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On Saturday we again took advantage of one of the great things about Williamsburg and visited the Jamestown Settlement, which is just up the road from our families. I went a lot as a kid, but we hadn't been in ages. The big kids went last year as part of "Camp Grandma," and K wanted us to go back so he could show me something about the bunks on the ships. They have redone the settlement since I had been there, in celebration of Jamestown's 400th anniversary. It was really nice! We spent time in the Powhatan village, exploring the dwellings and watching an interpretor make stew and corn cakes on a rock. EB was a riot - she insisted on walking everywhere, toddling in and out of the houses and fingering everything. Such a tiny tourist! Then we went to see the ships, but K was too scared to stay on board very long. He was SURE that they would fire off the canons, and even more concerning, that they would fire them off at him. I even had him ask the captain about it, and he assured K that they would NOT be firing any canons, but I don't think K believed him. So I didn't get to see what it was the K wanted to show me about the bunks (except that they are REALLY small and I am so glad I don't have to travel for 4 1/2 months on a 17th century cargo ship to get to a wilderness land populated by hostile indians). BUT, here's my interesting bit of trivia (especially for my friend Heather who thinks I have all kinds of interesting tidbits in my past) - G does a lot of genealogy, and he's traced my mom's direct line back to 2 people who came over to Jamestown in about 1614. I knew my family on both sides had been in VA FOREVER, but it's neat to know that they came over so early and to see how they probably lived. I don't believe either of those ancestors was a governor... Anyway, below are some highlights from the day.

The Powhatan dwellings were filled with all kinds of animal pelts. EB couldn't keep her hands off, and A thought it was interesting that they still had faces. Interesting, but a little creepy!

Tiny tourist heading out to the next building

The "scary boat" filled with canons. We waited safely on the dock while the others explored on board.

Trying on protective gear in the British settlement. K was so worried about the guns they were firing off nearby, so we told him this would keep him safe. EB's helmet was a little heavy, but she was determined to try to wear it.

Chores - trying to carry water. That yoke was so heavy!

It got pretty warm and the kids were tired, so we headed inside the new visitors center museum. They had recreated several houses inside the museum that you could walk through - another cool fact: my brother Ben actually built this house for the museum. He would come in after hours and work on it at night. It was amazing to see his work!

The visitor's center had a kids craft program, and K learned how to play mancala while A finished her craft. It was really fun!

Chasing Rainbows

Granddad B had them watering plants in the backyard, and the sunlight was shining in just the right spot to make fantastic rainbows. A would chase them around as K moved his sprayer - kind of like keep-away with the rainbow. Fun!

 12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

~ Genesis 9:12-16

Did I Ever Post?

I'm sure I did a post before about my sister's wedding in June - I'm too lazy to go back and check. My sister sent me the photographer's pictures (she bought the rights to all the pictures, so I'm ok to post!), and I thought I'd post a few - they were really good, and I'm glad to have some great pictures with my family. I guess she's been married for over 2 months now. Old married lady! What a fun day. Now we get to look forward to my brother's wedding in June. Hooray!! Anyway, here are Cristen's pictures.

beautiful bride

my family

me and my siblings - can't believe Ben is smiling!

Bridesmaids and the lady of the day

me and my sis

wearing her headpiece before the meltdown. she didn't actually wear it for the ceremony

tiny attendants

right after the ceremony - she's a happy girl!

