Colonial Williamsburg–Days 1 and 2

Last week our family headed to Virginia to spend the week with my parents in Williamsburg. We’d been anticipating this trip for months. This trip was really the first sightseeing type vacation we’d ever done with the kids.

To prepare for the trip, we listened to all of the American Girl Felicity books on CD. (We listened to them during our car ride for our camping trip). Then in the weeks after that we watched the Felicity movie and checked out some of the Felicity go-along books from the library. Rosemary also watched a video about the founding of America and some of the videos on the Colonial Williamsburg website, history.org.

Quite honestly, the Felicity books were the best way to get the kids ready for the trip. We wanted them to have a general idea about what the American Revolution was and the Felicity stories presented the reasons behind the war in a pretty easy to understand way that really held their interest. And since they are set in Williamsburg, there were some sites that they had heard about in the books that they looked forward to seeing in real life.

Day 1

We were in the car by 6:50am and on our way north.

On the way, we listened to Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. While set in Boston, it was another good way to get ready for the trip as there were multiple references made to Lexington and Concord, Samuel Adams, the closed port of Boston, and such that we heard while in Williamsburg. Jonathan and I really enjoyed this story, too. I’m sure some of the themes went over our kids’ heads, but for the most part it got us excited about what we would be seeing and learning in the next week. We were so into that story that it made the drive up seem quite short.

We only stopped three times on the way. Our kids travel pretty well and it was great driving weather.

We stopped for a bite of lunch at Burger King

Charlotte was happy to be out of the car for a bit.

We made it to Williamsburg in time to have dinner at the condo with my parents. I don’t have any photos of where we stayed, but it was beautiful. We had two units at The Historic Powhatan Resort and we all had plenty of space. It was just a short drive to the Visitor’s Center each day.

Day 2

We took our time getting ready in the morning, then headed over to get our tickets at the Visitor’s Center. Mom and Dad had gotten theirs the previous day. After we picked up our tickets, we watched Williamsburg: the Story of a Patriot, the orientation film.

When the film was over, the older kids and my parents caught a bus for Merchant Square and Jonathan and I walked over with Charlotte in the stroller.

We met up at The Cheese Shop for lunch. Jonathan and I first ate at The Cheese Shop when we visited Williamsburg for our one year anniversary in 2004. Every time we go now, we eat there at least twice during the visit. It is SO good.

Ben, our little Patriot. We bought this hat for him in Philadelphia earlier this year and it came in handy for this trip, too.

Rosemary’s hat is almost 20 years old. My parents bought it for me when I was 13 and I’ve kept it. They still sell ones remarkably similar to that one in the historic area today.

And our sweet little Charlotte. She spent much of her time in her stroller or outside of buildings with one of us waiting for the rest of us to come out. She was such a trooper and did great.

After lunch, we went through the Merchant Square shops then Mom and I stopped by the grocery on our way back to the condo. We planned to eat most of the dinners at the condo using the crock pot.

That night, we ate dinner and relaxed then got everyone in bed. We planned to be up early to head over to Colonial Williamsburg the next morning.

Breakfast Date with Ben

A couple weekends ago, Ben and I went out to breakfast together while Jonathan stayed home with the girls. I had a great time hanging out with just Ben. We enjoyed a pancake breakfast at Beef O’Brady’s (a fundraiser for Westwood Middle School) then made a few stops before heading home. The night before, Jonathan and Rosemary had gone to the planetarium.

Natural History Museum Field Trip

The girls and I went on our first co-op field trip of the year to the Natural History Museum at the end of September. Ben was in school so it was just the three of us that met up with some other families from our co-op.

Showing off some of the butterflies.

The older kids.

Charlotte spent most of the trip pretty content in the stroller, but she was happy to be out for a bit in the Discovery Room.

First Day of Daisies

Rosemary went back to Daisies this week.

Rosemary was so excited to get back together with all of her friends.

Finally, all of the kids’ activities are underway. We are ready to get into the routine of our year.

