Awkward Family Christmas Photos Take 2

Yet again I have been thwarted in my quest for a charming Santa photo. Patrick managed to squeak out a few shy requests to Santa and even spoke for his sister and her ardently desired princess phone and Baby Butterscotch during our visit yesterday. Madeline spoke not a word, but did manage a wave to Santa as Donald was escorting her out of Santa's workshop.

Tree Trimming

 We found a tree right around the corner this year, and were able to cart it home in the ever-faithful  red wagon.

Letters to Santa

At Mancini's the other morning I helped the kids write letters to Santa Claus. You have to tell him if you’ve been good or bad, I told Madeline. She considered her options for a moment and then matter-of-factly started dictating:  “Dear Santa, I’ve been good and bad this year…” 

Luray Caverns

It was too cold and rainy to hike on our recent trip down to Roanoke and so we decided for a different kind of adventure—underground! Luray Caverns is the biggest underground cave system on the East Coast and it's absolutely stunning. We walked for a mile and a half through an unworldly landscape of stalactites and stalagmites. It was surprisingly warm in the caves and nothing can live that far down, so it's all just amazing rock formations and a pool of water so absolutely still that it looks like a mirror. The kids particularly enjoyed tossing coins into the 'wishing well' and the formation nicknamed 'Snoopy'. The guide  even turned off the lights for a few moments and we got to experience the total darkness of a cave.

Toy Story

On a recent trip to Roanoke Patrick discovered that his cousin Aidan had delivered a treasure trove of outgrown toys including two amazing Transformers and a Star Wars computer toy.  Patrick was literally speechless as he played on the laundry room floor with this unexpected bounty and has spent many blissful hours since putting the Transformers into countless battle configurations. In the picture here he's watching a Transformers cartoon and acting out the scenes with his 'guys'. He's in toy heaven. Thank you Aidan!

Glamor Girl

She still doesn't love barrettes, but Madeline has recently taken to coloring her toes (and sometimes feet) with purple marker. She's also developed a serious Chapstick fixation, and like any self-respecting lady of fashion likes to carry two choices with her at all times.

Turkeys

We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year and really enjoyed our days off. We went to the zoo, which was nearly deserted on Wednesday, baked pies, made a turkey dinner at home, took a hike at Huntley Meadows on Friday, made gumbo, took a pajama walk, and worked on continuing to move into the house, which 13 months later is still a work-in-progress. We had lots of lazy time, and Madeline got to stay in her princess PJs for two days straight.