Civil War 150th begins commemoration in Richmond region

The Civil War spotlight has shifted to Chesterfield County for the 150th anniversary of the battle that saved Richmond on May 15, 1862.
At the county's Central Library on Wednesday, visitors found re-enactors, Civil War music, games, historic-document scanning and the chance to visit the Civil War 150th HistoryMobile museum on wheels. All will continue through Saturday.
Home-schoolers Rebecca, 12; Emily, 9; Natalee , 10; and Melanie, 4, joined the "Ladies Aid Society" in stuffing ditty bags for soldiers with a Bible, candle, matches and soap, all of which would have been hard to find in camp.
Soldiers would have appreciated the bags too, said a hoop-skirted Wendy Alvis of Chesterfield, because without something to separate items in their haversacks, "your bar of soap might get mixed up with your beans for dinner or your tobacco."
Songs such as "Shenandoah," "Oh, Susanna," and "Jine the Cavalry" helped soldiers to pass the time in an era before electronics, said banjoist Jeff Beatman of the "Press Gang," who performed with singer John McCall.
Items from the library's Traveling Trunk illustrated the soldiers' daily life and gear. Bryan Truzzie, wearing a Union uniform of light blue pants and dark blue jacket, described how to make coffee in the field
Richmond National Battlefield Park will offer living history, exhibits and interpretation Saturday and Sunday at Drewry's Bluff, where Confederates in a hastily constructed fort held off five Union ships, including the ironclad USS Monitor, on Tuesday.
Dave Ruth, superintendent of Richmond National Battlefield Park, said the anniversary could lead to increased interpretation at the Drewry's Bluff unit, which does not have a visitors center or regular staffing. Two new exhibit panels will be dedicated Saturday, he said.
Sarah Snead, deputy county administrator, said the anniversary is an opportunity for Chesterfield to tell the story of Drewry's Bluff and other Civil War sites.
"They may be lesser known than other partner sites (in the Civil War commemoration), but it all is coming together to complete the package of the region."

My Motto




 

Today's Funny

After a full morning of soccer and errands, we went to a birthday party for Emily's friend who turned 10 years old.

It was located at a small park in an area where I never would have thought could hold such beauty.

Emily's first honeysuckles of the season.  She was so excited.  She delights in little things like this.

Who would of thought that this beautiful scene would be found in the city of Colonial Heights?

As storm rolled in as the afternoon turned to evening, making it dark and gloomy, and the signal for us to go home!

Below are a couple other pics from the party.





The men congregating around the grill.

The game was to knock down the cans with the slingshot.

The theme was angry birds and this game was fantastic. 
BTW, Rebecca was one of the three that won.



Rylee's uncle caught some fish and entertained the kids.



They had the fish going down the slide ....EWW!

Rylee received a watergun for her birthday.
 With the warm temperatures, Emily and Rylee's two cousins had fun cooling down the others.

All the kids talked Mason into catching a frog for them.

Soccer games

Rebecca's game had great weather, a victory of 7-0, and was not overlapping Emily's game so I was able to watch the entire game.  The downside... it started at 8 am so we had a very early start to our weekend.

Emily's game was at noon.  The weather was hot and humid.  My sister and her family came to see Emily play even though my brother in law kept harping on the fact that it looked like rain.

Misty is blowing kisses to Emily, Madison is going through her flash cards,
 and Rebecca is just hanging out on the blanket with them.

but then it did start to rain... Ok, I guess you were right Brandon.
That's ok, we have umbrellas.  Jay was kind enough to share.

Madison had enough of this sitting business and wanted to play.

I let Becca take her on the field at half time...mistake.

She thought it was fun to run out to see all the girls who were coincidentally named 'Emmy'.

and again...

Afterwards,  I walked Madison around, missing the rest of Emily's game, but I did have fun with her in the rain and puddles.

"It fun" she said over and over again when she discovered the puddles of standing water. 

Eh, I didn't have to take her home, I got to be the fun aunt.

Awana Awards

As promised: here are their award pictures.

Emily won the Excellence award.

 "This award is given to those who have completed two handbooks or studies between third and 12th grades. The amount of work for the Excellence involves completing 2 handbooks and includes all associated activities. The recipient must have completed fourth grade or higher. "

Rebecca won the Mileston award for completing the second Trek book
and the merit medalion for completing the trek challenges.