3 weeks out

OK, how in the world did we get here already? 5 1/2 years ago I had the conversation with G: "it will be forever before this tiny baby boy goes to kindergarden." The days home with him were so long, I had no reason to believe what everyone was telling me: "before you know it he will be in kindergarden!" Well, those days home with preschoolers have been long and amazing, but somehow time has flown by and we're three weeks out from our first day of elementary school. I am usually so stoic about things - whatever happens happens, and deal with things as they come along, and there's just not much room for sentiment in my more waffle-shaped brain (yeah - G and I tend to take on opposite roles in the spaghetti and waffle analogy). But this kindergarden thing is eating me up!! I've had a stomach ache over it since we got home from vacation, and I just can't let myself think about it. I know he will be fine. He's so excited to go, and G is SO excited for him to go. I just keep worrying - what if he flips out during a fire drill? what if he has to go potty during lunch and can't figure out where to go? what if he is overwhelmed in PE (remember soccer)? what if he is so tired that he turns into a grouchy monster? Where does K get his tendency to worry? Oh yeah, that would be from me... I can worry with the best of them if I let myself go there. Anyway, no turning back. We have a week at camp grandma, then one more week to relax, then the first day of many many many many years school - that's right, we're expecting at least a master's, even if he DOES end up being a drummer and a waiter (that's his plan, except for the occasional statement that he plans to be a freeloader, living with us forever and having me park on the street so he can park his GMC truck in the driveway... - his words!).

The impetus for this post was the back-to-school shopping we did this weekend to get a backpack and the supplies from his list (can you call it back to school the very first time you do it? maybe off-to-school shopping). He is SO proud of his backpack. We went to the Lands End shop to get a sturdy backpack - I refused to give in to the request for a plastic spider man backpack that would have to be replaced mid-year. K picked through every style, trying on each one and inspecting the compartments to decide which one he liked best. He finally decided on this one, because it is the same style as his lunch box and he liked the idea that they would match. He's been telling little sister that he needs a big backpack for all the homework he'll have in kindergarden. Yesterday he and Dad filled it with tissues, hand sanitizer, glue sticks, crayons and ziploc bags. I can't WAIT to see what they make with all that!

Apparently the kids have made watercolor masterpieces in the kitchen that I must go see. More on this in 3 weeks!

Bye Bye Disney!

A few clips as it was time to leave Disney.

So Much More to Post!

We really packed it in on our vacation to Florida, so there will continue to be more posts! On Wednesday we were planning to drive down to Tampa to use our Busch Gardens passes at BG Tampa. G and I decided we really didn't feel like driving an hour and a half to the park, especially since our resort was so close to everything we could possible want to do. SO, we changed our plans and surprised everyone with a 1-day visit to the Magic Kingdom at Disney! When we told my brother at dinner the night before, I thought he was going to launch straight up out of his chair! That was a fun surprise! I'll go ahead and admit that it was an ambitious day with 3 small kids, high temperatures, crowds, and great anticipation, but I think we actually did very well. We went in with a list of highlights that we wanted to be sure to see/do - the Dumbo ride, visit with Mickey and the Princesses, It's a Small World, the Carousel, Big Thunder Mountain, etc., and I think we accomplished everything on our list except for riding Space Mountain, which we would have done except that it started pouring rain around dinner time and things kind of shut down. The late afternoon rain really put a damper on things, and we spent more time than I would have liked in some crowded gift shops, but we managed to make that fun trying on hats and hunting for the perfect souvenirs that the kids could spend their trip money on. We're really looking forward to taking them back in several years when everyone is bigger and we can spend a week. ( in trying to condense the post, I made some pictures very small, so just click on them if you want to see them larger).

The kids' first ride - K shows off his speedway license.

EB's first ride - Winnie the Pooh. A tries to remove the sword in the stone

G and EB ride Dumbo

Visiting Minnine's house and Mickey's house

K tries out the giant light switch at Mickey's house

A was excited to meet Mickey and Minnie, but I don't think K knew what to make of it. They were confused about why their mouths didn't move. :)


the highlight of A's trip - meeting her beloved princesses.

Mickey in the mid-day parade

my fearless little A rode Pirates of the Caribbean with me and Jordan, singing "yo-ho-ho" and "shiver me timbers" the whole time. Then we all got to meet the pirates while G and Jordan rode Big Thunder Mountain. EB did NOT like the characters.


Trying on hats in the gift shop, waiting for the rain to let up

checking out his souvenir ears in the gift shop window

K was a little giddy by the time we decided to leave. This was A's official pose of the vacation - she started doing this hand thing for all pictures - maybe she saw a character do it and she adopted it.

horrible picture, but proof that I DID actually go on this vacation!