Bone Tired

Oh the life of leisure is so hard...it makes us tired. This is Dave catching a nap while we wait for lunch. My parents were here visiting for the last week. They came out for Benjamin's baby blessing, but also to satisfy my mother's love of touring touring touring. I have to admit that us living in Europe the last 3 years gave her a perfect excuse to travel and tour. And we loved every minute of it. But it does make us very very tired. My parents are great to be patient with the kids and how slow we have to go on our sightseeing trips too and great to help with the kids and make it a little less hectic for us, to hold a little hand or shush a mouth that is a little too loud and beginning to overpower the tourguides. And of course I wouldn't be able to stay sane while we were playing if my mom wasn't so great at helping with dishes, laundry and keeping the house neat. So thank you thank you mom & dad. And no, we don't thik of you as the people who visit and make us drive all over the place-we love it.

Since we only have 2 months left in Virginia we tried to fit a lot into one week, it was fun but qutie a whirlwind. Saturday we visited Jamestown the site of the first permanent English settlement in America. It was amazing to see the boat and the conditions the people lived with, marvelling that it truly was the hand of the Lord who helped the people survive. One of my ancestors, through my dad's line Stephen Hopkins came to America through Jamestown before going back to England and coming again with the pilgrims so it was cool to learn about that history. Monday we went to Colonial Williamsburg which is restored to be what it was like in 1774 right before the revolutionary war. Again, amazing to learn about what the colonist went through and see how the Lord guided his people. Tuesday we saw Yorktown which was where the last decisive battle of the revolutionary war was fought. Wednesday I took a day of rest and sent my parents up to Mt. Vernon by themselves, and caught up on things at home. Thursday we visited Petersburg where General Grant defeated the Virginia Confederate army's blockade to effectively end the civil war. Friday we visited Fredricksburg which was also the site of a large civil war battle and has a lot of revolutionary war homes-including the home that George Washington grew up in. And Saturday we drove up into the appalachians to see Monticello where Thomas Jefferson lived. It was a fun fun week and I will get a slideshow up of the pics when I get a minute to figure it out.

Side note, bella is so funny-she has a ton of gumption, telling people exactly what is on her mind at any given moment, at the top of her voice so she is really fun to take on guided tours (ha ha). She also talks with her hands so imagine the exchange below she had with a man at Jamestown. Notice the hand on her hip, she is telling him what is what.

Bella: are you a pirate?
Man: I was never convicted of those charges

Bella: you look like a pirate

Man: well I'm not

Bella: pirates wear belts

Man: yes they do
Bella: you're wearing a belt

Man: but I"m not a pirate

Bella: (to me as she's walking away) mom, he IS a pirate