Book List for May and looking forward to Vacation...

It's been awhile since I have done a book list for our book basket and in reorganizing things this afternoon I decided to pull books to post. The end of May brings a trip north to Virginia...one of our favorite places to vacation. I started visiting the 'Historic Triangle' when I was in elementary school and absolutely fell in love with the area. Shortly after we were married we took our first family vacation with Andy's family and we went to Virginia. Since then we've taken several trips back to the historic district but the last time we were there AG was 20 months old. After that trip we found out were pregnant with Avi-Kate. When I look back at the photos from that trip it amazes me what all has happened since we were last there. I can't believe it's been almost three years since we were there last. We are thrilled to be heading back for a week of good food, walking in the past, shopping at our favorite places, and visiting one of our favorite theme parks with lots of family time. Since I taught upper elementary school I have quite a large collection of books relating to Colonization and The American Revolution. 

Colonial Book Basket:

John, Paul, George, and Ben by Lane Smith

Those Rebels, John & Tom by Barbara Kerley

Katie's Trunk by Ann Turner

Samuel's Choice by Richard Berleth

The Lost Colony of Roanoke by Jean Fritz

Uncovering History at Colonial Williamsburg Archaeology for Young Explorers

D is for Drum A Colonial Williamsburg ABC by Kay Chorao

Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming

Historic Communities A Colonial Town Williamsburg by Bobbie Kalman

Mary Geddy's Day A Colonial Girl in Williamsburg by Kate Waters

The Scarlet Stockings Spy by Trinka Hakes Noble

Let it Begin Here! Lexington and Concord by Dennis Brindell Fradin

George vs. George The American Revolution as Seen From Both Sides by Rosalyn Schanzer

Roanoke The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen and Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple

Redcoats and Petticoats by Katherine Kirkpatrick

The Folk Art Counting Book from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center Williamsburg, VA

If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days by Barbra Brenner

If You Lived At The Time Of The American Revolution by Kay Moore

Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? by Jean Fritz

Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz

Everyday Dress of the American Colonial Period Coloring Book by Peter F. Copeland

We The People Series of books:

The Boston Tea Party by Michael Burgan

Great Women of the American Revolution by Michael Burgan

Williamsburg by Judy Alter

African-Americans in the Colonies by Jean Kinney Williams

The Bill of Rights by Michael Burgan

The Declaration of Independence by Michael Burgan

The Battles of Lexington and Concord

Triangle Histories Revolutionary War Series

The Battle of Monmouth by Lewis K. Parker

The Battle of Harlem Heights by Mary Hertz Scarbrough

The Battle of Valcour Bay by Scott Ingram

I recognize that some of these are waaaaaaay over my kids' heads. BUT while the content might be over their heads the real photographs on the pages are great to look at and discuss. The Williamsburg We the People book is filled with photos of the historic district. This will be a list that I come back to as the kids age over the next few years. I am really excited about AG being older this time around. He'll actually be able to grasp some of the concepts that we'll experience and that makes this former history teacher's heart happy. Here's hoping this next month flies by because I can't wait to be back there after browsing through these photos earlier:

 Lunch with Elmo and Friends and lots of quality time at Busch Gardens is on tap next month. They've added several new rides since we were last there. Including a new roller coaster, Verbolten, that replaced one of our favorite coasters at any theme park, The Big Bad Wolf. 

 Our last few trips have come in the lates summer/ fall so I'm excited to see the late spring/early summer gardens. 

 AG has requested a new hat since this one now fits Avi-Kate, a colonial drum, and a wooden pistol like the one he is holding in this photo. We are going to buy Avi-Kate a mob cap but I have a feeling she'll be wearing AG's old tri-cornered hat everywhere she goes. 

 I'm elated about this...when we were there last they had started working on excavating and rebuilding the Public Armoury. Since we've been there they completed the project and we will actually get to walk inside this building that was a big hole in the ground last time we were there. 

