Family Vacation Planning Part I - Williamsburg

If you have an all girl household...
If the ages of said girls range from 10 down to 4...
If you have a week of vacation and have access to the following...
If you have a love of history, but still want "fun" time with the family...

Here is a "semi-schedule" should you choose to see the sites of Williamsburg, Jamestown and D.C.

This past week we decided, as a family, that we'd like to take a trip to our country's "founding" cities/capitol. In preparation, we gathered and/or participated in the following:

1) We were able to reserve a week's time share condo at a Wyndham resort entitled Governor's Green.  It was nice b/c we had an incredible 3 bedroom condo...it also had 3 pools (indoor & out), a free putt-putt area and availablity to feed the roaming ducks:) It was minutes from Colonial Williamsburg.  We bought our groceries for the week, packed lunches and ate breakfasts & dinners in the condo as all the main attractions close at 5pm.

2) We sewed and/or borrowed colonial dresses...enough for at least 2 per girl, including Mommy:)

3) Read and/or listened to the entire book series of Felicity An American Girl. Also, watched the Felicity Movie along with the behind the scenes and tour of Williamsburg that is included in the DVD.

4) Read and/or perused these other books: Mary Geddy's Day, What would it be like to live in Colonial Williamsburg?,

and for "Mommy's" pleasure reading:

just because I like that "historical fiction" reading:)

There are hundreds of Colonial Williamsburg books and D.C. books available at the library...we read through a ton of them...it's best to just find ones that fit your personality best and run with it...sometimes the girls just read through to find interesting facts and then went on to the next...the ones I listed just happened to a be a couple that stood out in my mind.

5) Planned a "mid trip" surprise for our girls in order to make it the entire 9 hours to our destination...

We finally arrived and made a "plan of attack"...So here is what I would suggest...

First thing to do is to get the "map" of Colonial Williamsburg for the week...it will give you special presentation times. 

If you are especially into scripted readings and performances, you will want to check out the outdoor presenations near the Capitol, etc..However, our girls are into dancing and therefore we would recommend the following:

*Pleasures of the Dance: it is an opportunity to actually do some of the dances of that time period.  It is a 30 minute presentation and it is wonderful! Our entire family participated in all the country dances together. It was fun to see Daddy do his "courtesy".

*Dancing on the Boards: these are theatrical dances that are performed and they are both comical, serious and beautiful.  The girls thoroughly enjoyed this 25 minutes presenation.

*Fife & Drum Retreat:  The young men (and women) play their instruments down the city street into the Magazine and then they shoot off the cannon and the guns.  You'll want to at least see this once.

There are many other options and fun things to do, but these were our favorites...and seeing as we wanted to spend time swimming, playing putt-putt and getting the occassional Starbucks, we didn't do a die-hard visit...and for Little Munchkin's sake, it was time well-spent! 

There are some really great opportunities in the evening for presentations.  These are ones you must pay extra for and it can get rather expensive, so choose wisely...however, the free options during the day are wonderful as well.  We chose to just use the daily performances for our viewing and spent our monies on a Horse & Carriage ride (as per request of Little Munchkin) Again, although it is great fun to dress up and tour the houses, etc...it can get long for children under 6...so we made sure to include things that our youngest could look forward to. 

*Must sees in Williamsburg:

Everard House:  this is the house that Felicity's movie is based on.

Wythe House: this is a house that Elizabeth might have lived in. The backyard has basketmaking and chickens:)

Geddy House: based on the Mary Geddy book, the girls loved when they recognized rooms, etc

Prentis Store: fun place to purchase trinkets, but know that they sell many of the same things at the visitor center

Governor's Palace: the tour is long, but once you get to the ball rooms, you feel transported back in time and then you step into the gardens...the girls got lost in the Maze...it was wonderful..

be sure to roam the palace green too...often they have fun games to play, oxen to see, horses & gentlemen to speak with, etc...

Charleton CoffeeHouse:  this is a new addition since 2009 and it was probably my favorite...we interacted with the "tourguide" who was "from that time period" and enjoyed a cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa (depending on your preference) from the old recipes...the hot cocoa was a huge difference from what we are used to and the girls got a kick out of it.

We saw pretty much everything, but those were our favorites...the apothocary and millinery shops are fun too...again, just listing the "top" things for us...

Some extras you may not know about:

*There is a huge tree to climb in behind the Magazine...we passed the time climbing all through this with the girls and it gave them some opportunity to get out some energy.

