Children's Museum of Virginia

Ever since we moved to Hampton Roads, we've had people telling us that we simply have to visit the Children's Museum of Virginia in Portsmouth. You know how sometimes EVERYONE tells you you just have to do something and then you do and it's not awesome? Our visit to the Children's Museum last Sunday was the opposite of that.

In fact, there was SO much to see and do that we spent nearly three hours at the museum and didn't even make it to the second floor. Over an hour of that time was spent in the bubble room; another good chunk was devoted to the train room. Each exhibit was so enthralling to Baby A. that when it was time to move on to the next one, she had a meltdown of major proportions. (No! No! Fun! HELP ME!) It seems strange to have a tantruming toddler be an indicator of a good time, but you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Greatest hits from our visit? The bubble room, where J. spent a long time trying to perfect the art of the human-sized bubble, the toddler play area, where A. and I lounged in the nest with the big blue egg pillows, and the replica HRT bus, where we spun the steering wheel and joined a crowd in as many refrains of the "Wheels on the Bus" as we could think of. There were no misses.

Anouk was so sorry to leave that I was afraid we were going to be arrested for kidnapping on our way out.

Yeah. It's that awesome.

Right now the Children's Museum, Porstmouth Art and Cultural Center, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum are offering a Winter Wonderland Holiday Pass: $12 admission to all three sites, valid through December 31. It's an amazing deal and one we made sure to take advantage of! More details here.