Alike, but soooo different

I have a diaper bag full of reasons my first born is different from my second.  I don't know why it keeps surprising me.  Thursday night we got home from school and Henry saw a bunny in the front yard. He asked me if he could chase it and I said he could, so he took off running.  I took a second to put Benjamin and his car seat it the house and stepped back out to follow Henry. He was GONE!

When we first started bunny chasing it was just Frances. She loved the chase and I don't think it ever occurred to her that we would actually catch a bunny rabbit.  

Henry, is alike in that he loves the chase, but soooo different in that he actually thinks the point is to catch the bunny.  He even has plans for what to do with it.  I asked. Through his tears of frustration when the bunny got away to where he couldn't see it anymore.  He wants to make bunny soup.  I even asked how to make bunny soup.  Apparently you have to put it in a pot and "stir and stir and stir."

I am now afraid to point out the occasional bunnies in our front yard.  Henry will take off through the neighbor's yard.  Last time he hesitated before running out into the street, but probably would have kept going if I hadn't yelled "STOP!"

Frances still loves chasing bunnies (if she can get around Henry), but is in it more for the fun of the chase more than anything else.  She happily stops at the edge of the yard when the bunny takes off.  Her brother, on the other hand, races past her with thoughts of bunny soup on the brain.

Alike, but soooo different.  Wonder which camp Benjamin will be in?

Hiking...?

Ken had Saturday off!! Unfortunately it is because he has to work today (Sunday) in Winchester all day, but honestly...a Saturday off together?  We'll take it!
We decided to take the kids hiking. Ken LOVES the outdoors and hiking, and we thought it would be something fun to do.  Also, after waking up at 6, Henry went back to bed until 9, so I thought this would be a good day to skip a nap.

(Their "collecting jars" for the treasures they found on the trip.)

Admittedly, I did not do very good research for this trip. I am more of a "get in the car and see where you end up" kind of person. (Drives Ken crazy!)  I had asked a friend who had recommended Fridley's Gap, but we couldn't really find directions to where she was talking about and I had neglected to ask.  Basically, I made some sandwiches, threw some water bottles and chips in a bag and we left.

(Henry''s "eating lunch" face.)

(Why is the almost-7 year old a messier eater than the 3 year old?)

We drove east out of town towards Elkton.  Then we turned off on a couple of different roads, following some directions from the internet that were not very clear.  We did end up finding the National Forest, so we pulled over in a spot to eat lunch and walk around.  We didn't ever find the trail we were looking for, but we found a logging road to follow for a while until it became too overgrown for us to keep going.

(My reflection in the side of the van with Benjamin in the Snugli.)

We got back in the car and decided to just see where the road went.  We paralleled Cub Run for quite a way and some some really pretty mini water falls.

We got the kids out of the van a few times to look around and they had a really good time.

(Benjamin was not a fan of the cold mountain water!)

 We ended up in Page County and followed route 340 home through Shenandoah.  We did spend a good part of the day in the car, but the kids enjoyed looking out the windows to see what was going on.

(Mountain climbers!)

We got gas and a car wash on the way home and then went out to dinner at O'Charley's thanks to a gift certificate from my mom.  It was really nice being able to spend the day together as a family of five with no real plans or responsibilities.  That doesn't happen often enough.