The Joke's on Me

Tricking mom on April Fools Day has become a tradition at our house. It was frogs in the sheets last year, and now this lovely assortment of creepy things.

Cheatham Annex

For our little Williamsburg trip, we were able to stay in a Navy cabin right on the James river and it was beautiful. There were blue herons and eagles and geese that hissed at me and made me run a lot faster on my run. The kids were able to fish in the morning and that was fun. Isn't it pretty?

Busch Gardens

Three cheers for Busch Gardens and their awesome program for military families which allowed us a free day at their amusement park! Totally cool. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. (The kids on all the rides and me pushing the stroller around holding coats and lunchboxes.) But being able to watch how much fun the kids had made it worth my while. I'm sure Busch Gardens was the highlight of the trip for Bryce.

Bryce, Shan, Emma after they got of the big splash ride. They didn't get too wet and said it was gentle, so I tried it next.... yeah, um, let's just say you don't get to see the picture of me afterwards because I sat behind a HUGE person and the water totally drenched us... I had mascara running and hair sticking to my head. Thanks for the tip, guys.

This is what I like to call "teacup torture." Check out Madeline's face! Hahahahahaha.

The swings are more like it, mom.

This terrifying little number is called "The Griffin" and it made me sick just to watch it. It was extremely tall and took them twisty and upside down and did all sorts of things I can hardly imagine. Shan and Bryce are on the top right.

Bryce looks thrilled he did it and sort of surprised he survived.

Historic Williamsburg

(This is one of my longest posts ever... if this bores you, just skip on... I had a little too much fun with the camera. Some of the pictures are out of order, but this post just took me too long!)

I was completely surprised the kids absolutely loved Williamsburg, Virginia... and we even went on a cold and windy day. We had no complaining and lots of happy kids as they learned about the way things used to be in the place where our country's independence from Great Britain began. Williamsburg was very inspiring for me and super interesting for the kids. The village is still run by tradespeople who really do sew by hand, print newspaper, make wigs etc. Great costumes and live performances. We highly recommend it!

Spoon at the silversmith's

Ready to print the newspaper- each tiny letter is a separate stamp and was handplaced.

Inking up the stamps.

Play outside the magazine

The millinery... every stitch by hand!

The wig shop.

The blacksmith is making a wheel hub for one of the carriages.

This guy shot his gun for the boys and that was the highlight for Ryan.

Ryan was so full of questions and totally into it.

cool knotty tree

Ryan and Bryce in the magazine.

I found my perfect table in one of the rooms off the courthouse... too bad it wasn't for sale. Hmmm, maybe Doug can recreate this for me?

I made it into a picture!

Fifes and drums

We got to feed the horses carrots and apples.

Courthouse table

Cobblestone

Blacksmith

The Pinewood Derby

This is old news, since I am way behind on blogging. But we mustn't forget the Pinewood Derby. Ryan chose the body style, sanded and painted it himsel, and then added some fire stickers. Shan supervised and helped him add the weights. (We added some taped quarters too after weigh in.) It turned out looking very cool. It definitely wasn't the fastest, but he won first prize for "Beauty" and that seemed to make him happy. Hip hooray for the Pinewood Derby.

Can I just say that I LOVE scouts for the opportunity it gives our boys to be involved in really cool things in a positive atmosphere. And I have to brag on Ryan's leader, Miss Maggie, because she has been doing this for like 15 years and still loves little boys!!!! (Seriously, being a scout leader is my personal nightmare... something about body odors and potty humor.... but I am so thankful for the ones who do it. Ryan absolutely loves it.)

Up Close and Personal

I love these people.