Autumn Adventures

Before I begin this post I would like to take a minute to THANK Linda of My Hearts Desire for making my banner that you now see on my blog. I have been meaning to do it for some time but something else always comes up. Linda was kind enough to make one for me and I am so grateful to her for her kindness.

Now all the fun things we have been doing while visiting my parents this Autumn



Painting pumpkins







Carving Pumpkins this is always Daddy's job!







Attending a Halloween parade in town.
Princess is a dragon princess (she fall in love with this costume at the store because it has it has a dragon on it) She loves dragons!
Little Man chose a Batman costume because he is a super hero!








I have really been enjoying all the fall colors. The tree leaves are just beautiful and I have missed that living in England. We have been going for walks to enjoy the scenery and the weather has been spectacular since we have arrived.

Washington DC trip

My Mother and I took the kids to Washington DC. My parents had organized a special trip to tour the White House. I have never been inside the White House so this trip was very exciting for us.

The first day we arrived in DC we went to the National Archives as I wanted the children to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. My father informed me that we have a ancestor that signed the Declaration of Independence. My daughter took great interest in trying to find his signature and picture while visiting the Archives.


We found a picture of our ancestor,
Lyman Hall as well as his signature on the Declaration of Independence.
Very exciting. I am told were are desendents of his daughter Rachel but if you look on Wikipedia it says he had a son and no mention of a daughter, go figure.


The next day we went to do a tour of the White House. I don't have any pictures to show you as cameras were not allowed in. In fact, the list of rules of what you can't take in is incredible. I wasn't even allowed to bring my purse and store a camera for later:(. We went though 2 separate security checks in order to gain access to the White House. We saw about 7 rooms total. What amazed me the most was how small the rooms were. The official dining room can only hold 140 people. The famous picture of John Travolta and Princess Diana dancing was in the foyer of the White House. We were not allowed to tour the gardens at all. However a security guard did point out a Magnolia tree outside the window that Andrew Jackson supposedly planted:)



Now that we are living overseas and are fortunate to visit foreign cities and famous buildings in Europe. I must say I came away from visiting our capital with a greater sense of pride of the city. We may not have the fancy architecture that other cities have but I reminded myself that DC wasn't built until the 1800's. The city was clean (at least the part we were in) and has so much to offer and most free. Living overseas and studying the Revolutionary War with my children has given me better insight and understanding into Washington DC. As Americans we are so lucky and blessed compared to many other parts of the world. Too bad there are some that would rather tear America down rather than appreciate the many wonderful opportunities there are available. This may have been a field trip for the children but maybe it was I who learned the most!

Graduation

Little Man has started 1st grade this September. My husband and I felt he should experience a ceremony just like his sister did when she graduated from Kindergarten in the public schools. We waited until we arrived at my parents house and then held a graduation ceremony for Little Man. He was so excited!














Little Man was so delighted with his special day. My Mom found my sister's old high school graduation gown and I made his cap (it even has a tassel). I printed graduation certificate off the web declaring him a 1st grader. He requested his favorite dinner enchiladas and for dessert CAKE. I think that was his favorite part:)

Look at that smile! He has been telling everyone that he is a first grader now.

My Parents house at last!!!

We have finally arrived--at my parents house. We began our journey in Florida slowly working our way up the East Coast stopping to visit and tour many interesting places with the ultimate goal of staying with my parents in Pennsylvania. We are all very excited because we haven't seen them for 11 months!!! My parents joined us in Williamsburg and did the last leg of the journey to their house with us. When the kids saw the Pennsylvania state line in the car they were so excited, and it made all of us smile. The minute they opened the door to the house Princess and Little Man ran inside and checked out every inch of the house to make sure everything was the same and in it place as they remembered it.

Since being at Nana and Poppa's house we have been having so much fun. Playing soccer with Chloe the dog and going on nature hikes








After staying a couple of days with my parents my poor husband had to go back to England as he had to return to work. The kids and I will be staying with my parents for a few more weeks:).

My posts have been a bit irregular of late due to our traveling. Normally I post a couple times a week but while way it will be only weekly. Thanks for stopping by and commenting and I will be trying to keep up with all blog following and commenting as best I can:) Enjoy your Autumn season as much as we are!!!

Williamsburg, Virginia

Continuing our travels we next stop in Williamsburg where we met up with my parents whom I haven't seen in nearly 11 months. The children were so excited to see their Nana and Poppa again!! My parents brought up their camper and the children stayed with them while my husband and I enjoyed the quiet of the hotel room:) and a date night!!

Day one we went to Colonial Williamsburg
Princess wanted to dress up for the day as a Colonial girl. Little Man would have none of it. Because our daughter decided to dress up for the day she was able to do more hands on activities with the re-enactors at Colonial Williamsburg. She said she enjoyed working int he garden best:)


Practicing writing names using a quill feather. The highlight of the trip for us for the re-enactment of the reading of the Declaration of Independence on the green. We also saw many crafts men working on their trade, It was a fantastic day and we will definitely be going back.

I spent a small fortune in the book store, but found so many fantastic resources that can be use in our schooling.

Day two we went to Jamestown
Kids told their grandparents all about Pocahontas and Capt. John Smith. If you look closely however at the statue there is something wrong can you figure it out?



Glass blowing -- there were 2 attempts to make glass during this time period both were failures. Very interesting to watch!