*Kiddy corner to the Capitol, out back behind the bakery there is a shaded presentation area...hardly anyone goes there and it's a great place to stop and have a picnic lunch. Everytime we've gone they've been working on excavation, so that's been really interesting to watch...

*The Mount overlooking the Maze behind the Governor's Palace is a great place to have lunch as well...it's the original "ice house".  It's shaded and beautiful and then you can watch the kiddos run around the maze after they finish eating.

I'll be posting more pictures on facebook if you are friends with me there...As the week goes on I'll share with you our experience at Jamestown, Mt. Vernon and D.C. as well...it was a fun-filled week with the girls!

See you soon!

Hello? Anyone home?

We floated into May...or maybe we swam, sailed, or rowed...either way, it's been a WET ride getting here.  I suppose I could lament about the never-ending rain, the mud puddles and the hundreds of dead worms that are scattered across my driveway...I could also insert a couple of "choice" words to explain how I feel about the plethera of dandelions that have exploded in our yard due to the influx of rain as well...but, we all know how I feel about that and needless to say, the battle has already begun...

Ah, but here we are in May...in this chipper 50 degree soggy weather...do I sound a bit "sarcastic" about it?  I believe that would be because I AM!  Don't get me wrong...the rain IS making all my lettuces, sugar peas and potatoes sprout up...and I've NEVER in my life seen my oregano come up as an entire BUSH of herbs, and yet, there it be!...

At the same time, I'm itchin' to get outside and not be splashed up the backside with mud...I want to play ball with my Little Munchkin and push her on the swing with out having to slosh myself to the swing set...I'd like to actually don a pair of capris and not get goosebumps and have to carry an umbrella every where I go...

And so my time has been spent editing photos (you can pop over to CTPhotoMems to see the latest shoots), and working on "stuff" for my photography class coming in June...it's also been spent reading books whilst I'm supposed to be researching for our upcoming trip to Williamsburg and D.C....did I forget to mention that we're heading there soon? 

whooops...I suppose I haven't been around much and therefore, have left you all in the dark...

Nevis, Easter and the Royal Wedding came and went and not even a peep from me...although, I COULD go on and on about the Royal Wedding, cuz I LOVE me some royals!  but, I will spare you my lengthy opinions on her dress, the readings, the fascinators and all things Fergie & Camilla:)  I will let you know that my girls got out my wedding dress on that day and proceeded to parade around the family room...I sent a picture to my hubby who directly responded with, "are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

So...in between my speed reading of historical fiction romance novels that really do nothing other than suck me into a nether world in the midst of the soggy outdoors...we are planning our trip, gathering our colonial dresses and sewing more aprons...picking up books from the library and getting our ipods ready with books on Cd...

this is our 2nd trip to VA and we're looking forward to some familiar spots...but I'd welcome any other suggestions for must sees if you care to share:)

Stay dry!

I made soup...woohoo for me!

My mom will be the first to pipe in to the fact that I was no help in the kitchen growing up...

NONE..

Whatsoever...

Let's put it this way, I opted to clean the toilets in our house rather than help in the kitchen...there was just something about that leftover food floating around in the sink...ewwww...

I know..

Let us not discuss the IRONY of that statement...

the point of the matter:  I was not a Miss Holly Homemaker in the kitchen...

Fast forward a few years and I find myself married, with children and an overwhelming desire for them to eat healthy AND nourish my family on a budget...this is now my "JOB", and being the perfectionist that I am, I make myself figure out how to do things that I normally wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole (if I actually owned or have every seen such a thing)

Okay...so I use all this as a preface to the fact that I made a Ham Hock Soup today...at least that's what all the google recipes called it. 

I won't mention the fact that after I had simmered the ham bone for about 3 hours in a pot of water, onions, celery, garlic cloves and a pinch of salt, I failed to remove the ham from the bone...to which my husband said when he arrived home and looked into the strained broth to which I had added carrots, white beans and some other spices & parmesan cheese, "Um, honey, where is the ham?" 

I replied that I had to cut up the leftover ham from the fridge and I hoped we had enough...

"Well, sweetie, how about if you just take the ham off the bone since the meat will practically fall off now that it's simmered so long?"

*silence*

"Oh," I answered...and with my tail between my legs I managed to work my way over to the discarded ham bone and remove over 2 cups of the shredded ham meat from the bone...

