I've gotten so far behind on my blog, I can't deny it. And honestly, this post is quite late in coming, but I really did want to get it up all the same. Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose hosted one of her Teacup Exchanges this spring, and I was so thankful to participate. Above I've posted the pictures of what I received in the exchange; it is always such a blessing to open the package and see what someone else has taken the time to put together, and this time was no different.
I received this lovely package from Salinn. The teacup itself is simply charming; look at those butterflies! Of course there were chocolates and teas and all sorts of fun extras. And the fun notebook that I cannot wait to use! Thank you so much Salinn!
"It smells like warm!" - Sammy, one of the first days we opened the windows to let the sunshine and fresh spring breezes in. I sat playing the piano, and he sat in the rocking chair next to me, simply staring outside and watching the robins and the flowers and the neighbors. This spring Aly was in a production of Mary Poppins, the girls hosted their very own tea party, and I sewed both my sister's theatre costume and a dress for myself. --- In between the business of the season, we spent quite a bit of time enjoying the spring weather. I would carry all of my devotional items outside and Sam all of his coloring supplies and we'd sit on the back deck together. We also played catch, picked flowers, washed rearranged the dirt on my car, and listened to a lot of K-Love.
We spent a lot of time on the road! We went to Florida (twice), Massachusetts, Kentucky, and I took a weekend to Tennessee myself. It made for a limited amount of time to relax the rest of the summer, but thankfully the second trip to Florida offered a surplus of time at the poolside and beach.
Now, I have only in the past few years found that I really, truly, actually love travel! I'm slowly (or perhaps rapidly) compiling a list of places to see and things to do. Nonetheless, it is good to have time to take in the sunshine, celebrate with friends, and read a stack of books that barely fits in a suitcase. ;)
The 5th History Trip! This year we found ourselves in Boston, Massachusetts (and various surrounding areas.) The Boston Trip is probably the most taxing of the three trips due to the fact that it is the farthest away and involves an awful lot of walking. For the first time, we scheduled a trip that lasted seven days - from Sunday afternoon until Saturday evening. I'm going to break down the trip day by day (so, yes, many pictures forthcoming) but we saw and did so much it really is hard to capture everything and put it in a single blogpost. Below, here is a picture of our crazy group (and a mold of the skull of George Whitefield.) -- as is tradition, we have a video of the highlights, and a video of our fun, both of which are at the end of the post --
Sunday
We drove. And drove and drove and drove. It rained. And rained and rained and rained. And stormed. Oh yeah, and traffic. We spent literally hours playing cards in our 15 passenger van.
Monday
The trip really began on Monday. We drove into the city to see the tea party ship and museum. It was very cool and detailed, and I might have bought an obsessive amount of tea. ;) The prospect of having the whole trip ahead of you is really a remarkable feeling as you reach your first historical stop. Later that evening we stopped by the airport to pick up Emily from the Boston airport, as she was able to join the trip last minute!
Tuesday
We spent Tuesday in Plymouth. Plymouth Plantation, Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II, the Matrix of Liberty. The Matrix of Liberty is the enormous monument at the end. It was built by congress, in case we ever lose our way, to show us what this country was founded on and what morals to follow to get back there.
Wednesday
Wednesday could be considered Whitefield day. George Whitefield was an amazing man of God, People would come from all over to hear him preach. We visited one of those sights as well as his grave. This rock is only one of many places where he preached to hundreds. Disregarding the random snake that almost slithered right over my shoes, this place truly feels like holy ground. Whitefield requested to be buried under the pulpit of the church. We toured the Old South Church in Newburyport and we also allowed to climb to bell tower. We finished the day by enjoying the beach for just a bit before heading back to the hotel for the night. Plus, we also happened to drive by four penguins! In Massachusetts! Seriously, very cool.
Thursday
Ah, a whole day on the Freedom Trail.
Friday
After walking The Freedom Trail the night before, everyone was pretty tired when we woke up Friday morning. Even so, the Old North Bridge was amazing. The site of the shot heard round the world. Also, it was very beautiful. After exploring the bridge and surrounding areas, we also went to the site of the Midnight Riders. These two events went hand in hand perfectly for our trip that day.
Saturday
Saturday was mostly spent driving home, but on these trips we often like to do a little something fun, to break up the monotony of the drive and give everyone a chance to breath - away from the car and without too much history. This time, it was Hershey World, Pennsylvania. We each created our own candy bar, complete with personally designed cases and our own Hershey's hair-net and apron. Not everyone was excited by these fashionable outfits. Some of them might have been too excited. ;)
