Fun Four Day Weekend

On Saturday we went to the Marine Corps Museum.  I was really impressed.  There were some great exhibits and some cool hands on exhibits.  My kids enjoyed learning about the making of a Marine.  They even trie doing a few pull ups.  It was very informative and eye opening.  Garrett can't wait to go back and learn more about war, his new found interest.

"Hey mom, get a picture of me in front of this huge gun." 

That's a salute not the sun in his eyes ;-)

Evolution of the uniform.

Can you believe the hight of this kid?  I must be shrinking!

On Monday we celebrated Paige's 10 Birthday a day early.  We headed out to Leesylvania State Park with the Bishops.  We walked along the beach and the kids collected shells.  As we were walking we thought it was great there were so many shells.  The kids gathered up a few hundred.  It didn't take long to figure out why the shells were so unpopular.  They were river snail shells and they literally smell like poop.  After our adventures at Leesylvania Sate Park we had dinner and a cupcake war challenge between Miriam and Paige.  It was really fun and both the girls made some yummy cupcakes.

Of course he couldn't stay out of the water.

Cousins

Cupcake Wars

Miriam Left: Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Frosting and Halloween Sprinkles
Paige Right:  Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Frosting toped with Wiped Cream and a Strawberry Slice

Their Loot of poop shells after they painstakingly sorted them for over an hour!

Where these stinky shells are now...remains a mystery.

Historic Kenmore

Today I took Emery and Reece to Fredericksburg, VA. We visited the Kenmore Mansion. Home of George Washington's sister, Betty Washington Lewis. The home was build in the 1770's to show off their wealth. It sat on a 500 acre plantation just off the Rappahannock River. Across the river is Ferry Farm, George Washington's childhood home. It's interesting that George and Betty Washington were considered gentry but they were not as wealthy as the Lewis family.  Fielding Lewis was a patriot he gave a considerable amount of money in support of American independence.  The home was beautiful. The plaster ceilings were amazing. Unfortunately, no photography was permitted inside the home. 

I love this picture.  Emery is such a fun kid, always up for anything.  We are going to have a lot of fun exploring together.

 Reece had a good time wondering around outside in the garden area.  He was pretty good during the house tour but he really wanted to get down. Unfortunately, they don't like babies walking around in 1770's homes.  Go figure?

The Laundry

 A view from the back of the house.  We got to see a cooking demonstration in the little building (on right).  That was the kitchen.  Apparently having a separate kitchen from your home was a sign of social status back then.  Kitchens often burt down, and so only the most wealthy could afford to build a separate building for their kitchen.  The building (on left) was the laundry.  They have converted that into office space for todays purposes.

It was popular to "slack-rope" walk back then.  It seems more dificult than tight rope walking,  Apparently women were more skilled at this then men because of their center of gravity.  Emery thought it was cool.

Emery is lawn bowling while Reece enjoys some fruit snacks.  Behind them is the kitchen building.

 Inside the museum they had some really cool displays and some more kid friendly activities.

Just down the block is the Fredericksburg Confederate cemetery.  It was massive and this picture doesn't do it justice.  Notice all the tiny head stones those when on to the left and right for acres.  I still can't believe how many people lost their lives during the Civil War.  Luckily the Kenmore house survived the war it saw two battles and was struck by cannon balls.  It was used as a field hospital in 1864.