Monticello

We thought we were just heading home, but Dad soon stopped at this really cool place.

It was Thomas Jefferson's home! They call it Monticello.

We got to learn all about his inventions. From farming methods, to the architecture in the house, to the Declaration of Independence. The guy was amazing!

Dad made sure that we understood about him dying in great amounts of debt that his kids inherited. I didn't think that sounded good at all. Luckily, a Jewish family who was grateful for Jefferson's views on religious freedom, purchased Monticello and preserved it for us. Thanks Levy family!

Jefferson's slaves made and sold nails.

We got to see their tools.

Wow!  It must've been hard work.

Here's a nice view of the garden and the VA landscape from atop the hill where Monticello sits.

An old fireplace.

A cool windy road going up the mountain.

Jefferson's observatory.

and Daddy's favorite part of Monticello - this crazy old tree.

B brought along his trusty dusty binoculars.

We did get to go inside on a tour, but no photos. I thought the Momparazzi would pitch a fit!

Instead she just took a lot of pictures outside.

It's such a beautiful home.

We got to see the University of Virginia, which Jefferson also founded.

Hey B!  Let me see!

and this guy came to check us out.

Mom thought the underground passage was the coolest part of Monticello.

There were wine and beer rooms.

and he had a dumbwaiter installed to get food and drinks upstairs in a snap.

We weren't sure what this was, but it was fun to play with.

Last stop was Jefferson's grave. B announced to everyone that "He died two minutes ago." Um...

Thank you Thomas Jefferson for making such a big difference in our lives some 200+ years later.

Richmond Recreation

It was a cold and rainy day so after my run with Mom and a little bit of fun with some kids we met in Tania and Derek's neighborhood, we hit this fun place. Mom, Tania and Coley played laser tag, while Daddy and I hit the arcade (I wasn't old enough for laser tag - what kind of weird rules do they play by in VA?!).

I found the shot put approach quite ineffective, yet fun on this little bowling alley.

Each roll required plenty of celebration.

and dancing too!

Dad won this sweet bling in the claw machine.

Derek wasn't sure what to make of the chaos, but Tania found it funny. Chaos is our middle name, so we didn't even notice!

This handsome guy is ALWAYS up for some arcade time with us.

What a fun afternoon.  We followed it up with some Clue and some Lamsey Divey for a nice relaxing day with our dear friends.

Just Cole

B was really really bad at lunch so he had to stay in the car while I went to check out this giant boulder that Derek said you can actually move around.

Uh...  It was floating on a teeny tiny bit of water, but it was certainly NOT moving.

Until the big guy arrived. Then we got things spinning!

Just call me Atlas :) 

A White (house) Christmas Part 2

We finished the tour with a quick stop at the Chief's house. It was a bit of a let down because we had to stay so far away and there were lots of trees blocking it.

but we did get a few shots.

Mom wouldn't let us climb on the fence because she said these guys would have to take us down. It looked like they might know what they're doing so we decided to listen. Cool house Mr Obama!

What an awesome day in our capital city. Thanks for the 73 degree December weather, God and thanks for taking us Mom and Dad!

New Discovery

After walking around all day discovering cool monuments and building and historical facts, we were hungry! We decided Mexican was the safest bet and rolled the dice on this little restaurant. Turns out the food was OUTSTANDING and the fountain pops blew our minds. Most impressive though, was the fact that Coley tried Quesadillas and liked them!  Make that 19 things he'll eat :)

Vietnam and Someone Very Special

When we got to this memorial, we stopped to think of someone very special who we love very much. Our Papa did some really really brave things for this country in Vietnam. We tried to send him a message to thank him, but no deal. That's okay, we still know and we're still very grateful Papa!

We're especially grateful that your name isn't on this wall. Love you!

Walking Washington

You might think I would start to get tired after 2 hours of walking, but nope! I was just picking up steam!

Mom and Tania kept making me get down off the fun stuff though. Buzz Kill!

It didn't take long to find another thing to climb though!

Washington DC is a great place to strut!

Oh and Mom and Dad thought this sign was pretty funny :)

Love Lincoln

Okay, my turn! I just wanted to see Abraham Lincoln! C'mon Dad! There he is!!  Let's GO!!

It took for-ev-er to get to him.

and Mommy and Coley kept stopping for more pictures of this giant statue thingy that Coley loves.

But it was totally worth the dragging! The statue surpassed all of our expectations. Abraham Lincoln is really super cool and his statue is too! I kept telling Mom that "5 year olds can climb statues" but she wouldn't let me. I'm starting to think that being 5 isn't as life changing as I thought it would be.

They have all these words on the wall. I guess Abraham Lincoln said some great stuff!

We stopped to get our traditional Christmas Ornament to mark the year's adventures and then kept right on walking.