Day three we went York town

We learned a lot about positioning of cannons and the different types of cannons.

The house were the treaty was signed. Unfortunately it was closed that day so we couldn't go inside:(



After touring each historic site we would go back to the camp ground and while the children played and the grown ups read, nap, and enjoyed communing with nature.:)


Answer to What's wrong with Pocahontas: They have her wearing a plains Indian dress which is incorrect. She was a wood land Indian and their dress was completely different.

Wilmington, North Carolina

Our next stop in our travels was to visit a family friend in Wilmington, North Carolina. We had a fabulous visit and Christine was a terrific hostess showing us all the great spots in Wilmington.

We visited the battle ship USS North Carolina





















Visited the Sepentarium which boosts of the largest collection of venomous snakes. It was the only place where I didn't get a picture:(

Visited the the Aquarium where we saw the handlers feeding and cleaning a albino alligator with a tooth brush!











Visited Carolina Beach and the kids got soaking wet!












We had a lovely visit in Wilmington. I would love to visit again and rent a beach house!

Meeting a Blog Friend

As we are traveling up the east coast of the US. I had an exciting adventure, meeting a fellow blogger, Tracy had her lovely children from A Slice of Smith Life. Tracy and I have been blogging and commenting on each others sites since this summer and when I knew we would be in the area we arranged to meet up. Tracy is as lovely in person as she is in the blogging world. The children played well together and it was so nice to chat and compare notes on homeschooling and blogging. My husband was with us so we were able to get a few pictures.

I brought a few things for Tracy's children from England

Tea in a big red bus bank

Scottish Tablet which is a sweet candy very popular

Beef Eater towel (they are the guards at the Tower of London)

London pencils

post cards with all the popular London sites

A pencil sharpener again the shape of the famous double decker red bus

A mini book of the kings and queens of England











Tracy also had gifts for us:
Her children made a fairy doll and a paper canoe boat
Glass jar of the sand, shells, sea bird feather of the beach where they live (I thought this was a fab idea and my daughter is already eyeing the shells and wanting to open the the jar.)
A soy pumpkin scented candle -- which I can't wait to light up:)
As we are traveling I haven't been able to take a picture of the things Tracy gave us:(.

When I started out on my blogging journey I never imagined I would meet someone from my blog and it was so exciting and fun!

Tracy also gave me my second blog award a couple of weeks ago and I haven't had a lot of time to address it but I want to acknowledge the wonderful support Tracy had shown my blog:)













The rules of the blog are to tell seven things about yourself and then pass on the award to other bloggers. I will have to get back to passing on the award due to our holiday but here are the seven things about me:

1. I love to travel -- is this really new to any one who follows this blog

2. I can make stain glass windows, lamps and other items

3. I make baskets and used to teach a class

4. I love to read--right now I am reading a lot of historical novels, but will read anything

5. I would love to become a competent photographer someday

6. I am very technology challenged, my computer hates me:(

7. I never thought I would homeschool, but I do and I love it (most of the time)

It was so nice to met Tracy and her children. As my husband and I have friends in her home town we may met again in a few years, you never know:)!!

Orlando, Florida 2010

It has been a week since my last post because we are on holiday in Orlando, Florida. After a full day at the parks we return utterly exhausted and collapse in our beds so blogging has been placed on the back burner while in Orlando . My family have been planning and saving for this trip for 2 years and have accomplished what we set out to do. Having an amazing adventure! So here are some highlights of our trip so far!




Sunday: We explored Disney's Animal Kingdom


Playing African drums in the African safari village.







Fruit bats from Mexico. Princess was so enthralled with watching these bats. We had to drag her away. I have never seen bats so big!










Monday: We headed for Magic Kingdom and enjoyed the rides and the shows


I actually teared up watching the opening show because we have been planning this trip for so long and I have dreamed of taking my children here. How sappy is that?



Tuesday: We went to Epcot


The start of the day was very hot and humid











By mid afternoon there was a thunder and lightening storm . But we didn't let that stop us from continuing on.









Wednesday: We took the day off and went shopping! We needed a break and new shoes as everyone was developing blisters from all the walking we were doing.


We had dinner here and the kids loved it. I had never heard of it before. Owned, I believe by the same folks who do Rain Forest Cafe.





Dancing at Disney Marketplace. I wish I could bottle up my children's energy because by this point I was exhausted:)








Thursday: We visited Sea World

Feeding the sting rays by hand. Daddy had to go first but the kids did try it.










hand feeding the dolphins
























Watching all the shows at Sea world




Friday: Discovery Cove
Feeding the birds in the aviary







Swimming and learning about dolphins --for me this was the highlight of the trip!!





Swimming with Sting rays Little Man was not to sure about this experience he wanted them to stay away from him:).












Saturday: Drove to Cape Canaveral to visit the Kennedy Space Center

I would love to say a lot of learning was done on this day however I think everyone was tired and worn out from all the activities planned. We left early and headed back to the hotel. I did buy a few books and DVD to take home as we are going to be studying the solar system in Jan. My husband complained that I must be the only person on holiday still searching for school books for the kids.


I kept my promise to the kids and husband, no school work was done on this portion of the trip:). As we school year round taking a week off shouldn't be problem. What a great start to our US holiday. Next, we are off to visit friends in North Carolina and then on to Williamsburg, VA.