Good Kind of Busy

For over a year, or really, since we moved into our house, I have not cared for the colonial blue walls in the foyer and hallways. Not only is it not my favorite blue, it was one of the worst painting jobs I have ever seen. It was slapped on so haphazardly that patches of blue decorated the ceiling where they never bothered to wipe up mistakes. Then they tried to touch up the bad spots with the same color but with a different sheen. It was bad. I have had a paint chip taped in the hallway for the past year, along with a quote from local painter. This was one job I did not want to tackle. The foyer is a two-story entrance. I am not particularly fond of heights. We made the call and set up a time for the job to be done. Here are some before and after pictures of the project.

I am really happy with the results. It makes it seem much brighter.

My parents arrived on Friday to go to Colonial Williamsburg with us for their homeschool days. Saturday was cold and breezy and we tried to see indoor sights as much as possible. I did not even take any pictures because my hands were cold and we were so bundled up, I am not sure you could even recognize us from the other bundled up visitors.

That evening, we got the kids settled with their dinner back at the house and the adults went out to dinner at a local Thai restaurant. We celebrated our 20th anniversary, which is next week. I could not have asked for a better evening.

Sunday, after Mass, we headed back to Williamsburg for more fun. The weather was much nicer and I got some pictures this time. Anna bought herself a small cloth doll as a souvenier. Somehow, a second identical doll ended up in our stroller by accident. We planned to return it to the gift shop at the end of the day since we had already boarded the bus and were heading into the historic area and away from the visitor's center. Unfortunately, the gift shop was closed when we finally caught a bus back to our cars. Tony had to spend his lunch hour yesterday driving back yet again to Williamsburg to return the doll. Thank goodness it is only 20 miles up the interstate. Jack picked out a little lantern with a battery powered votive light in it as his remembrance of the weekend.

We spent most of our time at the palace.

In the gardens behind the palace.

They probably don't look kindly upon children having rock throwing contests in the gardens.



She liked the rocks.

I bet this arbor will be beautiful in a month or so.

Jack ran through there several times.

The sky was brilliantly blue.

If you looked closely at the ground, you found signs that spring is close.

I wondered what was beyond the gate.

My mom and dad.

A heron had just flown up within a couple of feet of the kids.

Trying out the sepia setting.

The old brick paths made the walk even more special.

And that was how we celebrated Ben's birthday.