A Weekend in the Past

Our weekend spent in the past (meaning we went to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown) actually started in the present, doing something I've been wanting to do for some time - visit Bass Pro Shops near Richmond. It was huge! All that I had heard about with the life size animals, live fish and restaurant, where we had a late lunch.

This is one of the bears we were greeted by

I love how Nathaniel is looking up in this one. It also gives you a sense for how big the store is.

Nathaniel doing his imitation of a bear

Steve target shooting with a gun that only shot lasers and made a very quiet noise.

Me doing the same.

Nathaniel plugging his ears, just in case it was loud.

After we had had our fill of food and all the outdoor things a girl could want, we traveled to our destination, checking in at the Historic Powhatan Resort. We were greeted by a very tame rabbit with a "cotton-tail", no less at our condo (later that weekend, Marcia and Nathaniel had a little too close run in with a skunk in the same area!)
As we were checking out the things the resort had to offer, we heard music so we went over to check it out - it was two men dressed in period clothes playing a drum and fife! In between songs, they would answer questions from the crowd. We found out among other things that they would rather play in the heat than the cold, that the drummer played other drums too and had a band. Also we found out about the meaning of some of the items on their clothing. (Sorry the video is sideways! I have got to learn to video the other way!)

The song they were playing in that video was an authentic song to that time period, but we know it as "He's a Jolly Good Fellow". After listening for a while, we checked out the putt-putt golf course where I am glad we didn't keep score!

Getting a lesson

Playing on his own.

Marcia arrived on Friday so we headed over to Jamestown Settlement. We were impressed by the set up of the settlement which illustrated how hard life was in 1607 and later on. Nathaniel liked the movies we saw and loved his VERY long pencil he got from the gift shop. I liked seeing everyone in period clothes and listening to their stories about Jamestown life. Friday night we had dinner at Shields Tavern, where we saw more people in period clothes and had some fantastic food.

In the house where the weapons were kept. Each man at Jamestown had to  participate in this function.

One of the beds. I showed Nathaniel that they were made of straw and not very comfortable at all!

Nathaniel on one of the boats

Replicas of the boats the Jamestown settlers came over on.

At Shields Tavern - the tables were only lit with candles!

Nathaniel and his VERY long pencil!

Saturday it rained. And rained. And rained. We were scheduled to take a trip on one of the Yorktown Schooners, but, as I said - it rained. So, we rescheduled for Sunday. We were, however, able to visit the gift shop in Yorktown. It did clear up enough Saturday night that we were able to check out the outdoor pools. Nathaniel had a blast!

The only picture I took at Yorktown on Saturday!

Sunday, we eventually made it to the Schooner, which was well worth waiting for and I would recommend anyone who goes to the Williamsburg triangle (as it is called) to try it. We ended up having to do the Pirate Tour (which was geared more towards kids) but loved it all - except for the last 5 minutes...when it rained so hard that by the time we got back to our cars, we looked as if we had gotten in the shower with clothes on! I  have to say that the crew of the Alliance did a fantastic job the whole time. We had a blast the whole weekend, even with the rain. It was a trip where many good memories were made. :-)

Our Schooner, the Alliance

Me helping to raise one of the sails - that was fun!

Insert beautiful music here. Girl looking over river with her hair blowing in the wind...

Resting from the very rocky ship.

Nathaniel taking his turn at driving the Schooner.

Steve learning how to tie a knot

Nathaniel learning how to tie a knot.

Mowing, new lost tooth and new hair

This afternoon, Steve called to Nathaniel and asked him if he wanted to drive the lawnmower. So, of course, being the picture taking, show and tell mom I am, I had to document it. I had expected the usual Steve driving for Nathaniel, but instead, I saw Nathaniel actually steering! So proud!

This is the mower that Steve put together from 2 separate mowers, one engine and one body. Again, very proud! This is also the first time Steve has had to cut the grass since June.

Also, Nathaniel has lost another tooth. Relatives said they would start popping out now, and indeed they are. 

And one more update, I got my hair cut and I love it! Also, Steve helped me highlight it, by pulling it through the little holes in the highlight cap. I don't know too many husbands who would spend that kind of time helping their wives with their hair!

Sorry, no photos of me in the cap! On purpose!

Polka Dot Cupcakes

When I saw this, I just had to make it. It was too cute and soooo easy. Nathaniel had fun helping me, he helped me put the batter in the pan and mix up the colors.

What Nathaniel got for reading...

Last year, Nathaniel participated in the "Read to Succeed" program sponsored by Six Flags. He had to read for 6 hours total and in return, he and one adult would receive tickets to Six Flags. He did the 6 hours, and then some! However, when we realized how far Six Flags America was, we decided to reward him with a trip to Kings Dominion instead - a reward he was very happy with.

So, last Tuesday, we took him and Steve's mom to Kings Dominion. What a blast we all had! Nathaniel mustered up the courage to ride some roller coasters - we were all so proud of him.

The last time we were at KD, he was much younger, so it was neat to see how much he has "matured" since then.

The rain did spoil some of our fun, but only at the end of the day...but that only makes us look forward to going again that much sooner!

Nathaniel driving in the Snoopy Driving School. 

One of our first rides was the Snoopy Driving School. This was great for him, because he actually got to "drive" a car, but as you can see in the video, he got stuck and, as he was instructed to do, he raised his hand for help.

He was so cute as he was driving too because he enjoyed looking at the course and we could see him looking as he was driving!

These were the kiddie swings. He was looking at one of the little girls behind him who was laughing/screaming.

Nathaniel was driving the bumper cars here. He was  avoiding the other cars instead of bumping them!

Nathaniel was riding the kiddie airplanes here. This was actually a big step for him, because he saw that these went up and down. He was good with them because he knew he could control them. He did make his go up, though. Hooray!

He wanted his dad to ride with him first!

"Lolo, you should ride with me!"

Oh, he's getting braver now! Riding a real roller coaster! This is the "Taxi Jam" - it just went up and   down, but it was a huge step for him. He eventually rode it all by himself! So proud!

My commentary on the video pretty much says it all...

Doing his best to figure out the map

He is getting even braver now, trying the "Scrambler" which he didn't like because it made him dizzy (although he was smiling while he was riding it)