Dad the Doofus

CRCT (School test for Jacob and Layne) all week, so we've been getting up at a decent time, and getting the kids some breakfast.  This morning it was my turn, I whipped up some scrambled eggs and sausage, and actually did a pretty good job of it.  Kids ate, I showered, kids left for testing, I took Joshua to school.  A very smooth morni   ...not so fast.  What seemed like clock work was in fact a catastrophic nightmare waiting to be unleashed.  Luckily nothing happened (hence an actual post), but I "Dad the Doofus" left the burner on.... all day long.

Layne had soccer practice and I took the boys to dinner then played basketball at the church.  Jennifer and the kids got home around 7:15 to a house full of gas.  So, the kids are sleeping at Jack and Judy's while the house airs out.  We do seem to have attracted some wonderful critters with the open windows and lights on inside the house.  They are welcomed to stay as long the house doesn't blow up.

I cannot believe I was so dumb.  I get on the kids all the time about turning stuff off, yeah, remember the water faucet back in February.  Luckily this had a better out come.

Easter Weekend

Just something down so I can edit later.

Webe 2

He made it, and not kicking and screaming.  Jacob is an official Webelo 2 now, and I really think he is proud of his accomplishments.  He is seriously talking about trying to get the super achiever (earning all the possible activity badges).  All the scouts had ceremonial face painting, but the Webelos had it taken to another level.  Way to go Jacob!  He also lost a tooth in the middle of the cub scout pack meeting, that boy and his teeth.

Get Something Done Sunday

Well after yesterday, we needed to actually get something done today, and we did.  Took a while to get started, but got the "spikey  balls" raked up in the yard.  Layne was a big help with this.  Then I mowed the grass twice and really cropped it short.  You can't even tell the yard is infested with weeds.  It was looking so bad, probably the worst it's looked since we bought the house.  Got to get some fertilizer and weed killer put down.  Luckily I took an allergy pill or I don't think I would have survived being outside.  We also got some laundry done, of course there's plenty left to do, but that's true everyday.

Jennifer and Wendy went to dinner for Jennifer's birthday and I took the kids to get some wings.  Layne can put away some wings, and she's really eating them now, not just the skins like she used to do.

Layne and Jacob are both still awake as I type this, it's 11:30 pm, gonna make for a rough morning.

Loungy Saturday

The kids and Jennifer were tired from their whirlwind trip and I was tired from bathroom cleaning (and maybe some late night xbox gaming).  We all slept in today.  Jennifer was the last one up and seeing as she wasn't home for her birthday, the kids and I made her a simple breakfast in bed and gave her her birthday cards, them promptly left so she could actually enjoy it.

I took the kids to Pirate's Cove Putt Putt and gave Jennifer some deserved alone time.  The kids had seen a putt putt course in Virginia and really wanted to play.  Jacob and Layne both did really well, they each had a hole in one.  Joshua did great for the first twelve or so holes, and by then he'd had enough.  He had fun just being on the course and seeing all the pirate stuff.

A quick lunch and back home only to have the kids mope around and complain about being bored.  So it was back out and this time to Ocee Park for an hour or so.  Then back home a long walk to Primrose where this discovered "Helicopters".  Not sure what they are really called, but those winged seeds that come off of trees, you throw them up and they spin like a helicopter as the float  back down.  We now have an entire collection for future tosses in the air.

Jacob and Joshua are upstairs watching "Tangled" for the fifth time this week, and Layne and Jennifer are watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding",  Layne had seen part of it while Jennifer was packing and enjoyed, it was on tv, so they get to watch it from the beginning.

Colonial Williamsburg - Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Shew each day is longer than the one before...

We started our day at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center.  We bought tickets for a Tavern Ghost Tour for Thursday evening.  We thought about taking a carriage ride - but it wasn't a very long carriage ride and it was $12.00 per person - so I decided against that suggestion.

We took the bridge walkway into the Colonial Village.  Every few feet there was a plaque that took you back in time.  Each decade identified how life was different.

It was a long walk, though.  Early on we decided that we would take the bus back to the Visitor's Center.

At the end of our walk we reached our destination.  The Children's Gatehouse where there was a 30-minute Family Orientation Walk.

We saw lots of items in the Children's Gatehouse.

We saw an outfit for a child who might have had money and social standing.

We saw an outfit for a child who would not have had a lot of money.

We also saw an outfit for a child who would have been a slave.  With each of the children's outfits they had a bag with items that they would carry.  The slave child had a letter from her owner / master that
allowed her to travel to another plantation.  Jacob and Layne read the whole letter and were very interested.

