Washington on the Brazos & Bluebonnets

On Easter weekend, Vic always takes Monday off of work so it makes it a nice long weekend to celebrate. So, after T-ball practice Saturday morning, we loaded the kids to go to Washington on the Brazos to picnic and see the museum and run around. It was the most beautiful weather day! It got hot by the end, but mostly it was just wonderful. We arrived, took pictures with bluebonnets, toured the museum, then had our picnic and then checked out Barrington Farm, which was the home of the last president of the Republic of Texas, Anson Jones. It was a great day!

  This was the museum. And the kids really got into exploring it, before we even got to the children's area. Atticus and Vic can really enjoy learning history details.

 A cabin in the museum. Then we went into the children's area. I was blown away by how great it was. It was so perfect for imaginative play and Grace and Everly could have stayed all day long. Atticus got into it also, but the girls really played and did not want to leave.

 They had a cow that had a working udder.

 There was a wagon and it was really fun too. They loaded all kinds of things into it throughout the time we were there.

 There was a kitchen and fireplace and eating area, as if they were in a log cabin. This was so much fun for Grace. She stoked the fire, cooked food in a pot over the fire, swept the floors, organized food and dishes, and pretended away.

 You will see that Everly got attached to this plate, cup, and tomato and carried them around the entire time.

 They had to haul water out of the well.

 They gathered the eggs.

 The washing had to be done too.

 And they were very busy in their pioneer wagon. It was just a great children's museum.

Atticus had been learning all about the Alamo and people in Texas history this month, so it was fun to take a photo with Sam Houston's statue.

Then, we left and drove around the corner to the picnic area and had a delicious lunch. 

And then we headed down to Barrington Farm to check it out.

 The house and buildings had some original furnishings and people dressed up to answer questions.

 I love seeing old homes from the 1800's and learning about how people lived. Even the wealthy had a tougher way of life than we would be used to, but anytime I think about a time period I would want to live in, I always think of these days.

 Everly took her normal pose on the floor to write on the chalkboard.

 We checked out the Kitchen House where the cooking was done.

 Atticus attempted washing clothes, but didn't really think this was that great of a way to wash clothes.

 Inside the house, the kids learned about how people went to the bathroom as well as things kids would do during these times.

 We also went down to see the barn and the slave cabins.

 Atticus was checking out their work areas where they kept their supplies and equipment.

 We learned about the garden and the jobs of the slaves.

 The kids looked at the slave quarters and realized how different they were from the big house where the family lived.

 We checked out the animal pens and boy, were those hogs stinky! I hadn't smelled that smell since my hog showing days!

 The kids thought so too!

By this point, everyone was hot and falling asleep, so we headed back home. It was such a fun adventure for the day and nice to have it so close by. We will definitely do it again. I might just take Everly to do nothing but play in the children's area when the big kids are in school this fall!