Jamestowne!

Sunday afternoon we decided to try to find Jamestowne! It turned out that the National Park system was letting visitors in free for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, so we all got to see the historic site and museums for free!

Brian and Boo at the entrance!

Crossing the footbridge to the "island" (it was really a peninsula with swamp land dividing the two sections)

Joshua was fascinated by the settlement! We told him we will come back later in the year so he can read all the information signs and not freeze to death!

The monument for the first European settlers!

The kids at the base of the monument.

The area is so beautiful! The James River borders the property. The river has washed away approximately 25 acres of land since 1607, so much of the original settlement may have been located on land that is now underwater!

Leah and Pocahontas!

The fort was constructed in a triangular shape with the sides being 100 feet by 100 feet by 140 feet! 104 men and boys lived in those close quarters for the winter. No wonder tempers started to flare!

This is still an active archeological dig site, so in the summer you can see where the historians are excavating! They have found 1,000's of artifacts and quite a few skeletons. There is usually a real skeleton in the museum, but the Smithsonian has it on loan right now. So we saw a replica of the skeleton. Scientists have also used technology to make facial reconstructions of the corpse and then make a wax replica of the person's face! It was interesting to have a visual reinforcement of the idea that they were people and looked similar to how we do today!

Jenny and Boo in the first Protestant church in America (at least a replica of it)

The barracks - about 50-60 men lived in this hut.

Here is the Captain John Smith statue overlooking the James River!

A Story

This is a story about a little girl named Boo...

Miss. Boo woke up one morning and decided to make pancakes for her WHOLE family!

Because she is three, she needed some help from her Mommy!

When you are three, accidents can happen... like the fork falling in the bowl!
Luckily Mommy is there to fish it out!

When you are three, you aren't allowed to touch the hot griddle, so Mommy flips the pancakes for you!

When you are three, you are tall enough to reach the pantry shelves and get syrup!

When you are three, you are tall enough to reach into the refrigerator and get your big sister's favorite yogurt out for her!

When you are three, you don't understand why some people crave coffee in the morning,

or why others put on make-up the moment they roll out of bed,

or why some people just seem to have a hard time getting up in the morning!

"It's fun being 'stree', but it will be fun being four on my birt-day!"
-Boo

Happy (Belated) Anniversary!

Kevin Mulhearn and Carol Schaible - 1985

Kevin and Carol Mulhearn - 1987

Kevin and Carol Mulhearn - 2010

Dad and Mom,
It is all of our sincere hope that when we have been married as long as you two have been,
we will have kids that are just as good lookin' as yours!
Love,
Alyssa, Brian, Emily, Jenny, Joshua, Leah, and Boo

Who is Who

As I was archiving our old pictures on my computer, I thought it would be fun to have a little quiz for you all. Can you guess which baby is in each picture? Have fun and post your guesses in the comments section!

Baby A

Baby B

Baby C

Baby D

Baby E

Baby F

and Baby G

Williamsburg

Well, today I am going to give you all a small tour of Colonial Williamsburg!

Here is the candy shop, it is filled with everything from candy bins that you buy by the pound to fancy imported truffles. Then there are the caramel apples that are dipped each day in the store and covered with all different combinations of sugary goodness!

The College of William and Mary is integrated into this part of town. There are dorms that overlook the town square and classroom buildings lining the street into town.

Now we have come to the Toymaker of Williamsburg...

They have a huge selection of vintage children's books,

adorable Madam Alexander dolls,

of course there are tricorn hats and muskets,

plus a million figurines from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and World Wars 1 & 2,

and my favorite item, the title is just intriguing!

One of the shops sells colonial era clothing! Some of it is quite beautiful!

And old fashioned caroling dolls specially made for Williamsburg
(and specially priced for Williamsburg's tourists!)

We have now reached the colonial section (we had been in Merchant's Square)
All of the buildings here are original or exact replicas of the home that once stood there

I love this church building! It sits in the heart of the historical district, standing so proudly high above the rest of the buildings.

Anyone need anything tailored? Severinus would be glad to do it for you!

I think this is either a dorm or a bed and breakfast.
Both are all over the place here and have window unit air conditioners!

Finally, this is a typical colonial era house. It is two stories high with two chimneys, windows lining the front and a flat front. Behind it is 2-5 buildings that were summer kitchens, workshops, stables, chicken coops, etc...

Hope you enjoyed our tour!

Our New Home!

Here is the living room! It is a peaceful haven to relax and read in. It holds our non-school bookshelves, the piano and our record player!

Here is the big window across the room from the sofa's shown above. The trees in our front yard provide a park-like atmosphere!

This is the foyer.

Here is the family room. It has horrible lighting, so the picture is not my best. The window on the right looks out into the backyard, which is also filled with trees! There is built in bookcases and a fireplace on the other side of the room, but those aren't completely box free yet.

This is a small part of our school / toy room. We are waiting for another bookshelf to come in, so the rest of the room is in limbo right now! (The aforementioned room also holds Brian's big screen TV)

Leah and I have one of the front bedrooms!

Mom and Dad have the back bedroom!

Brian and Josh share the room in the middle!
Guess whose bed is whose!