Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts

Friday, April 14, 2017

A visit to Roanoke, Virginia

Peter decided he would like to spend his birthday exploring Roanoke.  After such a warm spring we had a brief cold snap and his birthday was very windy and very cold, thus...winter coats in April. 

We started off with a visit to the Virginia Museum of Transportation. They have a variety of exhibits; vehicles, buses, air and space, model trains and more. 


macsmail.blogspot.com
Virginia Museum of Transportation


They have a some neat vehicles to see.  From the earliest models of the Studebaker...
Virginia Museum of Transportation

...to some lovely old Packards.
Virginia Museum of Transportation

You can see large model trains sets...
Virginia Museum of Transportation

...or sit at the controls of a diesel train.
Virginia Museum of Transportation

We even took Peter on a small jet for his birthday. Surely that makes up for the fact we didn't buy him a present....ahem...
Virginia Museum of Transportation

Virginia Museum of Transportation

But the best part was the railyard...
Virginia Museum of Transportation

Virginia Museum of Transportation

If you have train lovers in your family it is a great place to visit!  Walking around the train yard was fantastic, it is easy to forget how big these trains are until you are standing right beside them!
Virginia Museum of Transportation

Virginia Museum of Transportation


Virginia Museum of Transportation

Virginia Museum of Transportation

Virginia Museum of Transportation


Virginia Museum of Transportation - Jupiter rocket



After the museum we took a drive up to see the Roanoke Star. 
The Roanoke Star


The Roanoke Star



One surprising discovery was the "Center in the Square" building in downtown Roanoke.  We went in the building to get out of the wind and warm up a bit, then spent the next couple of hours exploring.  
In the lobby is a large coral reef aquarium.  Our kids were delighted to find Nemo and Dory there.
Center in the Square, Roanoke VA - aquarium

They also had a tank with "Predators of the Amazon" as well as a "Turtles of Virginia" aquarium. 

The building also houses the Mill Mountain Theater, the Harrison Museum of African American Culture, the Science Museum of Western Virginia, the History Museum of Western Virginia, the Roanoke Pinball Museum and a rooftop garden. 
Center in the Square, Roanoke VA - rooftop

Center in the Square, Roanoke VA - rooftop

Center in the Square, Roanoke VA - rooftop

Center in the Square, Roanoke VA - rooftop



We went into the Roanoke Pinball Museum to take a quick look.  They have over 50 machines that you can play, from new machines, to machines dating back to the 1930's.  Apparently it is one of the few places you can access that many different pinball machines and pinball enthusiasts from all over the country are coming here to visit this museum.  

We spent the rest of our afternoon in the Science Museum of Western Virginia.  They have some fantastic exhibits and the kids would have loved the stay the entire day! The kids really enjoyed the Healthy Bodies exhibit,  the geology exhibit and the Living River and touch tank.  I didn't get many pictures there, we were having too much fun exploring. 
Science Museum of Western Virginia


Science Museum of Western Virginia

They learned that giving the weather forecast is harder than you think...
Science Museum of Western Virginia

Science Museum of Western Virginia

Science Museum of Western Virginia

Science Museum of Western Virginia

The butterfly garden and bug zoo was also fun. Except for seeing the biggest Tarantula I have ever seen in my entire life.  Fortunately they are smart enough to label the case with a "Warning: Arachnophobia Trigger" sign, so you know to look at your own risk. 
Science Museum of Western Virginia

Science Museum of Western Virginia

Science Museum of Western Virginia

Science Museum of Western Virginia



After all that fun it was time to find a coffee shop and head back home.
Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea, Roanoke VA


Mill Mountain Coffee and Tea, Roanoke VA

'til next time...

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

And then he was seven....

Seven years old.   It seems like a blink of an eye and seems like forever.  Forever, because I cannot imagine life without our Wythe.  A blink of an eye because the years are slipping by, how can it be that we have had seven years with him?  Admittedly, many of those years are a little blurry, years of no sleep can do that to you!  What a ride it has been!  This little guy has challenged us in ways we didn't think possible and has brought us joy we didn't believe was possible.  

"Birth" day

1st birthday

2nd birthday

3rd birthday

4th birthday

5th birthday

6th birthday

On his actual birthday he got to plan the day.  He was thrilled to get to "decide things"!  He woke up to balloons in his room and present on his floor containing a new outfit for the day.  Once at the table he unwrapped a set of Hess truck glasses while we waited for his waffles. 




Per his decision we spent the day at the children's museum, four hours...felt like a week.  But it was his birthday and he was having fun....and he got frozen yogurt for lunch!  As we were leaving the downtown mall he said "do you know what would make my birthday even more special?  Getting my own iced coffee drink!"   That's my boy!
When I asked what he would like to have for his birthday dinner he choose steak.  So, using a gift card from my grandma, we took him to Outback.  They sang a birthday song for him and....he LOVED it!   Those who know Wythe will know how unusual this is!  Maybe this is part of being seven years old!  
I did have a cake for him at home, he had picked it out at the store to go along with his new theme of a "United States party".  It was a win for me, especially considering it was a reduced 4th of July cake.  This change of birthday theme had just occurred and I was relieved and puzzled.  Previously, I had said to him, 
"hey bud, your birthday is next week. Do you want a cake? or maybe cupcakes?"  
"oh, I want a cake, and I want it to be rectangle shape, and on this side I want it to be a Star Wars cake with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker when Darth Vader is telling Luke Skywalker 'I am your father' and on the other side I want Spiderman battling the Green Goblin and in the middle near the top I want a 7 candle and in the very middle I want Spiderman marrying his girlfriend. Yep, that's what kind of cake I want."
Needless to say, I was regretting that I had asked.  I did consider making the cake he requested, I looked into buying the figurines to use on the cake but that alone made the cake too costly.  So, I proposed some other options and he decided he would like to have cupcakes at his party and each person could decorate their own......YES!!!   *fist pump*  
I told him he could pick out whatever plates he wanted, Star Wars, Spiderman, TMNT, Minions...whatever.  When we were at the store he picked out some red plates, blue plates and white plates and said "I decided I want to have a United States party.  To celebrate President Obama."    This kid!!

A 4th of July cake on clearance worked for him!




I asked him if he wanted to play any games at his party, maybe Pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs....he said he would like to play a game at his birthday...chess.  Pretty sure he didn't get that idea from Pinterest.  
For his party he had a couple buddies, his family, red, white and blue decorations, decorate-your-own cupcakes, and....presents!
 




"another Hess truck!!!"

He got lots of Legos...which is awesome!
 This was the first birthday that was free of melt-downs!   Maybe this is part of being seven, maybe this is us finally finding a way to celebrate Wythe in a way that isn't overwhelming for him.  Wythe declared it to be "the best birthday ever!!" 

I'd say that makes it a success. 


 'til next time...