First Co-op of the Year

Our homeschool co-op is studying life science this year. Our first lesson was on seeds and roots. I didn’t get too many pictures, but I snapped a few.

We have 15 families in our group this year; with 25 elementary aged kids and about 16 preschoolers. It’s been fun to watch the group come together and we’re looking forward to what we learn this year and the friendships that are made.

And a random thing that we learned after the co-op meeting was that pinto beans that you buy at the grocery store will indeed sprout. We had soaked them overnight so that the kids could open them up easily to look inside the seed and Rosemary took the extra ones that had soaked and planted them in some soil. A few days later, they had sprouted. We were quite surprised.

Soccer Games and Practices

We’re in the thick of Ben’s soccer season. I think Ben is really having fun. Some nights it takes him a bit to get warmed up, but once he’s in, he does great. Jonathan is so encouraging for him.

Ready for his first game. He’s a Red Raider.

On the field with his big sister.

During the game

Devo and snack time after the game

During one practice night they had team pics. The boys wore black for their photo, which seems strange to me since they’re the Red Raiders, but ah well.

Rosemary did her 20 minutes of ‘fun’ reading while we watched.

And since he had a meeting right after practice, Jonathan enjoyed some pizza. Dinners have been tough for me since games fall right during dinner time. Finally I’m just using the crock pot to get us through these weeks.

Another game…he’s #8.

Getting ready to throw the ball in

Enjoying snacks

Grandma W made it to one of the games last week. We grabbed a bite at Sonny’s before she headed home. Ben loved having an extra fan at his game.

A Very Austen Baby Gift

My brother and his wife welcomed Isabella Cecelia into their family this summer. I finally sent them their gift.

A Pride and Prejudice board book (it ends with 10,000 pounds a year…it’s so funny) and an Austen onesie. One of my favorite gifts to make ever.

Ben’s First Day of Pre-Kindergarten

Ben started back to school when we got back from camping. He’s going just 3 days a week this year. And he was very excited to head back.

Ben picked a couple of hibiscus flowers for his teachers. Mrs. H sweetly tucked hers behind her ear. He went in like a champ this year too.

Camping in North Georgia 2012

We once again headed north to camp over the long Labor Day weekend. After meeting Ben’s new preschool teachers, we came home to pack up then head to Elizabeth and Joel’s for the night.

We always feel so welcome there.

Rosemary, Grandma P, and Oliver

Ben and Ian

Charlotte was enamored with Oliver.

She kept wanting to kiss and hug him.

After a great pancake breakfast, we loaded up and headed to Helen, Georgia and stopped at Hofer’s.

We’ve been enough now that pretty much everyone other than Charlotte has a favorite they look forward to eating.

From Hofer’s, we headed to Unicoi where we’d be camping through the weekend. We try to get there right around when the sites open and most year’s we’re the first ones there. This year was different and a lot of sites were already taken so we got the two that were next to each other. We started setting up then Janice and I headed to Cleveland to get our groceries for the weekend. The Ingles we shopped in had a Starbucks right inside the doors. It was quite an enjoyable grocery trip.

We have a new first meal of any camp weekend, rotisserie chicken and store-bought pre-made sides. It made that first evening at the campground so much easier.

That night we went to the community campfire and roasted marshmallows for s’mores. Rosemary met a little girl who was also in first grade and enjoyed playing with her a bit. Then we headed back to the campsite and soon were in bed.

The next morning we got ready and headed over to Anna Ruby Falls.

Charlotte enjoying the campsite before we loaded up.

Rosemary found a butterfly before we headed up the trail.

Charlotte enjoyed her ride on daddy’s back

The entire hike up is paved

Enjoying the falls

At one of the lookouts

The whole gang

Sweet boy

Sweet girl

Anna Ruby Falls

Rosemary and Grandma P

By the time we got back to the visitor’s center, Charlotte was asleep.

After our hike, we headed to the camp for some lunch.

During lunch, it started to rain. Thank goodness for the dining canopy, umbrellas, and tarps!

