While you likely are expecting an update on the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, we are going to catch up on our Labor Day trip instead and do a complete update of Irma next time. We are blessed - we were not injured, our homes did not sustain unrepairable damage and we have a wonderful Mother/Grandma who is letting us bunk with her while our home sits without power.....8 days later and counting. Add your prayers to ours that we get power back quickly as it is mentally draining, and life seems to be on hold while we wait....but we look on the bright side and we remind ourselves - it could have been much worse and frankly not having AC or electricity or running water....such a first world problem. We will praise Him in the storm!:)
For Labor day, we headed off to Williamsburg thanks to Jet Blue on Thursday night through Monday night. We met up with Amy's high-school roommate Carmen and her family. The weather was less than ideal, but the company was wonderful!
On Friday, we went to Jamestown, which we found to be delightful. It had an indian village where the kids could explore and try hands-on things, and a replicable of an early settlement and then of course several early ships which we had great fun exploring. It was a perfect day to go, as we were able to see everything in the morning before scurrying inside for lunch and to explore the museum and movie while it rained outside! Whew!
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| Kaleb, Zabh, Addison, Andon and Ava in front of an Indian home. |
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| Practicing making corn meal |
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| Trying their hand at a corn hole toss |
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| While Addi made a dug-out canoe |
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| Love Karis and Erfin's metal helmets! |
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| Even found a helmet just her size! |
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| Posing on the cannon |
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| Learning how to keep track in the early days of the direction and speed that the ship was travelling in! |
Of course on any trip there are just random pictures taken of the kids and selfies to document that we were there, so these pictures below are all at Jamestown and just capture folks along the way
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| Carmen and Ava |
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| She takes after her mother - she never wants to walk! |
Our resort that we stayed at was great, we had two 2 bedroom, 2 bath condos that were side-by-side ith a shared entry way that we could combine, so we had 4 bedrooms and plenty of space for everyone for less than $200 per night! The resort also had indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, volleyball court, foozball, mini-golfing, ping pong as well as activities galore to enjoy. We were definitely pleased!
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| Their patience with mini-golfing didn't last long! |
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| Riding her first elephant |
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| Zachary discovered a love of tennis with Ava |
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| While the other kids painted pottery! |
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| A new bird house! |
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| Zachary and Ava were both the same age and both into games and sports, so they had fun together - always a good thing! |
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| Anique is very talented with drawing, and was so patient with Addison |
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| Only Sunday was really nice enough to get into the outside pool |
On Sunday, we went to Colonial Williamsburg which was really very well done. We didn't have as much time as we wanted as we had a later start (and then we were hungry so had to sit down and eat!) but we did catch a lot of fun areas.
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| Notice a trend, she's not picky who she cons into carrying her - thank you Ervin! |
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| The whole group |
After the tour oft he governors palace, which was SO WELL DONE with a very interesting tour guide, part of the group went to a play and the rest went to find a restaurant to get some lunch. At the last minute, Addison decided to attend the play and off she went! Notice the old fashioned "loud speaker" on the fence - it was quite effective!
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| The governors palace |
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| So charming! |
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And yet another person willing to carry Miss Addi-cakes!
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| Love Andon's expression as he eats his ice cream! |
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| Yummy! |
And of course we had to each take a turn in the pillory and stockades. Did you know that if you were ever in the pillory (the upgrade "pillar" one) that they nailed the top part of the criminals' ear to the wood and the ear remained when you were released, thus missing the top part of your ear branded you as a criminal evermore. Ouch!
As we walked around,we had fun visiting the dressmaker, shoemaker, wigmaker, Apothecary, bookmaker, newspaper office, gaol etc.
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| Trying her hand at the bow and arrow |
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| While they found a creek to play in |
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| Is it a ring toss, or horse shoes? Who knows, but she had fun! |
On our last night there, we found enough energy to play Uno, and loved listening to Ava and Kaleb laugh their heads off! The joy in laughter is so awesome!
On ourlast day there, we drove over to Monticello which was Thonas Jefferson's home. We did the family friendly tour, which was PERFECT. The kids really enjoyed it (along with their parents!). We would have enjoyed more time there, but had to head out to the airport while Gruias began their long drive home.
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| These flowers were so pretty! |
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| Great picture except Zach wasn't looking - almost impossible to get all three kids to look at the same time! |
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| A new way to carry her colonial doll! |
We were blessed to have such a wonderful time with dear friends, and to learn more about early American history. The time we had went way too fast, and we're already looking forward to our next trip with them (hopefully next year!). What fun life memories to make!
