Williamsburg

I've got a little bit of catching up to do.

Between our two-week visit to Wichita in December, houseguests and preparation for little Annabelle, I've gotten quite behind in my posts. I am determined to someday make a blog book, so even if the following happened two months ago, I just can't leave it out! I do apologize for the rewind.

For Christmas 2008, Brian's mom gave Abby (Brian's sister) and me a girls weekend getaway to Colonial Williamsburg. It's a quaint historical village in Virginia filled with homes, shops and government buildings preserved from America's early days. Every year at Christmastime, they have an old-fashioned Grand Illumination weekend that culminates in a fife-and-drum plus fireworks finale!

The special celebration this year fell during the first weekend of December. We all flew into Washington DC and spent one night with Renee, Roxie's sister, and her family. They live just outside of DC in Leesburg, VA, which is about 3 hours from Williamsburg.

We headed out early the next morning, and after stopping at a regional craft show, arrived at our beautiful hotel in Williamsburg. Even though it was cold and rainy the first day we were there, we still had a blast exploring the area together.

After dinner the first night, Abby and I opted to go back to our room and knit - it was freezing cold and nothing sounded better than sitting on our warm bed, watching Christmas movies and working on our scarves. It was wonderful!

The next morning, we were very happy to see sunshine and blue skies! We spent most of the day wandering around the Williamsburg square. Period-dressed actors walked throughout the crowds, either singing carols or acting out colonial skits.

These amazing fruit wreaths were hanging everywhere - they are Williamsburg's trademark, especially during the holidays (it's all real fruit)! Truly magnificent. I absolutely love magnolia (I used magnolia leaves everywhere in our wedding), so I was in awe of the thick garland drapings.

The last evening, we bundled up in our warmest gear and headed out to the Grand Illumination.

Thousands of people come in for this event every year, and after attending, I can understand why. It was pretty spectacular!

What special memories we got to make together - definitely a weekend we'll never forget!