Soaking It In

(Two new posts below this one!)

In the last week we experienced two local excitements. Well, the first wasn't so much -exciting,- as it was interesting, but last Saturday we decided (at about 11 am) to check out Jamestown. It's an hour's drive away (give or take) and we already had a membership to get in free to the federal site, thanks to when my parents went to Yorktown with us in October. The drive down was absolutely beautiful. It is so, SO green here. I love driving through tree-lined and -covered streets. It was a beautiful day, and never quite hit 80º, I don't think. I was a little worried about sunburn, but I think Jeremy got the worst of it, and he definitely wasn't burned. We got to learn about all the neat archaeological discoveries they've been making lately. Apparently, they used to think the Jamestown fort was underwater, but they've actually found most of it through excavation in the last 4-6 years. We got to see lots of really old (early 1600's) artifacts, and the single structure that is left from that time period (a tower, which the replica church ("only" about 100 years old) is attached to in the pics below). We also got to see some ruins that were abandoned in the late 1800's to early 1900's and walk around the beautiful grounds there. Of course the kids' favorite part of the day came next - we rode the Jamestown ferry across the river. When I say "river," think as wide as most "lakes" in Arizona, western friends. It was pretty awesome, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. (Free, too!)

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After that we drove through a bunch of little towns, and enjoyed the mix of old and new construction everywhere. There was a neat historic downtown area of Smithfield, VA (think Smithfield hams) that we're glad we made a little detour to see. Such beautiful, mostly-restored little homes! We drove over to Newport News and had dinner at the Patrick Henry Mall, then my family dropped me off at a stake center there. We had some General Auxiliary members from our church (1st counselors in YW and RS, member of the primary board) doing a fireside for the women and young women of 3 stakes. I don't know if I've ever been in a room with so many women in it! Very neat fireside, and it was nice to skip the ride home at the end of a long day with 3 small children... :)

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This weekend is Harborfest in Norfolk. (about 15 min away) A big deal every year, but I guess it coincided with OpSail (I think?) as well, which leads to a LOT of ships, both military and sailing vessels all coming into port at once. And there is a hugely-large party (makes me think of a county fair without the rides. Or the animals. Or the arts & crafts. Okay, maybe a bad comparison.) for the better part of 3 days. Lots of entertainment, lots of (overpriced) food and treats, and lots and lots of ships, from quite a few different countries. Even a submarine! That was cool to see! There are also lots of vendors there, which equates to Jeremy spending most of his weekend out there hanging out in their booth. (Which at least has good shade and a great waterfront view.) You can take tours or walk onto many of the ships, but it was pretty darn toasty this afternoon when we were there (from about 1 to 5:30) and the lines were a little long. Jeremy took Reilly on one ship, because he was really interested in doing that. Parking was ridiculous. All the parking structures within the first 2-3 blocks were full, and we finally parked at the mall, 4-ish blocks away. We enjoyed checking out all the ships, smelling all the yummy, food, buying $3 soft-serve cones, played for at LEAST an hour at the splash pad, and came home with tired little feet. It's about 10:15 and I'm not sure when Jeremy's going to make it home. I think the thing goes on until midnight every night, but the other associate (semi) jokingly said they leave when people start to have had a few too many drinks. (Did I work that out grammatically?) Great time, and hopefully not TOO much sunburn. (I re-applied to my face -several- times, but the sweat just kept washing it off...)

Jaina, in mid-turn. Just a fun pic. :)

View to the left (of "our" booth)

View to the right

Little pink-cheeked-ones by a boat flying a pirate flag. :)
Can you spot it?

Katy loved the water. The hat Mom made her wear? Not so much.

The kiddos were in heaven

Goofballs.

The picture Jeremy took with his phone, probably about 8-ish tonight. :)

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Hopefully off to bed soon, and expecting a relatively quiet Saturday tomorrow!