A list of adventure...

Last year (as in 2012), I started something new.  In January, I sat down with our 2 oldest beans and asked them what THEY would like to do in the upcoming year. No limits. I did not promise that every item would happen - but I told them we would try mightily. There was zero prompting from me or My Love regarding this list - it was just their answers to the following question:

What adventures would you like to have this year?

Here is the list for 2012:
1. Pirate Adventure
It was supposed to be fulfilled at the Blackbeard Pirate Festival in Hampton, but we ended up being out of town. Since we missed it last year - and all 4 still think it would be fun to have a swashbuckling good time - we are gonna try for this year!

2. A treasure hunt
We accomplished this in June....basically a simple scavenger hunt where the booty was a box with candy. :)

3. Caving

In August, we visited Linville Caverns. It was an educational experience for all of us - we learned that String Bean loves geology; Jumping Bean is (apparently) very, very, VERY claustrophobic; Bitty Bean is petrified of the Dark; and Boy Bean hates all things having to do with caverns. In a moment of excellent parenting, we actually had 3 children sobbing and 1 child shaking so much the tears wouldn't fall. All in all? A truly excellent memory.

4. Busch Gardens
Courtesy of Busch Gardens' amazing program Here's to the Heroes, we were able to visit the park for free for one day. They allow one active duty military member and up to 3 dependents in FREE once every season. We had the time of our lives. The park opened at 10 - and we were there at 10:15. We stayed until they closed at 9....and were one of the last cars to leave the parking lot. It was an AMAZING day.  String Bean rode her first adult roller coaster and LOVED it; Jumping Bean and Bitty Bean were big enough for all of the kid rides; and even Boy Bean got in on the action! (In between napping in the stroller.)  It is such a family friendly park - I am extremely thankful for their support of the military.

5. Go to a ballet OR take ballet lessons

Well, we barely made that happen! But all 3 girls started ballet in December. And they LOVE it. Hopefully next year I can take them to see the Nutcracker. :)

6. Hiking AND...

In August we hiked the Linville Gorge. It was a blast. The kids loved being in the woods and hunting for signs of critters and getting hiking sticks and having Mommy periodically freak out that they were going to plummet off the edge of a cliff. 

7. Sleep in a tent in the woods

We did NOT camp in a tent (which all girls made sure I remembered.), we slept in a cabin because, well, My Love LOVES me. :)

String Bean and Jumping Bean did, however, sleep in a tent in our yard in September. I am counting that as a complete check mark.

8. Visit a Farm
In April we visited Hunt Club Farm and had a blast! They have a petting zoo, a place to picnic, and plenty of hay to play in so you have every inch of your body itching. Complete fun was had by all.

9. Aquarium

(My heathens probably breaking numerous rules)

In February we visited the Virginia Aquarium. We had so much fun, we ended up getting a year-long pass! So, we also went twice in April, and once in May, June, July, August, October, and even last week. :)  (The pass definitely paid for itself!) My people LOVE that place. They can easily spend all day there. They love learning about all the critters and seeing the various habitats. The staff is very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable.

 10. Picnic in Williamsburg

This was a fun one. I made a whole stack of chicken and cheese quesadillas, some homemade salsa, filled mason jars with pink lemonade, grabbed a bag of chips - and we were good to go.

 In May (before My Love started workups) we picked a Saturday and made the drive to Colonial Williamsburg. We picnicked and then just walked around.

It wasn't very crowded - the weather was perfect - and some great memories were made. (AND the only extra cost was gas! No entrance fee.)

11. Climbing Wall

(Me and my String Bean on the climbing wall)

(Bitty Bean on the climbing wall....no pictures of Jumping Bean because she moved too much!)

This one made me nervous....because I wasn't really sure how we could pull it off. Thankfully, grandparents made it happen in JANUARY!  It was the first one marked off the list. :)  Fun Depot in North Carolina has an amazing climbing wall that String Bean was tall/heavy enough for...and The Children's Museum of the Upstate (South Carolina) has one Jumping Bean and Bitty Bean could try their hands at.

12. See a Waterfall up close

(See #6 - we took care of that at the Linville Gorge also!)

13. Frog hunting
I have no idea where this came from. We didn't do it.

14. Horses
Thankfully, one set of grandparents live close to a field with horses in it...and since the girls really just wanted to see one up close, this was accomplished!

15. Snow Skiing
Didn't happen. Was never going to happen. But I appreciate them dreaming. :)

16. Go to work with Daddy

Thankfully, they know they won't get to fly in his aircraft, so all we had to do was go to Squadron. Which we did. A couple times.

17. Zoo
This actually didn't happen! Maybe 2013....

First - I can't believe you read all the way to the end.
Second - I think it is pretty clear our kids like adventure!

I'll post our to-do adventure list for 2013 soon....it is  (Thankfully!) shorter. But still full of challenges to pull off. Will you be adventuring in 2013??

~Whitney
 Copyright 2013