Happiness -

And for Mom, its the purchaes made at above craft show!  I'd share pictures, but some are Christmas gifts!

Wordless Wednesday

OBX (Outer Banks) 2010

Currituck Beach Light House

Vacation, part 2

(or a post that could be titled, "LA posts a lot more pictures from Virginia!)

In the lawn in front of the Governor's Palace, were some gals showing us the types of games kids would have played in Colonial Williamsburg.  We all fell in love with "Trap Ball" but when we checked the price at the store, it was too expensive (so I'm still racking my brain as to how I can make my own set!)

Q playing Trap Ball.  Basically, everyone wants to be the batter.  You become the batter by catching a fly ball or by rolling the ball on the ground and hitting the wooden box.

Rolling Hoops

In the stocks.

Magazine and Guard House.

Printing Office.

Blacksmith.

Distracted by a squirrel in a tree while taking a snack break! ;)

"Public Gaol"  (Jail)  Don't they look like a motley crew?

"Resolved: Free & Independent States!"  at the Capitol.  Virginians pass resolutions for independence and prepare to establish a government.  Militia provides fife and drum and cannon salute!

Getting ready for the cannons.

VACAY!!!

Part 1...

Last Friday, we left for Virginia, to have a one day family (our family of 5) trip to Colonial Williamsburg before heading further south to Outer Banks, North Carolina to have a week's vacation with T's family (all 26 of us!)

We'll be beginning 3rd grade and kindergarten shortly after we return home and our trip to Williamsburg fit perfectly into what we'll be studying with "Adventures in My Father's World."

We started exploring the Governor's Palace.  We opted not to do the hour long tour (for obvious reasons) and just stayed outside and toured the grounds. 

T and I spent a day in Williamsburg during our honeymoon at Virginia Beach 14 years ago.  One of our favorite places on the Palace grounds is the maze.

We found this little area in the back and we told the kids it looked like a great place for church.  Elle and Colin are standing and pounding their fists into their hands (did I ever mention T's father is a minister? ;-)  )

Such captive audiences!  ;-D

Behind the Governor's Palace.

Down in the cellar.

...more to come (for some reason, my family prefers me out on the beach rather than on my laptop!) ;-)

Welcoming the mud...

...or stone dust.

Each month our church's Sunday bulletin includes the Focus on the Family Bulletin insert.  One of the story's from this past weekend, really hit home for me.

Welcoming the Mud

  "A farmer's wife once spent the day cooking to surprise her husband with his favorite meal.  With her friend's help, she scrubbed the kitchen till it shined and donned a new dress.  Candlelight flickered from tall tapers on the table.
  Her husband tramped in, weary from a hard day in the fields.  Large clumps of mud fell from his boots onto the freshly mopped floor as he crossed to the sink before removing the boots.
  Ready to leave, the friend turned to the wife and whispered in disgust, "Ugh!  Look at all that mud!" 
  The wife smiled.  "Yes, his boots bring the mud in, but they bring him in, too."  -Cindy Sigler Dagnan

This morning, as I walked across the kitchen floor, I felt bits of dirt under my bare feet.  I looked down and the light grey clumps of dirt confirmed that my hubby had walked across the kitchen floor, with his boots on this morning, rather than heading out through the garage.

It might be easy to angry or agitated, but I had to think back to this story.  I welcome the compacted little bits of stone dust, knowing that my husband was home all night and headed off to work planning to see us again, at suppertime.

Yes, his boots bring in the stone dust, but they bring him in, too!

Where has summer gone?

I cannot believe we are more than halfway through July.  UGH!  Summer always goes by too quickly.

This is VBS week at our church.  That makes this week go by so quickly - if I don't post about it now, it'll be gone before I do!

The kids are all having a blast and loving their classes.  I'm enjoying teaching 1st grade - because they'll be my Sunday school students when they enter 2nd grade this fall.  We're doing Gospel Light's SonQuest Rainforest theme. 

Once this week is over - July will almost be over!  EEeekk!!

1 happy lil' girl!!

See this face? 

She is just like her momma - she is not a morning person!  But, when I went into her room at 5:30 am this past Saturday, she got out of bed quicker than we've ever seen.

Why?

She knew that just the two of us were going to have a very special date - she just didn't know when.  We headed to the beach for a day with some friends (and wished some more could have made the trip as well!)

note: Elle is not the youngest in this picture!  Just the shortest! ;-)

We swam.  Played in the sand.  Jumped waves.  Shopped on the boardwalk! ;) Ate Mack & Manco's pizza - YUM!

It was a very fun one-on-one date with my peanut!

What's Cooking?

In our attempt to keep eating healthy, I have two more recipes to share with you.

This first one, Feta-Stuffed Chicken, is one I've posted about before on my cooking blog, but I did a few things to it this time to make it more kid-friendly.  Basically, I didn't add the walnuts and replaced the spinach with broccoli.  It was a hit.  Especially since we had our first helping of home grown corn on the cob with it! :)  Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

The second recipe is found at eatingwell.com.  If you've never visited this site, go now ... run!  I'll wait! ;-D  There are a ton of great recipes found here.

Shrimp and Pesto Pasta is YUMMY!  The first time we made this, we used chicken and broccoli in place of the shrimp and asparagus - but I plan to make this again soon with the 'called-for' ingredients!

What are your favorite sites to get healthy recipes?

Wordless Wednesday