Monticello 10/1/11

On General Conference Saturday, we joined Michi and the boys on an adventure to Monticello.  We downloaded the LDS radio app and planned to listen to the first session of conference on our way there, and the second session on our way back.  The kids would be buckled in their seats and would listen with us.  Unfortunately, the signal wasn't very strong and we heard only two talks.  Bummer.  I thought we were going to start a new tradition of uninterrupted conference listening!

In the nearly five years of living in Virginia, I knew we'd have to visit Monticello someday, but it never made it to the top of our list.  I'm so grateful that it was on Michi's agenda because it was breathtakingly beautiful.

 Front

 Back

I loved walking around the vegetable garden, which of course made me have all sorts of romantic ideas about moving out into the country to become farmers.  

 Sesame seeds in their pod

Angel Baby

 The Girl in Gingham

The Boy Who Does Not Like Getting His Picture Taken!
 

We took a "family friendly" tour of Monticello, but still there was a lot of "please don't touch this" and "please don't touch that" from our stressed out tour guide.   All the kids did pretty well and seemed genuinely interested in what the tour guide was saying.
 
After the tour, the kids tried writing with quill pens dipped in ink.  Then we just played around on the grass for a bit before heading back.  Stephen loved having his boy cousins around for wrestling and other fighting games.  I'll never forget that on the first day of their visit, all the boys wrestled and wrestled and wrestled for what seemed like a cumulative three hours.  Boys will be boys.

 

 Thanks for another wonderful memory, Michi and boys!