http://www.readingrockets.org/firstyear/

http://pbskids.org/superwhy/

http://www.bobbooks.com/

http://www.mrsperkins.com/dolch.htm

http://www.starfall.com/

Homeschooling Field Trip to President’s Park in Williamsburg, VA with our Homeschool Co-op : )

We had a guided tour around the grounds and learned all kinds of interesting tidbits about our President’s.

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Daddy, Fairy Girl, Lego Boy, Sunshine, and Jelly Bean all took turns sawing the wood until finally Jelly Bean, Sunshine, and Daddy were able to saw the wood slice off.

We learned that America was built on Slavery and Tobacco from the story tellers

Re-enactment in Colonial Williamsburg

Hmmmm…..

We went to the press room- for related photos look at the slide show above.

Jelly Bean spent quite a bit of our vacation on Daddies shoulders.

Lego Boy spent his allowance on a Colonial Williamsburg musket.

My Jelly Bean

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This was our first day in D.C. after checking in to the hotel, finding parking (not a fun thing to do), we then headed out to venture around D.C. First stop the Washington Monument.

A view from the Washington Monument- you can see the Capitol Building in the distance.

WWII Memorial

WWI Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

In front of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial – viewing the Reflection Pool

Standing in Awe at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial- one feels like a tiny ant next to the vastness of the Memorial.  President Lincoln is one of my favorite Presidents : )

Standing in front of the grandness of Abraham Lincoln.

It was REALLY hard to get a group photo as everyone kept stepping right in front of us- I will have to photo shop these two photos into one later : )

One of the most memorable locations we saw along our 3 day family vacation.

The Korean Memorial- Papa served in this war when he and Mama were first married.  He tells stories of the boat ride over with him and his brother, who served together in this war.

A Reminder to us all- especially those who tend to forget! You can see David and Lego Boy’s reflection- Though we did not plan it this way, I think it is symbolic of Father and Son : ) and how precious it is to fight for our FREEDOM!

After a VERY long day of traveling, and touring D.C. we paused in front of the White House.  This is about as close as you can get since 9/11.  I believe we were two streets over.  There were police officers everywhere.  We even spotted a sniper on top of the White House.

Jelly Bean was our Sheriff for the day- we stopped at a Crackel Barrel along our driving route and this is what Jelly Bean decided she wanted from the gift shop- see the shiny badge?

Heading back to the hotel where we promptly landed our heads on the pillows and fell fast asleep- no exaggerations here!

http://www.mountvernon.org/

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My Darling Husband and Me at Mount Vernon.

A tree planted at Mount Vernon with the Potomac River in the back.

I Love this picture of Lego Boy and Dad- I LOVE my Guys : )

Fairy Girl with Mount Vernon behind here, which is George Washington’s house (The United States of America’s first President).

Peace Sunshine- Peace.

Mount Vernon’s information center.  The staff was VERY welcoming and VERY nice and informative.  Visiting Mount Vernon was a pleasant experience I would recommend to anyone.

George Washington’s garden- it has been maintained to uphold his original garden.  George Washington was our first president but he states he was first and foremost a farmer.  George Washington also surveyed land.  In addition, an interesting fact is- from the age of 11 he self taught himself (YEP- he was homeschooled).  His father died when he was 11 and George Washington learned everything he knew from the collection of books he had.  The reason we know so much about him is- he kept a daily journal.  George Washington inherited Mount Vernon from his brother, Laurence when Laurence died of tuberculosis.  George Washington himself died of Quinsy, which was pretty much a severe throat infection.

One of George Washington’s last testament was he wanted a new tomb built and he wanted his family and himself relocated to this tomb.  His last testament was fulfilled and the new tomb was completed and Washington and his family was relocated.  After Washington’s death, someone approached Martha (George Washington’s wife) and asked if he could be buried at the Washington Monument.  Martha verbally agreed but when the time came for Washington to be relocated the trustee’s of Mount Vernon refused and today George and his family lie in this tomb located on the Mount Vernon property.

