Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg

Since it was our children's year to spend Christmas with in-laws, we decided to find some place to go that would be fun. Ranae had seen an ad for Colonial Williamsburg and the Colonial Christmas they have there. It sounded like an adventure. Well, after having been there, we must say that it was wonderful. We had a timeshare condo about two miles from Colonial Williamsburg and invited Margie (Ranae's sister) to join us. There was a lot of music concerts to attend and events to see. We even sang Christmas carols around the Community Christmas tree. We know you don't want to hear our travel itinary so we will just show some pics (I only wish I had got a
good picture of the Fife and Drummers but the night time pics didn't turn out very well).


The USS Wisconsin

We stopped at the Norfolk Naval Museum when we flew in and went on board the USS Wisconsin battleship. This ship was used in Desert Storm and is on reserve. It was huge-holds 3,000 military personnel.

Colonial Williamsburg

Typical street scene from Colonial Williamsburg.

Everything is decorated with natural items-no electric lights just candles in the windows.

The British Redcoats before doing a reinactment.




In the Market Street area.

Margie and Ranae with one of the patriot guides.




The Governor's Palace


British governor's lived here until after the Revolutionary War and then others such as Thomas Jefferson lived here. We went to a candlelight concert here Christmas night and one in the Capital Building. They were concerts played on harpsicords, flutes, fifes and violins.

Entering the Governor's Palace for the evening candlelight concert.

Jamestown Settlement and Historic Park

Jamestown was the first English settlement in America. The historic area had the actual remains of the church built by settlers. The settlement and ships pictured below were recreated to show what it was like.

Agecroft Hall
We went to Richmond to see Agecroft Hall - a manor dismantled in England and brought over in ships in 1925 to be rebuilt along the James River. The uniqueness of Agecroft is that it was originally owned in 1300 by the Prestwich family (Ranae's ancestors).

Yorktown
This is where the last Revolutionary war was fought.


We missed having our children and their families with us at Christmas time but did enjoy having Margie with us and being able to enjoy a Christmas where it was centered on Christ, the simple things in life, and the freedoms we enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!

Today is our granddaughter, Kaitlyn's 7th birthday. What a beautiful, bright and smart granddaughter! She has brought alot of happiness to Grandpa and Grandma with her "I love yous!" and her special ways of saying "Hi!". We love her very much and hope she has a great day.

I am Thankful for....

Thanksgiving gives us time to ponder on what is important in our lives and what we are thankful for. I am so thankful for my family. To me nothing in life is more important than family.

I am so thankful for my eternal companion, Rick, for the thirty-three years we have been together, for his patience, love, his hard work ethic and even his great humor! He is my best friend!

I am thankful for our children: Jason, Matthew, Stephanie and Eric. Even though they are grown they are the most important blessings in my life and have brought me more happiness than I could ever imagine. We love you!

I am thankful for each of their spouses: Lacey, Katie, Brett and Joy. I am so thankful that their parents raised such caring and loving children. They have been a blessing in our family and I want each of them to especially know that Rick and I love and care for them very deeply.

I am thankful for our eight grandchildren and the little spirit to arrive in June. They give Rick and I a reason to life. Each one is so precious and a blessing from Heavenly Father. I now know why they say that grandchildren are god's gift for raising our own children.


Lastly, I am thankful for my own parents and siblings. I never knew my father and someday I look forward to being able to get to know him. What a wonderful plan we have been given, that we may each have a family here on earth and be sealed together forever. Nothing in life means more to me. Family is the essense of our life here.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at Matthew's home in Colorado. We had so much fun. Eric, Joy, Stephanie and her boys came, also. We missed Jason, Lacey and their family and Brett and wished they could have been there. We hadn't seen Stephanie, Noah and Cooper since July. The boys have grown so much. It was fun to see Cooper walking and Noah talking so much. Matthew and Katie's little ones (Carter and Keegan) have also changed so much. They just love to smile and coo and be talked to. We are so excited for Eric and Joy and their little spirit that will be arriving in June. We waited until Friday to have Thanksgiving dinner. It was great! The turkey was cooked in a big electric roaster and was very moist (loved it, Matthew). We watched the Nebraska-Colorado game on Friday! (Yes, there was a little excited cheering going on from Eric and Joy!) The girls (Stephanie, Katie, Joy and myself) went to Twilight the movie and left the guys home to babysit. Great movie and fun time being with just the girls. The guys had their time on Saturday- they went to an Avalanche game! Eric has waited for a belated Eagle Scout gift from Mom and Dad for eight years-a long time in coming! They had a great time. My sister-in-law, Gail, my neices Jami and Jennifer, their husbands and kids, and my nephew, Brady, came up on Saturday. Brady, Chad and Nathan went to the game with our guys. The girls and kids went out to dinner and then to the outlet mall. I must say that it was a busy fun-filled time. We loved it all except for the drive home. We didn't leave until 3:30 on Sunday afternoon and ended up in a snowstorm between Denver and Colorado Springs. It took us 3 1/2 hours to go forty miles. So by 7:00 p.m., we pulled over and stayed at a motel at the outlet mall by Denver and waited until Monday to drive the rest of the way home. I'm starting to think Denver and I don't mix...I keep getting stuck there overnight!

Here are some of the pics I took of our Thanksgiving weekend:

Matthew and Keegan Carter

Watching the Nebraska Game!

Saturday extended family get together!

Cooper and his binky with Eric

Noah in thought!

Grandpa and Cooper

Colorado winter-Monday south of Denver