Trip to Williamsburg

At the end of March we visited Williamsburg with Grandma and Grandpa (pictured above). We had a sort of mini family reunion. My uncle Larry arranged for a rental house nearby Williamsburg so we could all stay together–10 adults and 5 kids, it was cozy. We had a great time. The first day we walked through Colonial Williamsburg as seen in the above picture (taking a rest on a bench). The following two days we spent at Busch Gardens. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The kids had a blast going on a bunch of rides and I managed to sneak off for a couple of hours each day to go on some “big stomach” rides (as Taylor calls it) thanks to my Mom and my Aunts who watched the kids. On Friday my Aunt and Uncle watched the kids all day so that myself, my Mom and Dad, could go off and explore. We had another gorgeous day! We met up with Aunt Kathy and her friend and had lunch at the Williamsburg Winery and enjoyed a couple of bottles of wine on the patio! Fabulous food and wine and company. We left on Saturday to head back home. We spent the day in DC on Sunday looking around. We went from 70 degree weather to 30 degree weather, quite the adjustment. We had a great visit with all the family that I hadn’t seen in quite some time.

Visit to “Ankle” Larry and Aunt Joan’s House

 

We visited my Uncle Larry and Aunt Joan this last weekend.  It was nice to visit with them and for the kids to meet them finally.  When I told Taylor about how Uncle Larry is Grandpa Steve’s brother Taylor started calling him “ankle” Larry even though she calls her Uncle Steve, “uncle”.  The kids had a lot of fun meeting and playing with their two dogs, Buffy and Sissy.  Another highlight was the kids got to take a ride in ankle Larry’s “red car” as the kids called it.  When Uncle Larry told Christian he could ride in the red car on the way to church, Christian had a huge grin from ear to ear that I believe was pasted on his face throughout the entire ride.  Taylor got to ride home from church in the red car with the top down.  We briefly got to meet cousin Mark and hopefully we will be able to visit with him more another time.  Needless to say, we had a great time visiting with Uncle Larry, Aunt Joan, Buffy, and Sissy.  We look forward to many more visits while we are here. 

Taylor and Christian playing ladder golf with Aunt Joan

Taylor and Christian’s Band

For Christmas, Taylor, Christian, and Luke received a Melissa and Doug First Band Set from Mommy and Daddy.  Here is Taylor and Christian playing two of the instruments from this set.  As you can see, they are actually pretty good, in that they can find the beat to the song.  Not too bad….for 4 and 2 years old.  They love to sing!

Taylor and Christian Playing in the Snow with Daddy

Taylor and Christian had a lot of fun playing in the snow with Daddy a couple of weeks ago.  We don’t get snow very often (that actually stays that is) so when it does snow here we take advantage.  As you can see, we did get a fair amount for this part of the country. 

Christmas Tradition

 

Every year, (well every year since last year) we have a family tradition where we all get new “Christmas” pajamas.  We open our pajamas on Christmas Eve after we eat dinner and put them on and take a family photo in front of the Christmas tree.  Who doesn’t love to get new pajamas?  I especially like to get the kids matching pajamas, so much fun.  This year I managed to find matching penguin pajamas for Taylor, Christian, Luke, and Scott.  After we took the family photo, Scott read from the kids’ new Children’s Story Bible about the birth of Jesus.  We are so blessed with what the Lord continues do for us and our family.  Tonight as we were eating dinner I just kept looking at my 3 very beautiful and healthy children and felt so blessed and loved.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of our friends and family on this Christmas Eve.  God Bless!

Why is it that “the box” is what fascinates kids the most?

Last night we received our 2nd delivery of Christmas gifts for the day.  The second delivery was that of one very huge box complete with packing peanuts–loads of fun for very two active and excited kids.  Taylor and Christian with much excitement proceeded to take all of the gifts out of the big box, run down the hall to the family room where the Christmas Tree is and in an orderly fashion place the gifts underneath the tree.  You see they are skilled at this task by this time as they had done this task just hours before.  Christian was so excited and working so hard that his breathing became a bit labored.  I don’t know if it was from all the gifts he was carrying back and forth, or from trying to navigate his way down a hallway littered with toys, or from the prospect that at the end of all his hard work he would be able to play in that very gigantic box complete with packing peanuts!  Not to my surprise, once the job at hand was completed, Christian went down the hall back to the front door one last time and halled that very big box into the family room where we found him inside (how he got inside we do not know–except for Taylor’s confession of pushing him into the box).  Taylor then asked for help inside the box where they spent a good 20 minutes in pure bliss!  I remember those days as a child myself, the excitement of playing inside the box the gifts came in!  My parents often mused that they could have saved a lot of money by simply purchasing a plain old Big Brown Box. 

“Gingerbread Man House”

The making of the “Gingerbread Man House” as the kids like to call it.  They had a blast making this, or shall I say, eating all the goodies that was supposed to go on the house.  They were far more interested in eating all the candies than actually making the house.  As you can see by the picture it is not quite finished.  We only have the windows shown, the entire backside of the house is windowless as Christian decided he would rather eat the windows…oh well!  Mom and Dad had fun making the house as well and were thankful the supplies ran out….how long can 2 adults really decorate a Gingerbread house with 3 kids–4 years old and under and stay sane?  I ask you and am here to tell you about 20 minutes or until the candy runs out…whichever comes first…and in our case…the candy ran out.  So we are proud to display our half finished “Gingerbread Man House”, besides it is not about the house as it is about making memories!