After getting ready and having a quick breakfast we were off to meet up with our cousins at Greenfield Village. This is a historical village established by Henry Ford in 1933. It contains around 100 historical buildings that have been relocated here.
As soon as we were reunited the girls linked hands and did not let go. It melted my heart to watch them walk down the quaint little streets this way.
Our first stop was the Armington & Sims Machine Shop. Gabe really wanted to make a brass candlestick. Using the special machines and the guidance of the worker Gabe worked by himself to turn his brass dowel into a miniature candle stick. After a few minutes and lots of elbow grease his job was done and his candlestick was perfect. Ella decided she wanted to make one too. She also worked very hard and ended up with a flawless candlestick. What a special and unique memento they will both have to remember our time together.
Next everyone wanted to take a test ride in a restored Ford Model T. This was wonderful because the route allowed us to see so much and the driver was very informative and spent the entire ride pointing everything out. Alyson and I went in a car with the girls and Pandy went in a car with all the boys.
Next up was some time on the very cool playground. The kids were having a blast trying out all the different apparatus together.
It was approaching noon and the kids worked up quite an appetite so we headed to the cafeteria to grab some lunch. As we were walking over the kids spotted the carousel. We promised them that would be the first thing we did when we were finished. We stayed true to our word and they all enjoyed the ride.
After that we walked around and explored the many different historic buildings. We came to a one room school house and the imagination bug bit. They each took a turn being the teacher, standing at the podium and writing their lesson on the blackboard. Another family came in just as all the adults were wondering how we were going to coax the kids out of here. Giving them a turn made for a great reason to move along.
As we walked through the various homes we came upon the spectacular garden. The employee stationed here pointed out the popcorn bush. She had us rub one of the leaves between our fingers and the smell of buttery popcorn immediately wafted through the air. After we finished walking through the Thomas Edison Complex, complete with his laboratory, we decided to go for a ride on the horse pulled carriage. We stopped at one of the little carts to get drinks and were all surprised and fascinated by the large tubular shaped pasta they gave as a straw. After the ride was over the driver let the kids pet the beautiful horse.
We continued wandering through the historic houses and as we walked into one we were greeted by the delicious aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. There were women dressed in period costumes and they were talking about how they just finished the batch of cookies. It was pure torture as the tray of yummy treats was sitting on the table directly in front of us and they did not offer anybody one. The kids were visibly disappointed when they were not able to have one.
The kids seemed to forget about it as we found another building where they were actively creating crafts, figurines and pottery of yesteryear.
Next we moved to the Railroad Junction District where the kids had the opportunity to operate a railroad turntable built in 1901. The worker was quite skeptical that Lily and Danielle would be able to do it but we were able to convince him they were strong and would not peter out. They had to push it most of the way and then towards the end they had to pull back to get it to come to a stop at the exact right point. As they came back around the gentleman had to eat some crow as he told us with a chuckle the girls did a better job than the older boys. Never doubt the power of a girl…they may be tiny but they are mighty!
After completing the hard, manual labor Pandy treated all the kids to an ice cream cone.
Throughout the day several of the workers we talked with asked us if we saw the baby cow that was born within the week. We went on a hunt for this cow but never had success. As we were trying a “farm worker” rode by on his horse. He was very kind and he stopped and allowed the girls to pet the horse.
We figured that was a great way to end our time here. Last night Pandy insisted on having all four of the kids spend the night at her house tonight so that we could go out for some quality adult only time with Alyson and Bob. Before we left this morning we packed the girls an overnight bag. The kids were super excited to have a sleep over together. We got them all settled in and headed out. It was a beautiful night so we decided to go to downtown Birmingham to have dinner so we could walk around the many store-lined streets afterwards. We had a lovely dinner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar filled with delightful, uninterrupted conversation and we all thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the bottle of wine we shared. After dinner we continued chatting as we strolled through the streets and enjoyed the fresh evening air. Pandy ordered pizza for the kids and they had treats of course. The kids played beautifully together while they effortlessly strengthened their bond. It was a little funny to go back to the RV without the girls. We were exhausted from the full day so the quiet without them there made it easy to fall right to sleep. What a special day spent creating lifelong memories with our cousins!!!
