Our Second Day at Colonial Williamsburg

We all headed back for another fun day at Colonial Williamsburg.

Jocelyn liked seeing the flags outside all of the open shops.

Our first stop was the Powell House.

They let the kids dress up in colonial clothing.

Madison and Jocelyn even enjoyed a tea party with some of the colonial dolls.

Madison enjoyed playing several of the games that they had set up at the Powell House.

She even taught her sister how to play.

We then headed to the backyard to visit the animals. Madison loves horses.

Jocelyn got the unique opportunity to hold a pigeon.

Next we headed to visit the Joiner. Granddaddy couldn't help but try out one of the old carpentry machines.

Granddaddy and Jocelyn hanging out in a tree on our way to the Cabinet Makers.

Once we got there, Madison got to play a harpsichord.

Our 8th Wedding Anniversary

Today Clay and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary.

It is definitely difficult to be so far away from my husband this year for our wedding anniversary. We will have to plan something special for next year's anniversary once he is home from his deployment.

Luckily, my parents are still here and we are planning to celebrate my anniversary by going to Outback tonight for dinner. I love not having to cook on my anniversary.

Colonial Williamsburg

Today we went to Colonial Williamsburg with Grandma and Granddaddy.

Granddaddy took the girls for a little ride before we headed to see the...

animals that were located behind the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center.

Jocelyn couldn't wait to see what was next.

The girls found some stumps to stand on before we left the Visitor's Center.

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to walk from the Visitor's Center to Colonial Williamsburg. On our way, we went through this beautiful arched bridge.

We went to the Governor's Palace first.

We took the Governor's Palace tour. We learned a lot and got to see some beautiful rooms.

We also visited the Silversmith. She was making a silver bowl.

We loved seeing all of the beautiful wreaths.

The girls enjoyed seeing the horse drawn carriages going up and down the streets. This was their favorite one though because it was carrying a Prince and Princess also known as a Bride and Groom. ;)

The girls liked seeing all of the people dressed up in Colonial clothes.

We stopped in to watch the Blacksmith.

Today he was making an ax.

The girls can't wait to go back. It is a good thing we bought year long passes.

After Christmas Shopping

Granddaddy and I woke up at 5:30 to be ready and out the door by 6:00 am. We stopped by Tommy's restaurant for some breakfast and then hit our first store when it opened at 7:00 am. We went to Sam's Club, Walmart, Michael's. Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Toys R Us, Kmart, and Home Depot. Then came home for lunch and to check on the kids. At that point Granddaddy decided to stay home with the girls and Grandma and I went out shopping. My Mom and I went to JoAnn's, Office Depot, Pier One, Lowe's, Burlington Coat Factory, and Cracker Barrel. I had a great time shopping without kids and spending time with my parents. Here are some of the great after Christmas deals we found:

My mom got me this beautiful Christmas Wall Art at Pier One for only $20.00.

We found this cute lantern at Michael's to stand by our beloved Rudolph that my Dad made when I was little. The lantern was only $9.99 and the Rudolph is priceless.

I also found a 7.5' Christmas Tree for only $39.00. I needed something tall and narrow.

My mom and I found this metal sleigh at Burlington Coat Factory. When we first saw it, we thought it was just part of the Christmas display, but then we saw that it had a price tag on it. We were shocked to see that it was only $25.00. For that price I decided that it would be super cute to put next to the tree and fill with presents.

I also figured it would make a very cute prop for Christmas pictures. :)

The girls LOVE playing in it and pretending that they are sledding through the snow.

Snow Princess Jocelyn

Grandma and Granddaddy bought Jocelyn her own Snow Princess outfit just like Madison.

Christmas 2009

The girls slept in until 9:30 on Christmas morning. Once we all woke up the girls and I got ready and ate breakfast together. After breakfast we baked Jesus' birthday cake. We let the birthday cake cool, while we went to the airport to pick up Grandma and Granddaddy. When we got home we decorated Jesus' birthday cake with Granddaddy while Grandma wrapped some of the presents that she brought on the plane. We then opened our presents and enjoyed Christmas dinner together. We finished our Christmas celebration with Jesus' birthday party and cake.

Madison and Jocelyn got God's Little Princess book and cd's from our friends the Porters.

Uncle Kyle got the girls Princess books and...

lots of new Littlest Pet Shop pets.

Madison was thrilled to see that Mommy and Daddy got her the pink and white horse that she really wanted.

Madison helped Grandma open up one of her gifts.

Grandma got a pink Snuggie.

Madison got a Princess Snuggie.

Jocelyn got a Tinker Bell Snuggie.

Madison can't wait to use her new ballet backpack when she goes to ballet.

Jocelyn was very excited about her new Barbie.

Madison finally got the Thumbelina doll that she wanted.

All Jocelyn wanted for Christmas was a pink piano. She got it!

Madison is looking forward to playing her new pink drum set while Jocelyn plays the piano.

Since we don't have a pet we decided to get the girls a Zhu Zhu this year.

Jocelyn's favorite present was Patches the Zhu Zhu pet hamster.

Madison LOVED all of her presents, but her favorites were her new dress up dresses from Grandma and Granddaddy. She got a wedding dress and a Snow White dress.