The calendar had “Laura Ingalls Wilder Weekend” written on it for the past six months.  We had planned on it being a family day.  Yesterday, John jokingly asked if he had to go.  Later in the day, Marie asked if she had to go.  Hmmm.  Really?  Marie?  She LOVES Genesee Country Village & Museum.  Yes, really.  She said she didn’t want to go tomorrow.  Hmmm.  Okay.  Later I came out and asked Nigel.  He said, “It’s fun, but I’d rather not go tomorrow.”  GET OUT!  Still later, I asked Stewart.  He said he’d go if he had to, but he’d rather stay home. 

I was astonished. 

This left Tabitha and I.  We were both VERY eager to go.  I now think God was taking the longing out of the hearts of my other children so that Tabitha and I could have a special day together.  Once she realized it was just going to be she and I, she couldn’t stop talking about our special day.  This morning, as I was coming down the stairs, I heard her say to John, “I hope Mommy wears a dress.”  She had on her pioneer dress.

I know I’ve said it on here before.  But I LOVE the Genesee Country Village.  I love it.  I wonder if I would ever get tired.

So we packed a lunch and headed there for our special day.  We held hands and we rode the “trolley” (tractor-pulled wagon) – two things we can’t do when I have a stroller.  As a matter-of-fact, we rode and rode the trolley.  As in, all the way around the circuit.  It didn’t really take us anywhere.  I let her be the one who decided the order we did things, and I didn’t even complain when her routes had us ricocheting around the property. 

She helped make corn meal in a pioneer kitchen.

And cooked me dinner in an 1850’s home, too.

Soup.

And bread.

She stopped to sweep the hearth.

Before putting on the finishing touches.

She ironed.

And we took a stagecoach ride. 

We had a picnic lunch in the car.  She got to sit in the front.

And we met some 13 month old oxen.

She tried out a wagon both as a driver and a passenger.

And we paused for some coloring.

We visited a 1700’s school house and I forgot to take a photo.  We later visited the 1800’s school house.

She cleaned up to help prepare bread, then decided she’d skip that.

And instead she did some laundry.

She helped a man count cucumbers that he was preparing to pickle.

And made butter with his wife.

Mommy was getting tired.  As we peeked in at some chickens I calculated how much energy I had left.

And I determined only ice cream would give me enough pep to finish up and keep me awake to drive home.
She ate Road Runner Raspberry and I had Peach Cobbler.  She decided mine tasted, “Way much better.”  She might be right.  The Peach Cobbler was amazing.

And we stopped by the store to let her have a peppermint stick for the ride home.  Unprovoked, she asked if she could take four home for the other kids. 

During the day she opted not to participate in the races and games.  She opted not to be in the Children’s Promenade.  She kept things low key and I could see her taking in EVERYTHING.  I expect to see her playing it with her imagination in the days to come.

In all we had six hours together.  Actually – more than seven if you count our chatter-filled rides to and from.
Her exhaustion set in about 2 miles from home when she started to cry that she couldn’t get the elastic out of her braid.  The tired tears rolled as we rolled down the driveway.  She pepped up a little when we looked at these pictures and she started sharing stories with her Daddy and siblings. 

My favorite part was the stagecoach.  No, actually, my favorite was one-on-one with my Easter Bunny.