Wild Horses, Jaunt to West Virginia, De-Casting and More!

Ella has been begging to do TKD for the past year or two.  But we've just been maxed out time and money wise on all things sports, so we kept putting it off.  But alas, I figured the best part of her doing TKD is being able to do this with her brother since there is an "All Belts" class they can do together and they are super excited about being together.  I would kick myself if I put it off for so long that Tanner stopped/finished TKD and they never got to do it together.  So alas, I bit the bullet and enrolled her!  She was SOOOOO excited.  Here she is with our neighbor and fellow TKD buddy after her first class.  Where is Tanner, you ask?

Well, he missed their first class together because he spent the weekend in Assateauge, famous for its wild horses roaming the beaches, with his Boy Scout Troop.

And they had an all-you-can-eat seafood feast.  Tanner was in HEAVEN!!!

He got his fill!

I saw this picture and I said to him, "Why does your face look like that?"  And he said, "Because Owen said he'd pay me $3 if I ate a crab eyeball."  🤮

And he got up before dawn with his buddy John to see the sunrise.  Not a bad way to start the day!

Lacey had a pretty good weekend too!  While 2020 is a wash for most people in terms of visits to amusement parks, Lacey just hit up her third!  We were able to go to Lagoon in Utah in August, then Busch Gardens as a family last week in Williamsburg and then this past weekend, a friend invited her to go to Six Flags to go on some rides and explore the halloween-decorated park for a few hours.  Fun! 🎢

And we also got lots of sports in!

Lacey played soccer (hopefully her last in bubble wrap!)

I love this one with her tongue sticking out. 😜

Celebrating their 1-0 victory with her friend and fellow teammate, Josie.

And Tanner got to play baseball.  He had his best game of the season!  His first time up to bat, he got a hit and made it to first.  Then he stole 2nd and eventually made his way home.  His next at bat, he nailed the ball, but it was just foul.  Then he nailed it again to center field, but unfortunately they caught it. And then they had him pitch the last inning of the game.  He only walked one batter and he got two of the three outs when the batter hit the ball and Tanner was able to catch it.  The guy on first had already started running to second, which Tanner realized, so he quickly threw to first and got it there in time before the guy made it back.  And the game ended when Tanner was on 2nd base and the batter nailed the ball and Tanner made a great fielding play and got it to first in time for the out.  So fun to see him play ball! ⚾

And then there's Riley.  She had quite the day yesterday.  We got up early in the morning and took her to her soccer game.

And then hopped in the car and drove all the way out to West Virginia (as I was crossing the state line into West Virginia, I thought to myself "things that never in a hundred years would have occurred to my parents to do - cross state lines to take me to a lacrosse game on a Saturday afternoon "- seriously, sports has gotten so competitive and hard core!)  But alas, there I was driving to West Virginia for a lacrosse tournament.  They had three games lasting all afternoon.  Their Maryland United 2029 team won the first two games, but lost the third.  But Riley scored goals in two of the three games, so it was fun to watch!

Here they are with one of their "big sister" Maryland United team giving them a bag full of goodies and wishing them luck before the tournament.

And we also got Lacey's cast off!  Yay!!

They confirmed a "left radial neck fracture" and said it was only 80% healed after they re-x-rayed it after the cast removal.  But they said it was fine to keep the cast off as long as she's careful with it and makes sure not to fall on it again. They said it would hopefully be 100% healed within the next couple of weeks assuming no more falls/injuries.

Speaking of Lacey.... she is our family artist.  Dave and I came home one night and found this on our bed that she designed and drew.  I love the "Halloween" part.  She has a creativity artistic gene in her that she most certainly didn't get from me!

We thought it was so cute that we made copies of it, went out and bought a bunch of candy and then went around the neighborhood and anonymously "booed" people.  It was lots of fun!

And a few people "Booed" us too, which the kids of course loved!

Speaking of Halloween and Lacey's creativity..... she decided to be a "spooky Queen of Hearts" for Halloween and created this look all on her own for her church youth group halloween activity.

Dave and I were also invited to a Halloween Party.  This was last night after I did Riley's soccer game in the morning and then her tournament in West Virginia day.  I made it home by 6:30.  I walked in the door and had absolutely no idea what I was going to be for the Halloween party.  I went digging through our Halloween bin, came up with this (while Dave borrowed parts of Tanner's plague doctor costume) and we were out the door by 7:00.

Good times with good friends! 👻

And last, but not least..... After 8.5 years of living in this home and wishing our wood fireplace (which we almost never use because it's such a pain to gather the wood, stoke the fire, clean up the ash, etc, etc) was a gas fireplace, we finally decided to make the investment.  And we are so happy we did!  They finished it on Friday and we've had it on almost ever since!  The kids love that they can just grab the remote control and turn on a roaring fire.  Just in time for a cozy Fall and Winter 🔥

 

Jamestown

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020

We woke up on Tuesday morning to slightly overcast skies and some dampness from the day before, but.....no rain!!  So, we checked out of our hotel as quickly as possible and raced back to Williamsburg to get there right when it opened so that we could see the Governor's Mansion - the inside of it and all the grounds and gardens behind it.  We attempted to do this on Saturday, but due to the strict COVID regulations regarding the small number of people they let inside the house at a time, the line was always ~ an hour long.  And none of us wanted to wait outside in the rain for an hour.  So we regrettably left on Saturday without being able to do it.  Luckily, our timing and weather cooperated on Tuesday to be able to do it.  And we are so glad we did.  Totally worth it!

Starting our tour, getting ready to go inside. 

The inside of the house was pretty cool.  Especially all the old furniture pieces.

Tanner couldn't get over the walls and walls decorated with swords and all things old-school militia. 

And little Ella got swallowed up in the Great Hall, that they told us only the top 3% of society ever earned the right to see/visit. 

But, while the inside of the mansion was cool, it was the behind-the-mansion gardens that took our breath away.  Spectacular!

We discovered a maze and had fun exploring and getting lost in the hedges.

Tanner found the middle!

Riley and Ella decided to put on a history play for us in the outside theatre garden.

My girls 💗💗💗

A Tree Tunnel

Talk about an entrance!

After exploring the Governor's Mansion and grounds, we were making our way back to our car (and the 21st century), when we came upon some horses that befriended us on our way out.  We stopped for quite awhile talking to them and petting them.

But, alas, we tore ourselves away from the beautiful horses so that we could make our way to Jamestown!

And thankfully, Jamestown was mostly open since so much of it is outside. Yay!

Learning some history....

Then going outside to see the settlement and the ships.

Tanner peeking inside the Captian's quarters.

Ahoy!

Fire away!

🎵Sittin' on the dock of the bay...🎵

And we explored the Indian settlement as well. Here we are inside a Yehakin.

And learning how to cook.

And participating in some rain dances (which clearly a lot of people must have been doing over the past few days 😉🌧). 

And then finally making our way home.  And yes, "Holey" came with us once again.  Seven and half years of travels.....every one of which Holey has accompanied us.