, because he's not 48" yet. He is great to ride with though because he just laughs and screams through the whole ride. The park was so empty on Wednesday (probably because it was very cold), that we didn't even have to get off the coaster(The Big Bad Wolf). We could stay in the same seats and ride it over and over and over and over again. You get the picture!




Then, there's this coaster....Griffon. Griffon carries riders up 205 feet, then hurtles them 90 degrees straight down at 70 mph. And that’s just the beginning.

This picture doesn't accurately portray the ride. You can go to www.buschgardens.com if you're interested in more details.

It is the world's tallest, floorless dive coaster. It takes you to the top and then just dangles you over the side for about 6 seconds. Derek and I rode it twice and tried to convince Stephen to ride it, but he just wasn't sure. Stephen decided he was ready to ride, so Derek and my dad walked back to this section of the park with Stephen and then he tried to chicken out once they got to the front of the line. What did daddy do? He picked him up and strapped him in the seat. Stephen loved it and even rode it a second time. It really is a great coaster! Don't turn us into child services, Stephen just needed a little extra push. I wanted to put him on it from the very beginning, but Derek is the more patient of the two of us (as if you didn't know that already).


We also visited Williamsburg and Historic Jamestowne and Jamestowne Settlement while in Virginia. A great family vacation, but wait until the kids are old enough to enjoy some of the history. Derek quizzed our kids every night about what we had learned and honestly, I am just amazed at what they can remember, even when they look like they're not paying attention. It was a huge history lesson for me, because even though I received an A in U.S. History, it obviously didn't stay in my brain because I learned all kinds of new things as well!

Here's a picture of all of us and let me just say that I would probably not have survived on this boat for 5 1/2 months. I'm thankful I was born in 1972!