Virginia

We went to Virginia Sunday night of last week. We drove 4.5 hours Sunday night and then another 15.5 hours on Monday. We arrived super late but were super excited to get out of the van. The big girls did amazingly wonderful. They kept themselves busy with NO electronics. They created and read and learned. Delaney also did good. She only cried the last hour or so on and off.
Tuesday we gave and received TONS of hugs. D and I went to the pediatrician with P and K. Then we came back and just hung out and played it calm and easy. We also let the kids play in the pool out back.
Wednesday Chloe had her ear tube surgery and we went to the park for every BODY (special needs) at the beach called Grommet Island. It was amazing and all of the kids had a blast.

Thursday we went to the Francis Land house and learned about the history of the area and the house. It was really informative. When we got home all children 7 and older wrote a short paper about what they had learned. The kids played in the sprinkler and ate watermelon before bed.

Friday Char accompanied Peyton and Kate to CHKD for Peyton's upper gi and small bowel series. This process took forever. We took that time to get the house back in order, do and fold laundry, and get the little ones down for a VERY long nap. I also took Julia and Jacob to a local park to run off some energy. After we enjoyed an early dinner we went to Beach Street and the boardwalk. We ate custard and listened to live music and watched street performers. We took our shoes off and treked down to the water where we put our feet in the Atlantic. We also bought some shirts. Saturday morning we said a VERY tearful goodbye and headed to the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond. It was extremely powerful and moving. It was terrifying and eye opening. You can learn about that event all you want but SEEING it shook all of us. We also got to meet the survivor that started this museum. He lived in a tunnel that his father dug when he was Julia's age. That put it into a whole new arena for the kids. After leaving the museum we headed to Glen Allen to have lunch with Tiff, Karli, and Lach. This was so much fun. Once we finished lunch they invited us to their printing company. Karli took the care and time and taught our girls the entire printing process. She also let the kids make a couple of shirts for Delaney. They picked the colors and painted the shirts all on their own. It was such an amazing learning experience. Charlotte is definitely inspired. She is now talking about wanting to go stay the summer with Aunt Kate and Uncle Andy and work for Karli and Tiff. We left there and drove to Kentucky (8 hours). Sunday we drove the remaining 9 hours.

This trip was so amazing. We met family and we met friends that we will keep our entire lives. We ALL connected to that place and those people. We have all sat and talked about our trip and everyone multiple times everyday since we left. I will be back in November with Delaney to meet my new nephew and our friend's new son. Then we are hoping our fam can travel to see us next spring....it's so hard to feel like you left a huge chunk of your heart somewhere else.