that hill was bigger and freedom costs more than I thought!

I vaguely remember visiting colonial Williamsburg as a kid, but am sure swarms of redcoats and ladies in period costumes were everywhere.

I returned to Williamsburg last week and only saw about 25 costumed people on the streets.

I remember visiting Disneyland at age 11 and thinking the castle was the biggest ever.

Took the kids to Disney a couple years ago, and I'd swear that castle shrank!

#2 had the same kind of moment the other day: Went back to the house where he was born and lived for 4 years in Maryland and he could swear that hill in our yard was ENORMOUS! Not so much anymore. And the hill hasn't changed.

the old house...

If you've been following the blog or our travels, we've spent several days in Williamsburg learning trades and ways of life that are so amazingly foreign to us now, but yet still the same in many respects. The boys enjoyed an apprentice program with a gunsmith, cooper and tailor. They wanted to totally immerse themselves in the colonial culture: complete with costumes and of course, guns and hats. Unfortunately, it was really hot there, so it was hard to feel like walking in and out of every trade shop --we left much to be discovered.

Learning from the gunsmith...

#3 tries his hand at carving wood to make barrels with the cooper

We also participated in a re-enactment of Revolutionary War --boys thought we were going to have some sort of battle --they came dressed and armed! I came ready to take pictures, but turns out I had to participate with the boys, no cameras allowed and instead of battles right away, we were there to learn how to be soldiers.

#3 was scared silly when the Sargeant started to yell at us to march, stand, answer correctly, and he almost bailed on the program, but I held onto his hand we stayed in the program. I wonder how many colonial boys wished their mom could've held their hands in those lines. The program demonstrated proper gun use and the war techniques of that time.

In the end we discovered the ultimate irony in all military that still rings true today. Don't know why I never thought about this before: Our military members (and ultimately their families) sign up to protect and defend the values that our forefathers set before us: freedom being the first and foremost of those ideals. The amazing irony is that when you join the military, the first thing you give up is your freedom. Freedom to choose when you work, where you'll live, when and where you'll get sent to war, and the list goes on and on....

Demonstration of war techniques at Williamsburg...sure glad I wasn't there for real!