Leah played her cello with the Beginner Orchestra at school. Almost all the 3rd graders in the school are in the orchestra, and they sounded great (as did the 4th and 5th graders)! Congratulations to Leah for a great concert and for being the 1st chair cello!
We spent Wednesday at Colonial Williamsburg as well. We got there in time to see the Welcome play in front of the courthouse. We went to the market house. We explored the courthouse. We wandered around some more. We walked across the street from the historic area to get some lunch. Then we headed to the art museum, which Leah was excited to visit.
We spent a good bit of time in the museum looking at everything. We were captivated for a while by these creepy colonial child portraits. The girls tried to look creepy too.
In this creepy picture, the older sisters are trying to restrain the youngest. I think Jen and the girls reproduced it well.
We stopped into Kilwins for some delicious ice cream.
We went on a tour of the Governor’s Palace, which was very interesting. Out back of the Governor’s Palace, there was a hedge maze that I walked with the girls. You may be able to see my head in the back, left corner.
And there were pretty gardens.
After our day in Colonial Williamsburg, we walked back to Kilwins to pick up some more sweet treats (fudge and cream eggs). We thought about buying them when we were there earlier, but we worried it would melt as we walked around. While picking these up, Leah and Molly decided to have some more fun with ice cream.
That evening for dinner, we introduced the girls to a bit of nostalgia from our childhood - Cracker Barrel. It was beautiful out, so we had to sit in rocking chairs on Cracker Barrel’s porch and play checkers while waiting for our table.
Of course, the girls had to experience the classic Cracker Barrel triangle peg board game.
Leah may have been a beginner, but she won!
Like true tourists, we also bought a bunch of sweet treats in the Old Country Store. I got to build my own 4 pack of fancy sodas, and we all got candy sticks (they were 7 for $1, so we got 7).
While in Williamsburg, we spent Tuesday and Thursday at Busch Gardens. We got there right when the park opened, which I highly recommend to hit the rides before the lines get long.
Tuesday, we went straight to the Loch Ness Monster. Leah’s excited to be back on a roller coaster.
Next stop: Invadr - a wooden roller coaster. Yes, Jen rode it, and every other ride Leah was big enough to ride.
Adults were not up for all the spinning on Le Catapult, so the girls went by themselves.
We saw a couple shows - Pet Shenanigans and Celtic Fyre. We experienced the Battle for Eire (a VR ride I wasn’t a fan of). And Leah rode her biggest coaster yet - Apollo’s Chariot (we may have had to round her height up to get her on...), which she loved. We had a good day.
On Thursday, we rode Invadr again. Molly found her favorite coaster - Alpengeist, which she and I rode 3 times (Leah was not tall enough for it). Jen was kind enough to get Leah a cupcake to reward her for her patience while Molly and I rode it for the 3rd time.
We rode Apollo’s Chariot again (this time Molly and Jen rode it with us). We also rode Verbolten, which was my favorite due to being so different and unexpected (I won’t spoil it for you). We ate gelato. Leah talked me into paying for her to play a carnival game so she could win a plush. We saw Oktoberzest. And we eventually called it a day.
We’ve long thought of taking a trip to Williamsburg, and decided to finally make it happen over Spring Break. This was a church folk Spring Break trip, where we have to wait to leave until after singing in Palm Sunday service, and we have to get back in time for Saturday rehearsal and leading worship on Easter Sunday. But Monday - Friday was plenty. Jen bought us a Spring Bounce ticket (admission and parking for the week at Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens) and we hit the road first thing Monday morning.
We went straight to Colonial Williamsburg to see what it was all about. We wandered around a bit getting our bearings. We went through the Silversmith’s shop, we wandered through some stores, we got snacks. We then got in line for the tour at the Capitol.
On the Capitol tour, we learned about colonial times while sitting in the same place Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and others discussed the American Revolution.
The Capitol also housed the highest court in the Virginia colony.
We stopped in to Charlton’s Coffeehouse to learn about coffeehouses of colonial times. Jen had some tea, and Leah had some chocolate popular in colonial times.