Ben and Rosemary watching the rain.

Our campsites started to puddle up, so Janice and Jonathan dug trenches to drain the water. They came in handy as this wasn’t the only bit of rain we got.

Later we went on a hike around the frog pond then headed to a session on snakes. Both Rosemary and Ben touched the albino corn snake. At first Rosemary said she wasn’t going to touch a snake, but she did.

Enjoying time with Grandma. Little Charlotte was so busy around the campsite, but truly she did well even though naps were really tough. Right before dinner, Janice and I took the kids to a leaf rubbing activity while Jonathan got the fire going.

For dinner we attempted aluminum foil packet meals over the coals. They turned out great! We used ground beef, canned mixed veggies, cream of chicken soup, some garlic, and a seasoning that Janice brought. So good. And the clean up could not be beat! We’ll add these into our camp meal list for future trips. We even used the same foil method the next night for our baked beans and carrots.

After dinner we went to the lodge to hear some music. We stayed for a bit, but as it was getting late we headed back to the campsite to get everyone ready for bed.

The kids needed baths that night. Charlotte and Ben got theirs in the tub we brought from home. Rosemary took a shower the next morning because she couldn’t fit in the tub. (About five years ago we bathed Rosemary in a five gallon bucket at Unicoi).

The next day we got up and headed to breakfast at the lodge.

Down by the creek with Grandma before heading to breakfast. There was a little creek beside Janice and Richard’s site that the kids enjoyed playing in.

Enjoying the meal

They decided to pose exactly alike for the pic

Two of my favorite guys

After breakfast, we headed into Helen for a bit.

Heading into town

Enjoying some treats from the fudge shop

And before heading back, we stopped at Hofer’s…again. This time we all got something different.

This was some cupcake…and it was thoroughly enjoyed.

When we got back, Jonathan and Janice took the kids to the lake to swim. Shortly after they came back as we were getting dinner ready, the heavens opened again and the rain hit. We managed to get most everything covered, including the fire so we still ate our roasted hot dogs, baked beans, and carrots. We didn’t cook a single thing on the camp stove the entire trip.

Jonathan and Richard added a tarp to the end of the dining canopy. As it was getting late and the rain showed no sign of stopping, Jonathan and Richard devised a plan to fashion a large tarp over our two tents as they’d been leaking a bit from the earlier rain. So in the middle of a downpour the two of them tied up the tarp; Jonathan bear climbing up a tree to do so. But it made a difference. As a result we were dry through the very rainy night.

In the downpour.

Sleeping snuggly. Although the night before this one, Rosemary had stolen Ben’s sleeping bag in the night and put it on the other side of the tent while she was asleep. Ben came over and woke me up looking for his sleeping bag. Rosemary found it up by her head.

With the rain likely lasting through the next day (remnants of Hurricane Isaac), we decided that we would head out a day early so in the morning we began packing up.

Rosemary with her new friend, Ariel. Her family ended up spending the night at the lodge to get out of the rain the night before.

While we loaded up the camp site, Charlotte spent the morning quite content in her pack and play. I think she was tired of getting dirty and it really made packing up much easier.

On our way out, we headed over to Dahlonega to enjoy lunch at the Smith House before driving home.

A standard pic of Rosemary.

Grandpa and Charlotte

Charlotte with Grandpa and Grandma

Hands up! (A game that Charlotte gets us all to play at the dinner table) And enjoying the good Smith House food.

The mine shaft in the Smith House

Then on our way out the kids wanted their photos taken with this little chef.

And a quick visit with the scarecrows out front.

From there we loaded up and headed home. We hit rain on the way back so it took a bit longer than expected but we made it.

Back home. Late. And everyone was passed out.

I’m not a huge camper, but we did have a great time on this trip. I know Jonathan looks forward to it every year and so do our kids and because they have fun, I have fun too.

A few past camping trips:

Unicoi 2007

Vogel 2009

Standing Indian 2010

Vogel 2011