 Afternoon hot chocolate at Charlton's Coffee House is a must do for me. Colonial hot chocolate is very different from today's hot chocolate. 

 Even in the rain Williamsburg is just beautiful to me. 

Granddaddy-isms and telling stories...

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love history. (My husband lovingly-teased me on our last visit to Colonial Williamsburg that it was "my DisneyWorld".) But aside from the rich history of our country I want my kids to know the rich history and stories that make them who they are. I've been reminded this a lot in the last few days. Last week my sister totaled her car and called to ask if she could borrow our 3rd vehicle. Now our 3rd vehicle is nothing spectacular but it's special. I bought the car from my Grandfather's estate shortly after he passed away. I paid it off before I left home for college. I lovingly called it the Go-Go Saturn because it was a small little car but had some pep to it. The Go-Go Saturn saw me thru college and into the first few years of our marriage. When I got my Acadia a year and a half ago we held on to it because of the sky-rocketing cost of gas and we weren't ready to replace the Jeep. Since then we've replaced the Jeep and sent it on to greener pastures down at the farm. We've kept my little car because the reality is I'm not ready to let it go. It's one of the few things that I have that was my Grandfather's. However, in the last few weeks I had begun to think about maybe parting with it because the car is not my Grandfather. It's just a machine that holds dear memories. So when my sister called to borrow it I said yes without thinking twice about it. It was surreal to drive it home this last weekend and hand over the keys...it was even more surreal when we returned to Rome and it was not parked in it's little spot on the driveway. The Go-Go Saturn won't live forever and that's okay. What's important is to tell the adventures of the Go-Go Saturn to AG and his future siblings. Like:

--Great Granddaddy Gettis bought it as a second car to use to get around town...this came in handy when G-Daddy (my father) was borrowing Great Grandddaddy Gettis' truck and would run out of gas while driving said truck and need a little help. :) This would also be a great time to share how G-Daddy is prone to running out of gas...

--That somehow I managed to not hit a deer at Berry College, deer Mecca of the world, until spring semester my senior year. Not only did I hit a baby deer and start crying I couldn't seem to get my father or fiance at the time to answer my calls at 7:30 in the morning. Thus making me late for Student Teaching and even more upset. They both called back later and both laughed at me and the silliness of the whole situation.

--The Go-Go Saturn is not afraid of taking down an armadillo...it was either him on his hind legs staring at me or me hitting on coming traffic or landing in the bay two miles from the beach house. My Berry College license plate hit the sucker dead on.

--Or shortly after we were married when Andy scratched the side of the car while being cozy with the retaining wall at our first house...that was a tough lesson on forgiveness for me.

--When packed correctly the Go-Go Saturn can haul just about anything.

While trivial to some those are things that make me smile and laugh about my little car. I really could keep going on but I won't. Here's another example of why it is important to pass down our stories...

Two nights ago as we got AG ready for bed we all ended up on the twin bed in AG's room. Andy fed AG while I read aloud. (I was done after two short stories because by the end I could barely talk thanks to losing my voice...but that is neither here nor there.) After I finished reading AG began to fuss and Andy without missing a beat looked at AG and said, "Little man as your Granddaddy Edwards use to say, put a lid on it!" And AG stopped and looked at Andy very intently for several seconds and then continued to eat away without making another peep. And in that moment my thoughts drifted and I could see Ron saying that to the active little boy I'm told my husband was. It brought a smile to my face. It also was a quick reminder that AG will never know his Granddaddy Edwards here on this earth and how important it is for us to write down and tell the Granddaddy-isms of our lives.

So I guess if you are still reading my jumble of thoughts my conclusion after all this pondering is that we need to share and record our stories in addition to making simple Granddaddy-isms part of our daily lives so that our children know who they are and where the come from. Life would be so boring without stories like the time G-Daddy ran out of gas in the middle of the intersection on Christmas Eve or sayings like 'put a lid on it.' So in the future I'll post other "-isms"...whenever the situation calls for it. Happy Wednesday.