How I wish I would have paid more attention as a young girl...

I am proud to say that the soup DID turn out quite delicious and that my girls actually ate it once I added in some homestyle noodles and smothered some more parmesan cheese on top.

I have enough "broth" to make about 2 more soups, for heaven's sakes...but I guess that will come with more practice and experience...

until then, I'm still perfecting my toilet cleaning skills and I must say that Q-tips are a must!

'nuf said!

Au Natural...

I'm attempting to get back into my exercising groove...

Perhaps that's putting it on a bit too strong...it's more like an exercising ice rink or maybe I could refer to it as an exercising slide 'n' slide...basically, what I'm saying is that there are NO grooves to speak of...

I'm just trying to keep the little pooch at bay...sorta...although I'm not really depriving myself of my soda, coffee, chocolate or anything else that tickles my fancy...

the point of the matter is that I tried running again this morning...ran a whole 24 minutes before I flat out ripped that cord out of the treadmill, sat down, and continued my total engrossment in the wedding coverage of William & Kate...I love me some good royalty!!! 

During my "exercise-craze" I happened upon a commercial about a hair shampoo that is supposedly the next best thing next to Sunchips and whoever invented the Cadbury egg...well, I would beg to differ on that, but I listened intently just in case...they kept talking about the natural ingredients, the natural cleansing, the natural non-stripping of your hair...the natural research...good grief, by the time they were done, I needed myself some freshly squeezed orange juice and home made bread! All this talk of "natural" at the LOW LOW cost of $50 for a 30 day supply...I decided that I could probably come up with some "au natural" way to wash my own hair...

You know me...gotta "make it myself"...

Therefore, I rummaged through my baking supplies until I located some vinegar and baking soda...I use THAT for cleaning all the time...

so, what the heck...it couldn't do THAT much damage if I used it on my hair...and so I tried using a big glob of baking soda to cleanse my hair this morning...I proceeded to put my regular conditioner on afterwards...I gotta tell ya...it worked some wonders...my hair turned out shiny and smooth...

And all this for the EXPENSIVE cost of $1.60 for a box of baking soda! 

Moving on from my "natural" finds...I discovered that sometimes it IS beneficial to use more tactical and technical procedures in order to produce a positive outcome...

You see, 1 of my 2 external hard drives decided that it didn't want to work any more...For those not understanding what that means...basically, an external hard drive is like a file cabinet for me...but it wouldnt' allow the computer to open file cabinet drawers...This is a BIG problem seeing as I hadn't completed copying and backing up ALL the files just yet...And, I had just downloaded a bunch of pictures from photo shoots and our trip to Nevis...

I tried all the things you'd normally do...turn everything off, boot up again...unplug and try different sockets...disconnect and reconnect...NOTHING worked...

So, then I dug into the realms of my deeply experienced, technically advanced mind and decided to try a very precise technique...

I smacked that sucker silly and then dropped it from a fairly high point onto my desk in pure frustration!!!

WA-LA...

It started running again and I was able to copy what I needed before it kicked the bucket! 

I'm thinking that "au natural" is the way of the future people!!!

Your Flight has been Confirmed...well, okay...maybe not...

So, we made it home...no tsunamis, no hurricanes, no plane crashes, no food poisoning, no breaking of bones or emergency trips back home, and no tropical plague of unknown origin...

Yes, I'm bit paranoid, but let's just put that all behind us and say, "sigh...what a wonderful trip!"

It WAS wonderful...I had no idea WHERE Nevis, West Indies was when I first heard of this destination, but I figured it had to be on the globe somewhere.  It's about as big as a point of a needle, but that had no bearing on it's beauty.

And, let's face it...when you have accomodations like this:

Can you really complain?  Who would want to?  It's like being treated like royalty...while you're still in your cargo shorts and sweaty tee-shirt!! 

The 3 full days we spent there were filled with beautiful sunrises, long walks through tropical trees and a gorgeous golf course, making faces at monkeys, taking a historical tour around the island, getting a relaxing massage, spending lots of time by the pools, being served coconut sorbet poolside, enjoying delicious foods and even sampling SEAfood and actually LIKING it, slipping in a game of tennis (for my hubby) and NOT doing p90x AT ALL...

now THAT, my friends, is what I call Vacation!!!

I plan to post lots of pictures in the days to come, but (as I will explain in few moments) my "time" has been spent other "places" of late and so the majority of the images that will tantalize all your senses, will have to wait just a few days more...