Molly though the chocolate was not good (it was very bitter, a bit thick, and not very sweet).
While waiting for a table at Chowning’s Tavern, we wandered over to the Courthouse. One thing led to another, and the girls ended up in the Pillory. Molly is showing proper remorse for her crimes. Leah’s thumbs up makes me think she doesn’t appreciate the gravity of the situation.
Still waiting for our table, Molly tried out the game of graces with the tavern keeper.
We had a delicious dinner at Chowning’s Tavern. Brunswick Stew, Shepherd’s Pie, a crock of cheese, and more deliciousness.
We then headed to our hotel (Fort Magruder) to get some sleep so we could get to Busch Gardens right when they opened.
Molly’s birthday celebration kept going and going. After her slumber party, the girls woke up and headed home. Molly and Grace headed to karate and Leah headed to a birthday party (and brought a Squishmallow as a present, more on that later). Then Leah went to the Solo and Ensemble Festival. Then we had the Sellers side of the family over to keep celebrating Molly’s birthday. We also celebrated Uncle Charles’s birthday, so they were both blowing out candles. And yes, that is the same cake from the night before. It looks perfect, as if still whole…
Here’s a look at the other side of the cake (the side we ate from at Molly’s slumber party).
There were also presents to be opened.
Gather round for the multiple musical cards.
In our house, we love Squishmallows. So, when Jen’s friend texted her from Costco saying they had them in stock (and selling out fast), we got the girls another one each (plus got an extra one to give to one of Leah’s friends for her birthday earlier in the day). Aunt Caroline brought her own Squishmallow to our celebration. Squishmallows are taking over the world.
Leah's only been playing cello for a few months, but she's already doing great! She participated in the county-wide Solo and Ensemble Festival and did a fantastic job!
Molly turned 12 on Saturday! We celebrated with a slumber party Friday night. The Spring weather had finally arrived, so starting out the evening with laser tag outside was perfect!
Jen knew this would be the perfect cake for Molly. Molly requested a chocolate cake, accompanied by malted milk ice cream and peanut butter chocolate fudge ripple ice cream.
Jen saw a contestant on Kids Baking Championship make marshmallow fondant, so she tried out this new technique to create the unicorn horn and ears.
Painting wood signs and canvases are all the rage right now, so Jen created personal designs for each of the 6 girls to paint. First, she had to review the technique for painting.
All the girls enjoyed choosing how to personalize their artwork.
Many of the girls decided to mix their own colors.
The girls (and Jen!) were all so happy with how their paintings turned out.
We then watched The House with a Clock in Its Walls and ate popcorn. Then it was finally time for bed. The girls were asleep by around midnight.
The next morning, I got up at 6:30 (not my usual pattern) to go to Krispy Kreme and pick up hot doughnuts for breakfast. I actually got back before everyone got up (though not by much). A little more playing (Mario Kart) and then it was time for everyone to head out. A good time was had by all.
Leah and her choir sang again this past Sunday.
After watching Leah sing, Molly headed off to Sunday School. We were surprised to see her a few minutes later serving as the acolyte. Apparently the girl who was supposed to do it didn’t show, so Molly was recruited on her way to Sunday School.
G’Mom and Grampa came in town for a visit, and their visit once again coincided with our elementary school’s Bingo night. We of course made it to Bingo, and Jen of course got Bingo again. Sadly, a kid did as well and the kid won the call-off (which also seems to always happen to Jen).
As a consolation prize for losing the call off, Jen got a Target gift card. Molly was still excited.
Madison just needs one more! (She sadly did not get it).
A fun night as always.
Our church youth group took a trip to Liberty (about an hour and 15 minutes away) to do some snow tubing. It was a youth trip, but adults that came along could bring their younger kids as well. So, our whole family went, as well as the girls’ friends who live behind us. Leah was happy to be included.
We had a great time. Hard to believe we live so close to snowy mountains and we’ve never done anything like this until now. Thanks to the Glen Mar youth group for setting this up.