The Front of Mount Vernon’s mansion.  We were lucky enough to get a tour- sorry, no pictures allowed inside : (

We went on the National Treasure 2 tour while at Mount Vernon.  The first picture is a picture of our guide.  The second picture is the front of Washington’s basement, which is where Nicholas Cage took the President to show him the “Secret” tunnel.  The third picture if you recognize is where Nicholas Cage enters with the President.  The fourth picture is the place where they discovered the tunnel (which does not really exist : ), and the fifth is a picture of Washington’s cornerstone, which is located in his basement.

Along our tour- we visited the “Ha Ha” wall.  Look it up to see why it is called this : )

If you recognize this- it is where Nicholas Cage exits with the President, where the President tells Cage about his “President’s Book”.  This is really Washington’s Ice Cellar.  Washington would send his servants down to gather ice from the Potomac River during the winter.  He would store his ice in the cellar in a deep well and use it for the rest of the year.

The second picture is the shot  that “National Treasure 2″ used in the movie.  A side note- they shot the movie in 30 degree weather, so when you see the cocktail party and everyone laughing and having a great time- they were actually FREEZING! So, look for the goose bumps : )

Mount Vernon’s education center : ) It was also one of my favorites.

A replica of George Washington’s house.  It was very detailed and very comparable to the real one.

A glimpse inside the replica house.  A peek inside the front room : )

Our tour of Mount Vernon served a dual purpose- it was Sunshine’s birthday and her choice to include the tour and visit to Mount Vernon for her birthday.  Happy Birthday Sunshine!

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Day 3 of our Family Vacation to Washington D.C. We headed out to explore the Smithsonian Museums.  Our first destination was the information center, commonly referred to as the “Castle”.  You may recognize some of the below pictures from the popular movie, “Night at the Museum 2″.  A theme for our trip was the two films, “National Treasure 2″ and “Night at the Museum 2″.  The second picture is the information sign of all the museums.

The “Pile of Loot” from the film “Night at the Museum 2″.

We are now at the Smithsonian’s “National Art Gallery” where we viewed Presidential Paintings.

We are now in front of the National Archives where inside we head to see the Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence.

With a few stops along the way : )

Shhhhh… no playing around here.  You can sense the awe in the room and the understanding of what our nation is built on.

Off to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum where you may recognize “Easter Island” from the movie, “Night at the Museum 2″.  No Gum, Gum for the Dumb, Dumb : )

While at the Natural History Museum- we got more than we bargained for as Evolution was everywhere.

As you walk up the stairs to the museum you notice a huge Darwin sign hanging with EVOLUTION on it. As you tour through the museum it is a sickening feeling as everyone is walking through and reading the signs and displays. It says millions of years and we were created from chemicals. It is so sad to see the people wandering around as lost souls believing this. I wanted to yell out- do you not see the truth? As my husband, my children and I walked through the museum I explained to my children the wrongness of the explanations within the museum. I carefully explained to my children that if you are a bible believing Christian then the bible clearly states that God created us- Adam from Dust and Eve from Adam’s rib. That the dinosaurs were created on the sixth day and if we believe in the bible then Dinosaurs could not have roamed the Earth before then as there was no Earth until God created it.  Earth is a little over 6,000 years old.  I know this as I am a bible believing Christian.  You are either with God or against Him- the choice is yours.

I left the Smithsonian with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes that this untruth was being spread and thousands of people were being fed lies and being lead down the wrong path. We will be visiting the Creation Museum soon in Kentucky to further instill the “Truth”.

http://creationmuseum.org/

NEMO!

Notice the dating of the sign behind Lego Boy “Millions of Years”.

Last stop- Arlington Cemetery to pay our respects.

The changing of the guard.  A truly moving experience.  In the second photo you will see David explaining the significance of this to the kids.

That is it for this family vacation.  We are looking forward to many more family vacations and memories as we work our way across the United States.

For more information- www.campaignforrealbeauty.com

Sunshine and Jelly Bean dancing to a song from the Hannah Montana Movie.