You see...as we rode the ferry across the waters from Nevis to St. Kitts in order to catch our flight to the states...besides forgetting the sunblock on this little exhibition and allowing the sun to fry many upon many of my skin cells on my forehead and shoulders, we also were failed to be notified that our plane which was supposed to take off at 1pm, was now delayed until 6:30pm...

Hmmmm...this would mean that we would consequently miss our connecting flight back home to the arms of my wee girls awaiting Mommy & Daddy's arrival...

I gulped down my disappointment and we all made the best of it...hanging out at the Marriott on St. Kitts, sipping Pepsi and munching on M-n-Ms while watching others all clad in tiny swimsuits parading around the pools without a care in the world...We eventually made our way back to the airport, which I can only describe as a one room sweat factory for disgruntled travelers where we all watched news reports of tornadoes ripping through the country back home (which, I can tell you did WONDERS for calming my nerves) and reruns from America's Funniest Home videos...

I did get to take in a nice edited version of The King's Speech during our flight, trying to drown out the wretched noises that my stomach started to make midflight....

If you know me well, you know that I also "come alive" in the evenings...which can be translated to being a tad "slap-happy"...I thought it my duty to announce to everyone that we had arrived and notify my fellow passengers that due to the late night arrival, our time through customs may be lengthened a bit seeing as there were maybe 2 officers on duty as the people came off the plane in droves...they eventually got the hint and called more people into action...we got through quickly, but our night was far from over...

At this point, taking over 600 photographs in a 3 day span, I did not unearth my camera from my baggage, although looking back, I wish I had...because I need to be reminded of God's protection as I basically handed over my life to a NY taxi driver at 1am who felt it necessary to RACE all the other taxicabs in our party to our hotel destination...

I want to point out a few things I learned: 1) there are no air bags in the back seat 2) do not speak to a driver while riding, allow them all the concentration needed to STAY ON THE ROAD 3) getting there faster does not cost less...

Our driver did not go under 80mph through out the speed limited areas from JFK to LaGuardia airports...we "were" 3rd in line, but we arrived at the hotel, checked in and were sitting down WAITING before the rest of our party showed up. 

At which time the "situation" occuring in the "nether-regions" decided to make themselves known...and at this point I will stop with the explanations as I'm sure the "vivid details" will disgust you and will do no more to service this post than gross you out...put it plainly...I spent the entire night in the "lavatory" whilst trying not to awaken my husband.  I prayed that I could keep everything else...whatever else was left...INSIDE while on the plane, at least until we landed...which, praise the Lord, was possible...

Although, I'm positive that God was just blessing the other passengers as much as myself in that situation!

The "getting on the plane" was yet another fiasco in and of itself, as we found ourselves without a confirmed reservation of a return flight even though we were assured that would be the case once we checked in at the LaG. airport...no offense to teenage employees, but I will say that our "young" apprentice in St.Kitts may move her fingers fast over the keys, but the screen was out of our viewing sight and so I can only assume she was playing PacMan or Angry Birds rather than securing us some seats...However, nothing a nice long wait in a ticketing line at 6:15 in the morning won't remedy! 

Needless to say, we DID get a flight and we arrived safely.  I even made it to yet another bathroom...I have had the opportunity to see many 'a "toilette" in airports of late...and we drove home. 

We had a wonderful time, spent some time with some incredible friends on the trip and though I was anxious to wrap my arms around my girls, it was a little bittersweet to say goodbye to "CaCa" and Cyndi. 

Once we picked the girls up from school, fed them lunch, gave them their presents and made them sit through all our 600 pictures...Mommy headed herself upstairs with Little Munchkin to attempt to sleep off whatever "nervous" problem was attacking her digestive system...

And, as I am now feeling a bit better...we're still not completely out of the "woods"...but it is good to be home once again...and so I leave you with this, fairly "appropriate" picture taken while on one of our morning walks searching for monkeys...I will tell you, that after seeing this, we knew we were close on their tails!

Struggling...

Why is it that when I want to be the most patient...the most attentive...the most in tune with my children...

THAT'S the time I 'bout bite their sweet little heads off?  That's the moment I get angry over the fact that things didn't go my way...that's the situation where the other child is screaming from the top of the steps over something that really doesn't matter much, but I still have to stop what I'm doing to rectify the problem...

