Cheekwood Treehouses

We spent the morning exploring the amazing tree house exhibit at Cheekwood with The C's and Uncle Ben. Evie was impressed and so were the rest of us. Tremendous thought and work went into designing each of the seven tree houses. This exhibit appeals to all ages which makes for a succesful family outing. All of the treehouses were so cool that it's hard to pick a favorite. Evie's favorite was the Rainbow fish tree house made out of cd's.

It was shiny from the thousands of CD's tied onto the frame and such a excellent way to use up those CD's that are gathering dust in attics across America. I really liked the Walden treehouse designed after the cabin that Henry David Thoreau lived in for several years. Remember this:

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."  Henry David Thoreau

The Walden tree house came complete with a perfect wooden swing that would have been a blissful way to spend the day. Evie likes to keep things moving though so there was no time for swinging in solitude! So we kept on moving, our kids held hands, ran like wild horses, giggled with glee, slid down slides and asked for snacks three million times. That's my idea of a perfect outing with kids.

Cheekwood was packed and that was first thing this morning as soon as the gates opened. Prices have gone up with all the new exhibits so it made more sense to join so that we can go back again soon. I have a feeling that we will get a lot of use out of our membership. It was pretty hot this morning but we spent about an hour exploring the tree houses. Perhaps next time, we can spend more time at each individual tree house.

Courtney and I treated ourselves to lunch at The Pineapple Room. Delicious! Tablecloths and a fancy menu made it slightly intimidating but our kids did great. Warm muffins helped pass the time until our lunch arrived. Courtney and I both enjoyed fried green tomato salad with goat cheese and bacon. Ben had a hamburger and the kids ate chicken tenders, fries and fruit. Henry made a royal mess so my tipping has escalated to make up for the bevy of crumbs within a two feet radius of his highchair.

We breezed through the gift shop before calling it a day. It was a fun morning with friends! Evie made my day when she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and her smiling face saying, "Mama, thank you for bringing me here. I had so much fun." My sweet girl makes everything an adventure!

Check these tree houses out soon if you are in the area. Just get there early!