Stonewall Jackson

After some family chores and errands were completed, we took our first historical trip this afternoon to Stonewall Jackson, which is about 10-15 miles south of our home. Since moving here a little over a year ago, we haven't ventured out as much as we would like or hope to. The weather was also cooperating with us (62 and sunny---in February) so it was perfect for a family trip. We have all concluded (okay, Jocelyn has no choice in the matter LOL) that we want to see as much as we can while we live in Virginia. There is SOOO much history and great things to do and see around here. I don't recall a lot of what I learned in high school history class so really I came to this memorial site not knowing or remembering anything about Stonewall Jackson. So Aubrey definitely wasn't the only one to learn something new! :) For those of you that also need a refreshers course as I did, Stonewall Jackson was one of the Generals to the Confederate Army during the Civil War. You can go HERE to learn more about Stonewall Jackson. We were able to go into the Chandlers Plantation, the only building at the plantation still left standing and this is also where Stonewall Jackson died. The house had gone through a period of some 60 years not being taken care of so most of the wooden floors had to be replaced from another building in that same time era but the room in which Stonewall Jackson stayed in, the wooden floors were from the original house. It was a neat experience to be there and see where some of it took place in those days of battle.

I of course had fun with the camera - taking some shots of the site as well as the girls. A lot of the pictures turned out really well so I've enclosed a few with this post for you to see. I've been itching to get outside to take some pictures but with it being so cold out, I've had to settle with indoor photos most of the time. The memorial wasn't a "jump up and down" experience but it turned out to be a really fun day anyways. :)

Historical sign at front entrance

Aubrey & Jocelyn with Dad in front of Chandlers Plantation

I managed to capture a sweet moment of the girls playing outside the plantation

John shot a photo of the girls playing with their Mommy