Gettysburg was on my parents' East Coast Visit wish list, and since today was the only day of their trip that didn't have rain or General Conference in the forecast, we headed north to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this morning.
It was . . . a little bit cold.
As we made our chilly way to the visitor center, Joy decided that a battlefield was a perfect place for a family snowball fight.
The snow had disappeared by the time we had finished in the visitor center and eaten cheesesteaks for lunch at a local diner (when in Pennsylvania, do as the Pennsylvanians do). Papa took us to a few key spots on the battlefield, and recounted the heroic deeds of five Union soldiers that figured into the Northern victory. He then invited us to vote which soldier had the biggest impact on the battle's outcome. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain won, probably because Papa's dramatic account of Chamberlain's defense of Little Round Top made a big impression on the little Hendricksons.
As we were about to head home, the kids asked to stop and explore Pennsylvania's state monument, which is the biggest one on the battlefield. I guess when you only have one major battlefield in your state, you can splurge on the Taj Majal of monuments.
I hadn't realized that one of the monument's big pillars contained a staircase that led to the top; leave it to my adventurous kids to discover things like that. (Hey, Anna--don't climb on the parapet, please. It's a long way down.)
On the drive home, Joy drew one of her Enderman comics illustrating what each of Papa's five Union soldiers contributed to their army's victory. She repeatedly cursed the bumpy roads, but her drawing turned out well.
Back in Maryland we let Chick-fil-A cook dinner, then we had family home evening. Todd was in charge of the activity at the end, and he happily agreed with my suggestion that we do a family Easter egg hunt (since the kids only found a few eggs at the ward egg hunt on Saturday). Fun and jelly beans were had by all.
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