Monticello, Michie Tavern, and Highland

As we started our trip up to DC, we swung through Charlottesville on Saturday to see the home of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Michie Tavern.

It was a very rainy day, but there were many things to see inside. The museum, before going into the house was excellent.

My girl and I, on the bus going up to the main house.

See all that rain?

While we were waiting for our tour time, we spent time in the underground kitchen and storage areas.

Family picture, by the fishing and storage pond at the back of the house.

On the way back to the main museum building, the tour bus made a stop at Jefferson's grave site.

The crest on the gate door to the family grave site.

The kids with a statue of Thomas Jefferson.

When we went into the gift shop, we saw that David McCullough was on site to do a book signing for his newest book.

Here he is, signing peoples' books.

And, I love to get Christmas tree ornaments from places that we visit. This one is particularly lovely!

When we finished at Monticello, we went over to Michie Tavern to have lunch and take a tour.

Look at all this food...chicken, shredded pork, green beans, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, beans, cornbread, buttermilk biscuits...yum!

After lunch we walked around the kids got to learn about some of the old games.

The Michie family crest.

Looking down on us from the social gathering room

The room for the tavern owner.

I really love old pottery and china patterns.

Looking at one of the original Life game boards and trying to read and understand the game rules.

Jefferson's dad made the original map of Virginia.

Family picture in the tavern kitchen.

Walking outside the buildings.

Sissi was working through a treasure hunt to earn a prize, so we got to visit all the buildings on site.

Years ago, we had talked about doing re-enacting, and here we got to pick out some awesome dresses.

This was my favorite one.

Following our time at Michie Tavern, we went over to Highland, the home of James Monroe. This is the guest house.

This is the house that was rebuilt after the original home burned down in a fire. You can see the outline of Monroe's home in the white stones.

One of the statues of Monroe on site.

And, a bust of Monroe at Highland.

Some of the plants here for sale were classic and I would love to have some historic plants in my garden some day. It was a great day!

Easter 2017

We were so thankful to be able to share Easter Sunday with our home church in  Winston Salem. He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

The children did some singing and we got to take some family photos following the morning service.

Look at all these cuties singing and praising!

My girl, looking so grown up on this lovely North Carolina Easter morning.

My youngest boy, Gwangi.

Our family. I love to take new family photos on Easter Sunday.

My oldest, Krypto.

And, because she was just too cute, another shot of Sissi.

Praying you all had a lovely and blessed Easter 2017!

Krypto's 14th birthday!

Our oldest turned 14 today! Absolutely incredible!

He has been such a flexible, strong, driven, dependable, and amazing child to raise.

For his birthday, he asked for a family day, with no school, and that we play games together. Perfect!

Last night, Indy and I decorated the living room and his bedroom door with streamers and balloons. He loves the decorations and fun.

He saw just one present on the table...but he knew there must be more, because we had talked about several things for his birthday.

Indy had convinced me to put the boxes inside of each other. There were actually three nestled in there.

First up, he found his gift from his brother and sister, a Captain America comic book. 

This guy loves super heroes.

He liked the inside of the cover.

There was also a Captain America jersey that I had picked up a month or so ago when they were clearancing winter clothes at JCPenney.

He loves lollipops, so he got a 3 pack of Mickey Mouse lollipops.

Then, the boxes turned to his other love, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

We had a custom t-shirt made for him...It says "Nautilus - Crew Member."

We also pre-ordered him a board game that he's been wanting, "Nemo's War, 2nd Edition" and picked up an old "20,000 Leagues" Disney pin from Ebay to add to his lanyard and collection of pins.

For breakfast, he requested coconut and chocolate chip pancakes. Happy to oblige!

For lunch, we made a German dish that we saw on Facebook, it is lots and lots of bacon with potatoes, cheese, some onions, and rotisserie chicken put all together and baked for about 2 hours in the oven. Amazing! Delicious! We all loved it!

Look at this goodness...should have taken a picture when I served it, but we were all so hungry and ready for it, we just kind of inhaled and it was gone!

Then, Sissi helped me make his brownie bomb for dessert. Here she is whipping up the heavy cream.

The boys played a board game in the morning, Leviathans. Gwangi brought out his Legos to play with when it wasn't his turn. He keeps them on an old moving box so he can slide them along the floor between his bedroom and the living room.

Sissi then helped me finish up the dessert by licking the bowl.

We had dessert after lunch.

Yummy brownies on the bottom, then mint chocolate chip ice cream topped with hot fudge, then homemade chocolate whipped cream and the final layer is coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

During the afternoon, we played Hero Clix and took phone calls from family and friends.

Because I've been recovering from my foot surgery, and I'm not supposed to be weight bearing (yeah, kind of broke that rule today) we went out for dinner so I wouldn't have to cook anymore. Krypto asked for Texas Roadhouse. Our first time eating there in over three years. I think we forgot how much food they serve there, but it was certainly tasty!

While at dinner, Sissi gave me the latest Dr. Who download. She's gotten very interested in the series since Christmas time, after being introduced to it by her cousin. She tried to recreate Clara tonight and even used her old, non-working, watch, to make her own Dr. Who watch.

It was a lovely day, and while I've been downloading these pictures, and writing this blog post, we've been finishing up the day by watching "The Avengers," one of Krypto's favorite movies. We are so proud of our boy and all that God has made him to be. So glad He chose us to be his parents!

Visit with the Clendinens

Some of our greatest friends and travel buddies from our time in Tanzania were the Clendinens...oh, the memories the nine of us made driving on safari, going to Zanzibar, and visiting historical locations in East Africa. Well, getting together again, after not seeing each other for more than 3 years, has been exciting, and Craig took us on an amazing historical tour of Ybor City in Tampa today. That man knows his stuff, and even the trolley car driver said, "he knows what he's talking about."

This was our greeting when we walked in the door at their home. So sweet.

Sissi was so excited to see her old friend!

Today, on the trolley in Ybor City.

My Gwangi.

The trolley car conductor.

The adults.

The famous Columbia Restaurant, that has been around 111 years serving traditional Spanish and Cuban food in this area.

A location that was near and dear to Indy's heart, he really loves Teddy Roosevelt.

Our menu at the Columbia...I got the half and half, so half a traditional Cuban sandwich and half a traditional 1905 salad. Amazing!

Waiting for our lunch to arrive.

Our waiter, mixing the salad.

Here you go, the half and half!

This restaurant is the location of the meeting of the Krewe of Ybor City. Our friend, Craig, used to be a member and so was telling us all about it.

We love them bunches and will miss them as we depart tomorrow for Ft. Myers. As I write this, the kids are all making new memories and playing at the park. We'll be ready for another round of memory making in 4 years.