We started out our visit at the train because
Alaina was so excited about it. She talked about her upcoming ride all morning while we got ready and during the entire drive to the park.
Of course when her time came she was too afraid to get on the train. I made her go because I figured she'd get over it (and I'd already paid).
Liz was super cute with her little sis. She held Lainey's hand the entire time.
She also kept her arm around
Laines.
Side note:
Alaina would not remove her sunglasses, even in the shade. She just lifted them up to see better.
Ellie liked the train just fine.
After our train ride I asked Lainey, did she liked it? No. Would she like to go again? No. And to think I almost planned Burke for her third birthday.
After the train, we ate lunch and headed to the carousel.
All the girls liked it.
Not surprisingly
Laines had trouble waiting for it to begin. She kept yelling, "Go!" which is what I sometimes yell at cars in front of me. That is, I yelled that until Lainey started copying me. Now, I'm trying to be a better example.
So cute. I can't get enough of her and she's at such a fun age.
After the carousel we ran into some friends and Liz joined them for another train ride.
Since
Alaina was too scared to go I stayed behind with her and Ellie. We waited at the train depot which is were we felt the
EARTHQUAKE. Lainey was asking when the train would be back. She missed her "sissy" and her friend, Meg. When the rumbling started my first thought was that the train was returning so I said to
Laines, "Do you feel that? That means the
train's coming back!" But a second later I remembered that building didn't shake the last time the train approached.
The rumbling went on for a bit, the bench below us and awning above us shaking pretty well. A nearby lady and I met eyes. I said, "Is that the train?" She said, "It can't be. They feel it over there" (indicating the carousel). I said, "It must be an earthquake." And then it was over. Within seconds someone nearby confirmed (looking at her smart phone) that it had in fact been an earthquake.
When Liz and company arrived on the train they reported that they hadn't felt the earthquake at all. My friend, Sharon, and I spent the rest of our time at Burke Lake trying to contact our husbands (only texts worked) and playing mini golf with the kids. Oh, and of course we finished it all off with a good helping of ice cream at the shop.
The oldest three children took their game pretty seriously, regularly accusing each other of cheating even though we weren't playing a proper game at all.
Alaina and Meg, on the other hand, took it easy and always seemed to enjoy themselves.
While not an official participant, Ellie also had a ball that she dropped in every hole before waddling off to the next stop.
She also dropped in her
sippy cup every now and then.
Earthquake-wise we had no damaged to our home and Andrew was able to come home a couple hours early because his building was evacuated. I know there were after shocks but I didn't feel any.
We picniced outside the gates and the girls spent so much time eating their lunches and feeding the birds parts of said lunches, that I thought maybe we wouldn't make it in afterall.
Gurgling her Fanta (just because).
Once inside we did the mansion tour and explored the outbuildings.
Lizzie completed the kids map/treasure hunt and got a smashed penny in as a prize. 
Alaina pretended to be a princess. She said, "Mama, I the princess. You the boy."
She gathered a bouquet of dried leaves and called them her flowers.
She also used her leaves as a magic wand, waving them in the air in front of me, saying "Magic, magic. You're a boy!"
Once we tired of the outdoor attractions we went into the museum, spending the bulk of our time in the hands-on children section.
The girls enjoyed trying on dresses like what Martha Washington wore (she wore a yellow dress at her wedding).
They had a tea party, played with the baby dolls, pushed buttons to hear animal noises, and colored.
They also played with the doll house. A lot.
Costume change (there were several).
Ellie tried to climb in it once. She also tried to eat crayons and leave the play area, by herself, with an arm load of toys.
After the kids section we watched the multi-media war movie (the one where your seats rumble and "snow" falls on your head). I'd never taken Liz before because she used to be so scared of movies. Glad I waited. She LOVED it. Alaina, on the other hand kept her ears covered and kept saying, "I want to see a princess movie. Where is the princess?" For her part, Ellie kept trying to go down the stairs and interact with strangers (who were trying to watch the movie).
