Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Christmas Traditions!

We are in the Christmas spirit around here!  Over the weekend we put up all four trees, decorated the inside of our house, hung our door wreath, and we are now waiting for the rain to go away so Ben can put up our outside lights.
 


I try to make this time of year a lot of fun and full of Christmas activities.  Some we do every year, some we do every other year, and some are new this year.  Here are our Christmas Traditions:

1. Decorate the house for Christmas
2. Attend Zoo Lights
3. Bake Christmas cookies
4. Complete an Advent calendar
5. Go to the Gaylord and look at decorations/attend ICE!
6. Drive around and look at Christmas lights
7. Send out Christmas cards
8. Decorate at Gingerbread house
9. Visit Santa and get a photo
10. Writing a letter or calling Santa
11. Attend Christmas Eve Mass
12. Host/attend Christmas parties
13. Get a gift or two for the Angel Tree at church
14. A new ornament for each girl

And new this year, on December 1st, I am giving the girls their Advent calendars during a special breakfast.  At the breakfast they are also getting their new ornament for 2016 and a little goody for the season.

What are some of your traditions?

Happy Tuesday y'all!

Monday, November 28, 2016

Thanksgiving 2016!

We had a great Thanksgiving around here and I hope all of you did as well!  Most of my family came to visit us in DC and we celebrated Tuesday thru Friday night.  My brother, sister-in-law, and niece arrived Tuesday afternoon and my mom and grandmother arrived Wednesday afternoon.  We had a blast eating a lot of good food, going to the trampoline park, seeing the sights, and having fun with all the kids.  I have about 80,342 pictures of our week, I hope you all enjoy!


Wednesday morning, Lolly and I took the girls to Flight to help them get out a little energy.
Caroline is the blur running through this picture :)

I think Elizabeth was burying Caroline under the foam blocks


Sisters :)



Then it was time for a Cheetos time-out with their cousin, Annalise

I love these three cute girlies!




Yummy!

Then it was time for more jumping!




After Flight, we took the girls to Costco for lunch where they enjoyed pizza, hotdogs, and french fries.  Lolly and I dropped the girls off with Ben and Andy and then we headed to the airport to pick-up my mom and grandmother. 

Once we picked up my mom and grandmother, we headed to Old Town Alexandria to have lunch at Bread and Chocolate.  We had a great time at lunch and then did a little shopping in Old Town before heading back to the house.  We hung out at home for a bit and then headed out to dinner at Los Tios

My mom sent me these pictures from Los Tios.
She couldn't believe Caroline would eat her own bowl of salsa. :)


These two had a lot of fun at dinner together.



Thursday morning, I was up bright and early and picked Lolly up from her hotel.  We headed to downtown Fairfax to run a 5K Turkey Trot.  It was about 40 degrees and very hilly, but we made it under our goal time (35 minutes) and finished in 33:14!

Waiting in the packet pick-up line

Lots of runners, about 2,000 people


Pre-race

Post-race!
33:14!!!
 
Ben took our picture when we made it back to the house


Ben starting the turkey

Into the roaster it goes!

The girls enjoying lunch on Thanksgiving



Can you tell the Grandmother and Mommies took lots of pictures?



Ben and I timing out our dinner schedule

Ben, me, and my Grandmother :)

Andy and Lolly


Lunch was appetizers.
Dill dip, cheese ball,  bang bang shrimp, deviled eggs, and cookies

  Lunch was good :)



Elizabeth did an art project with Ga-Ga while the little girls took a nap

They made ornaments


After nap pictures :)
Love these three!

Ga-Ga with her granddaughters



Andy, Lolly, and Annalise got a great family photo!


I set the table for dinner


Ben and his turkey

All the food:
Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, honey glazed carrots, mac n'cheese, mash potatoes, beer bread, gravy, and salad




Ben took some photos of us at the table

I like this panoramic photo he took!
 
Ben and Elizabeth

My plate

We waited about an hour and then ate dessert.
Apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, brownies, and sugar cookies





Then we tried to get some family photos...



We settled for a good couples photo ;)




Elizabeth and Caroline were in bed, Andy wanted to get a four-generation-photo and I jumped in :)

Four generations: Grandmother, Ga-Ga, Andy, and Annalise :)
This makes my heart happy :)


Friday morning we literally drove ALL OVER DC.  We started at the White House, then drove to the Capital, then we crossed the city and went to the National Cathedral.  After the National Cathedral, my family decided they wanted to see the Gaylord National and eat lunch in Maryland.  So, we went back across the city and into Maryland and had lunch at the Gaylord National and walked around for a bit.
My brother on my right

My daughter on my left

Mom and Grandmother across from me

Ben and my mom


Caroline and her "cheese face", Elizabeth, Ben, and my mom

My mom, Grandmother, and Lolly

After lunch, the girls rode the train inside the Gaylord






And that was our week of fun.  We have been eating leftovers since Thursday and I think we might be eating them the rest of the week.  Thanksgiving was a blast and I am so happy that most of my family was able to come visit for the holiday.  Thank you everyone for making the trip and thank you Ben for making a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner!

Happy Monday y'all!