WHY do I struggle so much with this?  I know what I want to be...I know how I want to respond and yet I constantly battle my emotions of impatience and frustration and annoyance.

WHY do I struggle with realizing that these moments are just seasons...fleeting...I won't remember the dried up play dough ground into my carpet in 10 years...I probably won't remember it in 2 days with the way my memory works...

but OH, I just get so frustrated with myself...my lack of perspective sometimes...

These are days we are given...these are the moments we get to choose to cherish or throw away...these are the times that we can choose to be a mom who shows them how to handle life with quiet strength and grace OR how to throw an adult temper tantrum because the dishes are still in the sink and I haven't been able to even go to the bathroom yet this morning b/c everyone seems to NEED me RIGHT NOW!

I WANT to do better...I WANT to be a wife that my husband likes to be around b/c I can take things in stride and bring laughter to the table...I WANT to be a mommy that is fun, that knows when it's time to be serious, but does it with gentleness and patience...

I NEED to be better at this...I NEED to work harder and cause my heart to think on things that matter instead of what just "has to get done"...

Another great blog by Miss Ann  Helped me once again gain a better view of my little world inside this house...

Italian Stallion and I are leaving soon for our trip...I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I do have "fear" where anything concerning leaving my children in the care of others, is concerned...I could give you a list a mile long with all my "what ifs"...but, as we get closer, God ALWAYS does this for me...He reminds me that my Italian Stallion was my first "gift" when He made our family...I get so caught up in mommy-dom that I often forget that...the children often come "first"...because, can you really put off the potty when they're squeezing their little legs and bouncing around the room?  I think not! 

It's a whole balancing act, this life...of being wife and mommy...friend and mentor...teacher and student...I haven't figured it out...I don't know if anyone ever does, but I do find some people closer than others...and I'm watching and learning...

Though I have blown it more than once this past week in our preparations for the trip...blown it with my kids (see above) AND with my husband...I am trying to take each day and remember it is a gift and try to LIVE IN THE DAY with them...not 2 weeks ahead of schedule, not lingering on what I wish would've happened...but, living right now...trying to enjoy...taking deep breaths when I want to scream...cuddling when I want to be alone...

Small victories...I will be content with that for now...

It Has Begun...

The fact that I could actually go outside without a down jacket today just made me smile...

and that I didn't need to wear layers of wool and turtlenecks that cause me to sweat profuesly from my armpits...it's a known fact that I have "issues" with perspiration...I don't think I can claim the name "perspiration" for my "condition"... it's more like sweating buckets...and with the availability to wear sleeveless shirts possibly upon us...well, I'm just happy!

We also took the opportunity today to plant our "spring" garden...It's really just the "garden", but we plant the spring stuff...like potatoes, onions, carrots, sugar daddy peas, lettuces and spinach...

We all got out there after Daddy got the rotatiller goin' and started with our planting...I don't claim to have a green thumb, nor do I claim to actually know a ton about gardening...we basically just try it and hope it grows...

This fact was proven today when, after planting 30 potato plants, I came back inside a little skeptical at what I had just done...or rather, what I had just taught my daughters to do...

I'm sure my best friend from college will appreciate this (sorry sweet friend to call you out:) b/c at one time she taught her entire class of elementary school students how to draw a rainbow...BACKWARDS...

Oh  yes, they all had drawings starting at the top with violet...she taught them V.I.B. G. Y.O.R  instead of Roy G Biv...

And that's kinda what I did today with the potato planting...sorta...

As I said, I don't claim to actually know what I'm doing...I'm not sure what we ever did without google at our finger tips...b/c surely I wouldn't have driven out to the nearest library and searched out the card catalog for books on potatoes...

Apparantly, my long term memory is about as good bad as my short term...b/c I couldn't remember which way to put the spuds in the ground once I cut them..this after a whole 12 months after I had done it last year AND the year before...

I put them cut side up...WRONG!

After watching 3 "DIY" type videos from google and youtube, I had to march back out to the garden, dig up what I had just planted and RE-plant it all...oh well...

My Italian Stallion had such encouraging words when I came back inside, "Ya know, it makes sense to plant it with the eyes up...I mean, that's where the plant is coming from." 

WOW...thanks for that insight dear...AFTER the fact!

Anyway...it's all in the ground now...we'll be harvesting some yummy stuff come the end of June, beginning of July and ready to start more summer veggies in their place.