While we waited for the tour we played games with Grandma that the colonial children would have played.

Our tour guide suggested that we not talk into any small boxes as we would be "sent to the village hospital for the insane for talking to ourselves".

This is the entrance to the Governor's Palace.  This was where our tour stopped and Jacob and Layne were soooo excited to go to the Palace.  There was a long line to get in to the Palace and we tried to talk the out of going at that time and coming back later.   What they were actually excited about was doing the Maze in the Gardens behind the Palace.

This is the picture I took right before they went in to the Maze.  I knew it would be the last time I ever saw them and wanted to be able to remember them.  Well - I didnt' realize that Jacob had memorized the Maze the night before.  Grandma timed them - it took them less than a minute to get through the Maze.  They insisted on doing the Maze 2 more times.

The tulips in the Gardens were in full bloom and absolutely beautiful.

Here is Jacob in front of the Governor's Palace.  We never did get back to it to do the tour.

While we were standing on the Green on the Duke of Gloucester Street a Patriot rode down on his horse.  We were thinking that he was Benedict Arnold but he never did yell "the British are coming!".

We went into Tarpley's store where Joshua decided he really like the hats for the girls.  Luckily everything in the store was too expensive and we didn't buy anything - not even the hat for Joshua. (your are welcome, Matthew)

We waited to go in to the Wigmaker's Shop.  She was one of the best people we had heard so far.  We learned that women would dye their hair to match their outfit.  So if a woman was going to a ball or party and she had on a blue dress, then she would powder her hair blue.  Wigs were a sign of status.  Men wanted to have wigs and would shave their heads - on purpose!

We got really cold.  I did not do well predicting our clothing each day.  So at this point we took the kids down to Market Square and to a store called Everything Williamsburg to pick out a sweatshirt for the kids.  Joshua really wanted some miniature cannons and some cannon balls that he found.  I told him "No" more than once.  He already had a cannon.  I was only buying sweatshirts at this time.

Then we went to lunch at the Cheese Shoppe.  It was yummy.  I wished I had known about the bread for a $1 a bag and the awesome looking soup.  It was so crowded that we tried to pick quickly and get out.  While I was in line inside waiting for our lunch with Layne - Grandma was outside with the boys saving a table.  When I got out Grandma told me we had a problem.  Joshua had put 4 mini cannons and 3 cannon balls in his pocket and stole them from the store.  Ugh!  So Joshua was upset, I was tired, cranky and cold.  Joshua had his standard "I'm tired and upset meltdown" with huge tears, screams for mom, and then sat with a Fier in my lap and finally settled.  He eventually ate some lunch.

He was so tired at lunch, he literally fell asleep with his head on the table.  At one point he had his head face down on the table, hair in the ketchup, and zonked.

After lunch we had to go back to the Everything Willamsburg store so that Joshua could tell the salesclerk that he stole from the store and that he was really sorry.  It was hard for him and he had a hard time.  We paid for the items as I didn't feel it was right to have them take them back.  The salesclerk was really nice about it and thanked Joshua and me for telling the truth and for paying for the items.

We ended the day watching the Start of a Revolution acted out in front of us.

 

We watched the Fife and Drum Corps march down Duke of Gloucester Street to the Capitol Building announcing the Declaration of Independence. 

We heard from Slaves........

We heard from women.......

and we heard from soldiers and politicians from the balcony of the Capitol read the Declaration of Independence.   They all had small microphones and there were speakers strategically around the venues.

Next we moved to the another stage and heard about the War in the West. We heard from the British Governor of Detroit who was being held prisoner in the Public Gaol.

We moved up the street a bit to hear about the Desperate Circustances of the women and families left behind.

We hear from a woman who had followed her husband with the army.  Her husband was captured at the Siege at Charleston and she is seeking work to support herself.

Then we hear about the The Town is Taken!  The British Occupy Williamsburg.  The American turncoat - now a British Brigadier General - Benedict Arnold seizes Williamsburg.  Redcoats raise the British flag over the Capitol.

We then hear about Running to Freedom!  We hear from slaves who want to join the British because Lord Cornwallis has promised them freedom if they win.  We hear from slaves who feel they are American already and want to help build a new country.  And we hear form a slave who wants to just be a mother and live a good life.

We also hear The Promised Land, or A Matter of Faith.  Gowan Pamphlet is an African American Baptist Preacher who talks of the a future where all citizens are equal and where there will be no state church connected to the government.

Joshua slept through the previous 2 parts.  He was wiped! I mean - he slept through an African American Baptist Preacher - can I hear an Amen?!??!?!?!?

