Fourth of July! 250th

This was a very special 4th of July for our country! Since we live basically in the nation's birthplace, people from ALL OVER came to Williamsburg to celebrate. That meant lots of crowds. We decided early on not to leave our neighborhood for the day so that we could really enjoy it without worrying about traffic and crowds. As special as all the celebrations were, our kids weren't super excited about being shoulder to shoulder with 70,000 strangers. We had never stayed in our neighborhood for the evening though so it was a new experience for us - and maybe the start of a new tradition!

We did a morning work out with friends:

Then it was off to the neighborhood bike parade! This is a very sweet tradition where the kids ride their bikes around the lake with a firetruck leading the way. Neighbors who aren't biking all come out and line the streets to watch!

Cousins came and biked in the parade with us!

From there we decided to head down to the marina.

It was SO hot though and then a thunderstorm rolled in.

We went to our neighborhood picnic at the pool after a break at home while it rained.

And then when the picnic ended, a group was heading down to the marina so we wandered down there. We had decided not to do any big fireworks shows this year due to the traffic, but we were pleasantly surprised that our neighbors shot off a few so we didn't miss out!

Happy 4th of July!

Century Ride

I have had a goal for a long time to ride the Capital Trail "Cap to Cap" as they say down here. I have gone from Richmond to Williamsburg twice - in 2020 and 2021. I really wanted to do the full Century - 100 miles from Williamsburg to Richmond and back again. Sort of on a last minute plan, we did it! I left around 6:30 am the week before daylight savings ended.

I picked up one friend near a local coffee spot on the trail, and a second at the top of the Chickahominy bridge as the sun rose. 

We biked 40 miles before we stopped for the first time near Dorey Park.

Then we kept going until we hit the end of the trail in Richmond at Great Shiplock Park! This was the first time I completed the trail from Williamsburg to Richmond.

We turned around and continued our lovely fall ride back toward Williamsburg.

We were riding at an easy pace, so the shadows started getting long before we knew it. And then we ran into some familiar faces!!

We took a quick pit stop to Ann's to eat a chocolate chip cookie for the 5-6 miles we had left. Chris took everyone home and started prepping dinner while I finished the ride.

I pulled in just as the sun was setting on the day and Ben had drawn me a finish line!

The next day my knees were killing me and my thighs were sore, but I was so glad to have done it! I think from now on I'll stick with one way!

Jamestown settlement Military through the ages

We biked to Jamestown Settlement on a nice day in March! They were having a military through the ages festival spanning from Athens in 6-4th century B.C. until now. The kids had a blast.

Trying out some Jacobite weaponry.

Hopefully we have many more biking excursions soon!

Dredging the marina

The other day we had gorgeous weather, so Ben, Rosie, and I decided to bike around the lake in our neighborhood. 

We decided to stop down by the marina to see the construction equipment while it was still down there to dredge.

They were entranced, as you may imagine!

Eleanor's birthday

Happy 9th birthday to Eleanor! We decorated her cake the night before.

Last pictures with our 8 year old!

She woke up to balloons and her birthday string! 

Chris took her out to breakfast at Duck Donuts before he had to head in to work.

Then we just had a normal slow day while we prepped for her party...however, teacher assignments came in the mail! She and two other girls at her party all got the same teacher which was quite exciting for them. Chris had organized a biking scavenger hunt around the neighborhood. He handed over the first clue and they were off!

They had clues to solve at the marina, the lake park, the playground, the pool, the cut through to an adjoining neighborhood, all leading back home.

I went along for safety, to fix the bike chains, and to keep the crew together.

Overall they had a great time and were tired when they came back.

We grilled hotdogs and had popsicles.

Antelope, Bonnie, and Riser came to help! Sadly they couldn't stay for cake because it was getting a little late and Riser was ready for bed (maybe past ready). Baby Robert couldn't come because he sadly wasn't feeling great.

We had cake later that night (didn't do it during the party due to some allergies).

And in lieu of gifts for her party, Eleanor collected change and made a donation to our local library since she loves reading so much.

Happy birthday sweet Eleanor!