Christmas Comes to an End

The weekend after New Years, we concluded our Christmas festivities at Deep Creek Lake with Dan's family.  As usual, the cousins had a blast playing with one another and there were gifts galore!

Unfortunately, snow was not in the forecast this trip to Deep Creek, but Andrew was able to get his new snowboard all decorated and ready for the first snow of the season. 

Quick Trip to Philly

The weekend between Christmas and New Years, we planned a quick overnight trip to Philadelphia.  We got a late start Saturday morning and hit some traffic, but were able to drop by the Liberty Bell five minutes before closing. 

 We then spent the evening on the waterfront at Winterfest and ice skated.

 

 On Sunday morning, we walked over to the Franklin Institute.  We watched a show in the Planetarium about weather on different planets and an Imax movie about Sharks.  We also enjoyed many of the different exhibits, but left some undone for our next visit.  We were really impressed with the Franklin Institute and would highly recommend it!

We ended our trip with a visit to Dave & Busters.  The boys lloved Dave's portion (the games) but were not impressed with Buster's portion (the food).  One other memorable part of our trip was Uber.  Nathan loved taking Uber around the city and meeting the different drivers.  He wants to know if he can use Uber to get around South Riding to meet up with his friends for playdates.  :)

Christmas Day at Home

On Christmas morning, the boys were super excited to see what Santa had left behind.  This year it was an Xbox extravaganza!

In the afternoon, Dan's parents and our good friends joined us for Christmas dinner.  We had a wonderful day with family and friends.

It was so warm on Christmas day that the boys were even able to test out their new tennis rackets and net, without jackets!!

And all the kids had fun decorating the gingerbread house, though surprisingly Julia (the 2 year old)was the most into it. 

Christmas Eve in Haymarket

We continued our Christmas Eve tradition with my family with the addition of soon-to-be Aunt Lauren (yay!).  Early dinner, followed by Church and then gifts, gifts, gifts!  Fun was had by all!  With new tennis rackets, golf clubs and a skateboard, the boys can't wait for spring to arrive so they can really enjoy some of their gifts.

 

Zoolights

Last night, we bundled up and headed into DC with our friends for Zoolights.  It was chilly and crowded, but we had a blast exploring the zoo at night!

 

Brunch with Santa

On Sunday, we  had a nice brunch with Santa at the clubhouse in my parent's neighborhood.  Although the boys have seen the train display for many years now, they were very intrigued by it this year!

 Andrew, what would you like for Christmas this year?  "I want an IPhone."  Ummmmm, no.

Christmas at Discovery

A few weeks ago, Santa visited Andrew at Discovery Station and he looks like he was a little surprised by Andrew's request!

 

I wonder if Andrew made the nice list again this year?????

 

Today, I attended three holiday parties with the boys (I'm exhausted).  Two at the elementary school and one at Discovery Station.  At the final party, Andrew's class performed several holiday songs, including Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Up on the Rooftop and Jingle Bell Rock. 

Winter break has officially begun.....

Christmas Play

Last Sunday we met up with my family at Reston Town Center.  After sampling all of the yummy PopTarts and a few shakes at Ted's Bulletin.....

we enjoyed a Christmas play.  This year we saw "Charlie Brown's Christmas" and the cast was all kids. 

 

The "snow" as we exited the play was a fun way to end the afternoon!

Winter Walk of LIghts

Last weekend, we celebrated Dan's birthday with his parents.  After dinner, we strolled through Meadowlark Gardens and enjoyed the beautiful lights!

This next photo just cracks me up!

Peekaboo!  Did the deer photobomb their photo?

Jingle Bell Jog

This year we decided to try out the Jingle Bell Jog which is hosted by our awesome HOA.  It was chilly, but thankfully, the rain held off until after the race ended.



Andrew and I ran the 1 mile Fun Run.  Here's Andrew with Frosty at the turn around point.

I forgot to track our time, but I would guess he ran the mile in approximately 9 to 10 minutes.  I was just so impressed that he never walked!

Dan and Nathan participated in the 5K.  We weren't quite sure how Nathan would do having never run anything close to that distance. 

Nathan did GREAT!  He crossed the finished line in 27:54 (faster than his mom has ever run a 5K) and he never stopped to walk.  Very impressive!