Then we all March On to Yorktown, and Victory. 

The General addressed the citizens about his resolve for victory at Yorktown.

We watched them practice and drill for the upcoming battle.  Layne took the pictures above, pretty good, huh?

Then Layne and Jacob got put into the Stocks - although they look a little too happy for this punishment.

We ended the evening at Pizzeria Uno where Layne and Joshua got to make their own pizza.  We had a warm, chocolate chip cookie bowl filled with ice cream and hot fudge that the kids declared was the best food ever in the whole universe.  They wanted to go online and look for the closest Pizzeria Unos to us in Georgia.

I hope remember today's adventures when I blog them later.  Just too exhausted tonight.  But - I got to hear Jacob say "I will never feel the same about History again.  It really came alive."  And - Layne agreed.  I also got to hear Joshua say "Now let's go get us some ghosts!" when we started our Tavern Ghost Walk.

So many experiences in such a short time.

Jamestowne - April 5, 2011

We spent a rainy day in Jamestowne and the Jamestowne Settlement.

We saw the statue of John Smith - who did not fall in love and marry Pocahontas - darn that Disney.

 
 We protected the original settlement by manning the cannons.

 One of us really REALLY liked the cannons (more on that on day 2).

 Only 2 of 3 wanted a picture (in the rain) with the Disney version of Pocahontas.  It was at this point that Joshua decided that he needed to go to potty (again) - because he was hoping he could go outside (can't wait until this phase is over).

We got warm at the Glassblower's House near the Jamestowne Settlement.   It was really neat watching them.  It fascinated them about the colors they could make out of the glass.

Jacob was really fascinated by the science of the glass.  This guy was really nice (he had a personality).  No one else in the Glassblower's spoke to anyone.  The shop manager, with a really heavy Asian accent, came out to "narrate" the process, but none of us could really understand her.

Then we went out to the Jamestown Fort.  The kids had a blast running through the Indian Settlement.  We saw lots of fur pelts, turtle shells that they used for bowls, we watched them start a fire using pinecones and we watched a woman make baskets from wool.  One of the Indian women asked us on or way out which would we rather be "an Indian or a Settler".  The kids answered "a Settler" and her response was, "you don't want to be a Settler, they don't have any food up there".

Next we went to see the Susan Constant, the Elizabeth, and the Godspeed ships that brought the original settlers and cargo to the New World.

On our way to the Fort the kids got to sit in a wooden canoe.

 


The kids also got to help make a wooden canoe.  They told the kids how they burn the log for about 6 to 7 hours, then they spend days with shells hollowing out the log.

Then we learned how long it took them to load their rifles.  They could shoot approximately 3 times in an hour.  It was really loud and we did keep our hands over our ears. 

Then we watched some men practicing to sword fight with wooden swords and leather hand guards.  For mom and me this man reminded us very much of Mark Young.

Layne took our picture in front of the statues and flags at the end of day in Jamestowne. 

We were exhausted on Tuesday.  We are wiped tonight!!!!

I will have to do Wednesday another day.

All By My Lonesome

Jennifer and the kids are off to Williamsburg, VA. for spring break and I am alone in the house, the wind howling outside (actually it sounds fantastic, love the wind through the trees).  Just finished watching "Oceans" on Netflix with the wireless setup on the blue ray player, how sweet is that.  Working on laundry and updating the blue ray player, at the same time.  Who says men can't multitask, wait, I'm also doing the blog...that's three things at once, stupendous!  More later, maybe we'll get a blog update from the family in Virginia this week.  They did bring the laptop

Cub Scout Artist (Webelos Artist Activity Badge)

 Last December I went to Mr. Boyer's to earn my Artist Activity Badge.  We drove from our house up to Mr. Boyer's house on the lake.

We started by going to the pier and doing a sketch.

 You could draw whatever was on the lake.  I chose an island in the middle of the lake.

 

We all sat down and started sketching. 

 

When we finished we took the sketch's inside and started painting them with watercolor.  We didn't have every color so we mixed different colors together.  Everyone thought my brown was the best and wanted to know how I did it.  I mixed yellow and purple.

Next we made a collage with different pictures from magazines.  We cut out the pictures and glued them to our piece of paper, to show what we like and what we did.

After that I drew a line around the shadow of my Dad's head, a silhouette (had to look up in dictionary).

  

Then we made sculptures of heads out of air dry clay.  Alex's mom helped us with all of the projects (except for the scrapbook [this]), she was very helpful and provided us with snacks.  

 

OUR HEADS