Freedom Park

Our Saturdays in Williamsburg are numbered.  We are moving back to Virginia Beach on Navy orders in a little over a month, so we are trying to visit some places that we've driven by nearly every day for the past 3 years but never been to.  Last Saturday we went to Freedom Park  and the Williamsburg Botanical Garden which is just down the road from our house.

To be quite honest, the botanical garden was a disappointment to me because I was envisioning something closer to the Norfolk Botanical Garden which is over 100 acres.  Finn didn't seem particularly thrilled with it either and kept trying to text his grandmother to come rescue him.

The majority of Freedom Park contains mountain biking trails, but there are some other areas to walk around.  Finn made his own path.

And then he remembered there are snacks in my purse.

Overall this was not our most exciting of Saturdays, but we did experience something new in Williamsburg.

Busch Gardens

We are fortunate to live 20 minutes from Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  I believe the Busch Gardens in Tampa is a zoo theme, but the one by us is Europe (or The Old Country).  Somehow this includes New France (Canada) which I have never understood, but that is besides the point!

Saturday was Pass Member Preview Day for 2012.  It's held the weekend before the park opens for the season.  The weather was nice and my mom drove up from Virginia Beach to go with us after Finn's nap.  It wasn't crowded at all which was nice since Finn is now a big boy and wants to walk rather than ride in the stroller.  He was so funny and would stop every now and then to dance to the music.  Most of the people who got stuck behind our slow moving group didn't seemed too bothered by it.

We spent most of our time in Sesame Place which is a Sesame Street themed area for little kids.  It's pretty new to the park and took the place of what used to be a petting zoo area.  Since we never went into here pre-baby, I had forgotten that there is a big "splash pad" area.  I do believe that getting to play in the water makes last Saturday the best day of Finn's life.  We didn't let him get too wet since we didn't bring a change of clothes, but he was absolutely enthralled.  He kept pointing to all the water spraying everywhere and he and my mom came very close to getting a huge bucket of water dumped on them!

Hopefully we'll be able to take advantage of living so close to make a few more BG trips before we move.  Waking up on a Saturday morning and being told by our parents that we were heading to the park for the day was always a big treat for my sister and me growing up and it's so much fun to watch Finn enjoy it as much as we did.

We didn't exactly wear the right clothing to play in here.

So much fun at Busch Gardens!

Who wouldn't want to play in there?

Williamsburg Farmer's Market

On Saturday we took Finn to the Williamsburg Farmer's Market.  The market hasn't started up fully for the season yet, but it was a fun way to get out of the house before lunch.  Last fall the market was rated as #5 in the Top 20 of the America's Favorite Farmer's Market Contest sponsored by the American Farmland Trust.  What I like about these markets is that it reminds you that there are still family farms nearby.  I grew up a few miles from Bayville Farms which was a dairy farm in Virginia Beach that has since been turned into a golf course.  Naturally.  I remember visiting the farm in elementary school and I think it's really important to teach our children where our food comes from.  No, it's not pretty and while I would never take Finn to a slaughterhouse, I want him to understand one day that food does not start in the supermarket. 

So, what better place to start than a farmer's market!  There was a lot to see - people, dogs, flowers, and pie.  Lots of pie.  I guess that's what is currently "in season."  Patrick and I managed to talk ourselves out of buying any pie, but we did walk away with some amazing blueberry pineapple jam.  I've been eating it every morning on english muffins.  Finn did not bring home any treats, but he did enjoy people watching and "chatting" with the vendors.  I'm sure this is something we'll do several more times before our upcoming move back to Virginia Beach.

Patrick and Finn checking out the market.

Weekend with the Grandparents

Last weekend Patrick and I drove out to Snowshoe, WV to go skiing for my birthday.  Even though my longtime skiier friend Amber says you can teach kids to ski as soon as they can walk, we decided to do a weekend away with just the two of us.  While it is always hard to be away from your child for a few nights, there is really nowhere else Finn would want to be than with his grandparents.  I dropped him off Wednesday night and we picked him up on Sunday afternoon, so last Saturday was spent with them.

My parents' house is a home away from home for Finn and he always has a fantastic time destroying rearranging their cabinets.  My mom pulled a lot of my old toys out of the attic, so Finn gets to play with vintage Little People.  Though he'd rather chase the cat these days.

They ate at his favorite places which include Panera (mac & cheese) and Cracker Barrel (mac & cheese).  They took walks when it wasn't raining and in my parents' neighborhood you are always guaranteed to see at least one dog out.  I suggested my mom take him to Barnes & Noble to play with the train table on rainy days, so he had fun doing that.  They also spent a morning at the Virginia Aquarium where Finn was a hit at the stingray touch tank.

Until the Navy eventually sends us out of Virginia, Finn gets nearly unlimited time with his grandparents which is wonderful for everyone.  I'm waiting for their reaction the day he asks for a pony.

Patrick and Me at Snowshoe.  Notice the lack of snow in the background.

Colonial Williamsburg

We currently live about 20 minutes from Colonial Williamsburg.  Unless you want to go in certain buildings, you can walk around the historic district for free which is one of our favorite Saturday activities.  We have walked miles down Duke of Gloucester Street which is often simply called DOG Street, partially due to the fact that everyone and their brother walks their dogs down it.  Finn said dog for the first time there, in fact!

I can't say that Finn appreciates any of the history no matter how many times I point to the statue of Thomas Jefferson in Merchant's Square and tell him to say hi to your ancestor.  Quite frankly, he's just there for the dogs and the college girls he makes eyes at from our table at the Cheese Shop.  I'm sure we'll take him back when he's older and he'll complain that a) it's hot and b) he's bored and c) why are there so many old people?

"Dogs!"

You can tell that spring is right around the corner.

He couldn't stay away from the gumballs today.

The first Saturday.

Finn arrived in this world via c-section at 5:41pm on a Saturday at the end of October.  October 30, 2010 to be exact and roughly 6 hours from Halloween.  I had been induced at 10am the previous morning, so I think that speaks for itself in terms of writing out any sort of birth story.  To be perfectly honest, other than his birth I don't remember much about that Saturday but it is our beginning.

Here is our family on our first Saturday.

Have you ever seen a baby more alert on his first day of life?

940 Saturdays

"There are only 940 Saturdays between a child's birth and her leaving for college."  This from the "Savor the Moments" article by Dr. Harley A. Rotbart in the March 2012 issue of Parents magazine really got my attention.  940 Saturdays.  That number seems so small to me.  940 chances to make memories.  940 days to revel in childhood.

Finn was born on a Saturday.  October 30, 2010.  The best Saturday of all Saturdays.  Together we experienced 9 Saturdays, including his birth day, in 2010 and 53 Saturdays in 2011.  We are already 7 Saturdays into 2012 for a total of 69 Saturdays with our little boy.  69.  That seems like close to 100 to me which seems painfully close to 940.  I can't help but wonder if we've made the best of those 69 so far.

I'm struck by what seems like a crazy idea.  What if I make a list of 940 things, ideas, activities, etc. to do on Saturdays before Finn goes to college?  Is that insane?  Some will be huge like stare down into the Grand Canyon.  Others will be routine like play a soccer game.  Most will be considered mundane like smelling flowers or lying in the grass and staring up at the clouds.  Isn't childhood composed of the mundane which seen through little eyes then becomes extraordinary?

In full disclosure, I have not actually counted out how many Saturdays there are between Finn's birth and going to college in the expected time frame of August 2029.  I will also have to double up some days since we are already 69 Saturdays into this.  The exact number is not what is important.