Brian's New Workout

Strap a 30 pound baby on your back and do pull-ups!

What would he do without us?

(Buy a gym membership probably)

Visitors

Maddy came to spend the week with us!
They saw Colonial Williamsburg on Tuesday and are sewing colonial dresses right know for a ball on Friday! (Those pictures will follow!)

Here's Leah, Maddy and Boo!

Here's Maddy and I
Sweaters are in this year YAHOOOO!

And these are the three culprits that explain my sleep deprivation this week!
They're having fun, so I guess I will let it slide!

Catch Up

We celebrated Dad's birthday with bowling and a homemade Blanc Noir cake.

We went on a homeschool tour of Williamsburg. Dad, Josh and I went on the "Simple Machines" tour. Both found it fascinating, as you can tell from their facial expressions.
(It actually was cool, they just didn't like that part)

This man was making nails. They are used in restoration projects in CW. An average nail-smith in colonial days could make 1,000 nails a day. (Or something like that)

To appease Josh, I let him use my camera.
He had a learning curve when he realized that it wasn't a point -and-shoot, so he couldn't just look at the LCD screen.

I just found the pictures and there were some strange shots, like the one above,

and some really cool ones, like this

and this.

When the tour was over, we had some time to kill before Mom and the girls were done with their tour, so Dad and I did this...

VA Air and Space Museum

Hello Down There!

Last Saturday we ended up going to the Air and Space Museum in Hampton!
It had a bunch of really cool exhibits and something for everyone to enjoy!

My favorite, the old planes. This bomber was used during WW2!
Above is where the pilot and copilot sit.

...and down here is where the gunner is stationed, right over the wheel and ammunition!

Dad and Jenny outside the full size model bomber where you sit and watch a quick film about WW2 bombing raids.

Jenny and Joshua using one of the flight simulators!

You can't really see it in this picture, but it really looks like you are flying on the screen!

Brian and I competed to see who had quicker reflexes. He beat me by .0025 seconds.
The good news is both of us could possibly be fighter pilots because of our lighting fast reflexes!

Here Leah is practicing landing planes on an aircraft carrier!

Joshua on the moon.

Brian and I played the biggest game of operation I have ever seen!
I won!

Dad read almost every sign in the place.

This is the Apollo 12 Command Module "Yankee Clipper".
It spent 10 days in space in 1969 (some would say that was the safest place to be in the 60's!)
This was the living space for the three man crew during their expedition.
Talk about close quarters!

Here's a helicopter similar to what flies over our house everyday!

Some of us climbed up to the observation deck to get an aerial view of all the planes!

The brave crew who made it up 4 flights of stairs!

Then we went to Mars and drove land rovers!

While at the museum Josh discover he wants to be a pilot...

and Dad discovered he really likes being an accountant
(they stay on the ground and don't have to worry about faulty landing gear!)

These flight attendant outfits were designed by Emilo Pucci in the 1960's. Groovy!

There was also an amazing exhibit on aircraft carriers, including models of the
USS Yorktown and the USS Ronald Reagan.
The Yorktown was put out of commission during WW2 and the Ronald Reagan was put into commission recently (2003?). The difference 60 years technology makes is astounding!
But the food still looked the same.

Back to Colonial Williamsburg

We are still exploring Colonial Williamsburg whenever it is warm enough to get out!There are carriage rides!

We also found a vegetable garden that already had plants in! It is going to be a gorgeous
(and productive I'm sure) garden come spring and summer

A shot from the parking lot.

The Market Place Tavern

Josh and Leah outside a store.

Mom and Jenny in a garden.

Wednesday!

We got a Bowflex!

Since it was cheaper to buy a Bowflex than it was to sign all of us up at a gym here Dad decided to invest in an exercise machine. So, I got on Craigslist and ... TADA a gently used
Bowflex Ultimate 2!

The instruction manual was a little thicker than we anticipated!

Jenny on the treadmill
(and we keep the crutches handy, who wants to hobble all the up to the attic when in pain?)

Here I am helping! Brian kept me around to hold the instruction manual and hold the heavy pieces in place as he attached them permanently. I offered to help with screwing the bolts into place, but Brian and Emily just chuckled and asked me to hold the manual up higher.

Well on a different note, Brian got a job! He is now a lifeguard at Great Wolf Lodge! This resort has a huge indoor/outdoor water park with about a dozen slides plus a bunch of other water activities. Luckily he is allowed to bring friends with him occasionally!

Yorktown

Well, we visited Yorktown today!

The downtown area is adorable! It isn't nearly as large as Colonial Williamsburg, but there are a bunch of neat little shops!

This model boat is pretty cool!

The town is situated on the York river, right near the Chesapeake Bay. There are a couple of beaches lining the river that are wonderful for younger kids who want to splash around in the shallow areas! There are also a ton of docks, so it must be a popular boating spot!

Emily, Jenny and Leah having fun with a couple of statues!
COPY CATS!

The whole gang (minus Brian who is in Missouri)

Yorktown is a gorgeous place to walk around.
NOTE TO ALL WHO VALUE THEIR LIVES-
Jenny is planning on taking a segway tour of Yorktown for her birthday, so avoid the area in early July!

We finished our tour with some Ben and Jerry's YUMMY!