Disney World

So, I have been a bad blogger.  I just haven't blogged in a while!  So here are a few posts.  We went to Disney World in August.  It was HOT!  I don't recommend going at that time of year.  It's just way too HOT!  We had a good time none the less, but wow, was it HOT!  Nathan, loved the characters and wasn't shy about hugging them, kissing them and sucking on their noses! 

Noah with his hands in George Lucas' handprints, in front of The Great Movie Ride, at MGM.

Madison celebrated her birthday in Orlando. She wanted to spend the day at Blizzard Beach, one of Disney's Water Parks.  It was a good idea.  We should have done that everyday!  It was so refreshing!  Did I mention that it was HOT in Flordia?

At Disney's Animal Kingdom we got rained poured on!  It was a drenching, soaking rain.  We went from burning up to freezing!  I took this photo on our way out.  They are soaked as you can see.  We had to head back to the hotel so we could change.  There was no way we could continue on in our current condition.  The kids enjoyed playing in the puddles, so it was some good entertainment.

Nathan loved the carousel, this was fortunate, since the wait is nothing, and he went on it several times.  We actually didn't wait any longer than 30 minutes for any ride.  We used the fast pass for the ones with longer waits, and the rest were short waits.  I guess everyone else was either in school, or already new that it was just too HOT!   :-)

Jamestown

Nathan did have these in a bowl, but you see how effective that was.  He loves to eat those Gerber puffs!

We first went to the Jamestown National park.  Where the actual colony was.  Then we went to the Jamestown settlement, where they have made a replica of an indian village and the Jamestown settlement.  They also have replicas of the ships they came over on.  Everything was very hands on, the kids really loved it!

Nathan loved the state flag display at the Jamestown settlement.  The winds were crazy that day so they were really blowing!  He was amazed!

This is a bit out of sequence. We stopped and saw these horses near our hotel before going to Jamestown.  I however, can't get the photos to move any further up in this blog post.

The kids brought the horse apples.  The horses and the kids were thrilled!  We actually allowed them to do this one more time, they enjoyed it so much.  I will admit I was reluctant to allow this.  Mike was the one that thought it would be okay.  I was afraid feeding someone's horse might not be such a good idea.  All went well though.

This is the replica Indian village.  The kids had a blast here.  The girls each picked out at hut for their house and pretended to be Indian girls.

Here you could pick up and oyster shell and help scrap off the fur, leaving the hide behind.  The kids all tried it out.

Noah is making a bone into a tool used to poke holes through the hide to make clothing.

Here you can see a little better what he is doing.  You rub the bone back and forth in the sand to file it into a sharp point.

Here is a shot of the inside of the hut.  They had them full of things to play with.

Proof that I was there!

Grace with an Indian fan of feathers.

Madison laying on the fur beds in the Indian hut.

The small crosses in the ground mark the spot where some of the original colonist to Jamestown were buried.  Many died in the first few months of being there.  It is believed they arrived, unfortunately, in the middle of a drought.  They called it the "starving time". They buried these colonist inside the walls of their settlement so the Indians wouldn't see how weak they had become.  These people were some brave folks to come to America! 

You can see the impression of a knight in the stone.  This marks the grave of a knight that was buried under the floor of the alter of this church at the colony of Jamestown.

The windows over the alter in the church.  The ten commandments hang on the right and left of the alter.

Below the glass here is the original foundation of the church.

Here you can see the small graveyard around the church.

A photo of a Pocahontas statue at Jamestown.

The replicas of the ships the colonist would have come over on.  It's amazing when you see just how small they are.  They spent 2 months, at least on these!

Noah in the captains quarters. Here is where the course was plotted and checked.

You can see the route they had to take took them far to the south and then up to where they finally landed.  They had to go this way in order to use the currents and winds to make it there.

Noah on deck.

The boys below deck.

The girls in a bunk.

Trying on the armor in Jamestown.

They are ready for a fight!

Nathan checking out the armor.

We watched as they told us all about the weapons they would have had at their disposal.  We could watch them fire one off that day.  The winds were to strong to safely discharge a weapon.

They displayed the Nicene creed, along with the ten commandments in their church at Jamestown. The colonist would have attended services twice a day.

This "doctor" at Jamestown had a lot of things to teach about their medical practices of that time.  Noah loved it!  He spent most of his time at Jamestown asking this guy questions.

Evening in Williamsburg

 We decided to take the kids to Williamsburg and Jamestown for President's Day weekend.  Mike was there for the week for a conference, so we drove down Friday night for the 3 day weekend.  The weather was unseasonably warm Friday night, so we quickly unloaded our stuff into the hotel room and drove into Williamsburg to explore.  The kids really enjoyed walking through the town.  I enjoyed the weather, it was just beautiful!

 "W"  hand signs for Williamsburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madison in her cute new outfit.

We tried to eat here Sunday night.  We were seated and then looked at the menu.  Big mistake not looking before making a reservation!  It was so expensive!!  Over 30 dollars a main course, not to include any sides, etc.  The kids meal was 10 dollars!  We bailed!  I used Nathan as my excuse.  We said he was too fussy to stay.  We had been sitting down for about 5 minutes or more and no one had even taken a drink order or said hello.  We decided it was for the best, we'd probably have spent well over 100 dollars and had slow service and a fussy, unhappy baby.  No thanks!

I love this shot, nothing special about the photography, just love watching them walk hand in hand.

Noah posing by a barrel.

The kids liked posing for pictures here.

The kids liked listening to this guy play his tin whistle.

Nathan really likes riding in the backpack.  He was just smiling and talking to himself back there. There was so much to see!

Grace posing for a photo in front of an old door.

I loved taking photos of the old gates, lamp posts, signs, doors, etc.

I had Mike take a quick photo of me, to prove I was in fact there.

Madison on the red carpet!

Grace on the red carpet!

Yes, even Noah on the red carpet!

The kids with Thomas Jefferson.

  We ate pizza after our walk through town, and then headed back to the car.  Nathan feel asleep walking back. He was tired from all the day's activity.

This is a fuzzy shot of the moon.  It was so pretty and full.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  You'll have to take my word for it.  It was just lovely.