Our Charlottesville Vacation Recap- (2nd half)
Read about the 1st half our our Charlottesville trip here.
Day three of our trip brought a perfectly cool, cloudy morning, which we spent playing Mini Golf. Or I should say trying to play Mini Golf. We made it about halfway through the course before realizing there was no real sport playing with Jonathan chasing all of our balls! 
Or with Emily, whose version of ‘my turn’ was to put the ball as close as possible to the hole, before putting it in with one stroke. And then getting a bit impatient with the amount of time it took the rest of us to finish the hole.
So, I took the youngest three to the nearby playground while the Bigs finished up their game.
The rest of the day we leisurely spent at the pool and squeezing in naps where ever possible. (Note the lack of pool photos- 6 kids, 1 Momma = No time or hands for a camera at the pool!)
And of course more time at the barnyard.
The first half of day 4 we spent similarly, at mini golf, the pool, and playground, before spending the evening at the local county fair. Another event I was nervous about, but turned out much better than I thought possible.
First up, the petting zoo!
Next, ride after ride after ride. I gave each child a (small) budget for rides at the fair, and they all opted to pitch in more of their own money for a bracelet which allowed them to ride as many rides as they wanted.
Except for Jon, who was too small to ride. Thankfully, he was happy to just watch and wave at his siblings!
It was perfection. The fair was small, with only 15 rides total, and uncrowded. The lines for rides were never longer than the amount of children able to ride the ride. Within 45 minutes of getting bracelets they’d ridden more than 15 times each!
My favorite part of the fair was, of course, all the yummy food! The best thing about a big family at a fair is sharing food! I love how we each get to eat a little of everything, by the time we share with each other. Cotton candy, funnel cake AND fried oreos for the win!
We arrived as the fair gate opend and drove out minutes before it closed. Yet another, “Best day ever!” declarations as we drove away. 
The activity left for our last full day was hiking, but realizing the drive involved for a good hiking location and knowing the littlest of my crew probably couldn’t handle more than 3 miles or so, I decided to hold that adventure for next year or at least fall and cooler weather. 
The kids had other plans though- choosing to ‘hike’ through the woods around the resort. Perfect for me, as I strolled with Jon on the pavement alongside!!
By lunchtime my parents arrived to spend the last day with us! In the next 24 hours we packed in several rounds of mini golf, pool time, life-size checkers and of course more time at the barnyard. 
Michael fell in love with this huge horse with Mohawk hair.
I more than survived my first vacation as a single mom, it was a wonderful 5 days with my amazing crew! 
