Christmas in Fairfax 2010

This year we decided to stay home for Christmas. We planned a trip to Boone just a week or so before, and had a trip to the beach planned for right after. We wanted the girls to be able to get up, come downstairs, and see their stockings. It was great.

But there was a lot of prep...
Addie started by making ornaments at her preschool.
Then she and Aaron got to work lighting up our little tree. Our neighborhood is kind of crazy for their lights. It was fun to drive around in the evenings and take inventory.



Then we got busy working on the tree. The girls were a big help.

We exchanged some gifts with friends John, Ashley, and Katherine.
The day before Christmas Eve we were invited to join the Benners at their farm for a dessert party after their church service. It was a beautiful small church candlelight service. All 3 of their boys performed! At the dessert party, Addie spent the whole time at the gingerbread cookie decorating table that Krissy cleverly set up. The next morning, Christmas Eve, we enjoyed relaxing together before heading home to our Christmas Eve service.

After the service on Christmas Eve, Addie helped me hang the stockings and assemble a little platter for Santa and his reindeer. She drew a festive picture to commemorate the moment.
Santa got cookies and milk while his reindeer got a carrot and oats. We hear they like those things.
Christmas morning, the girls seemed genuinely surprised to find their stockings full, with extra toys underneath.
Oh, stocking stuff.
The girls played with toys before our pancake breakfast without realizing there were presents downstairs under the tree!
Look! Dad gave us some hats!

Pre-Christmas Boone Trip

We had a great time in Boone! Though we were a little too early to celebrate Christmas, it was everywhere and the girls were excited.
There was also a lot of watching this week:

-Watching themselves brush teeth in the mirror (our mirror at home is too high for them to see).- Watching (well, searching) Gammie's special "I spy" quilt.
-Us watching the girls at their cutest.
-Watching Cars (which they LOVE and got for Christmas just a week later). They wedged themselves between the cushions of the couch to watch.
-We watched - and watched for - deer, who make pretty regular appearances at Gammie and Band-dad's.


We were able to visit with the Valentines, Grandma and Granddaddy, the Tumblestons, and even a 10 minute stop-in with (the other) Sarah McKethan and Patrick.
It was a great trip. Short, with a lot squeezed in.

Addie's First School Concert

Addie's preschool had a Christmas Concert
There wasn't much to it... just a few Sunday School songs (and one song about the foods animals eat), but it was enough to make Aaron and Sarah a little teary - even though Addie didn't sing for the majority of the concert. She stood as she is pictured here: looking around, often with her finger near her mouth.
We know she knew the songs because she had sung them at home. But I guess her first time on stage didn't thrill her enough to join in.

Matching Sisters

Grammy and Granddad come for a visit

We did our favorite things:
Sit around together and visit and eat. In particular it was Granddad's birthday, so we shared pumpkin pie. He's more of a 'birthday steak' than a 'birthday cake' kind of guy.


On Saturday we headed back to Eastern Market for some walking, shopping, and general getting out. But this time, we didn't go home empty-handed. In addition to a few Christmas gifts, look who came home with us!Our purple friend was still there - this time we couldn't leave him. Addie named him Charlie. Granddad carried him to the car and got some funny reactions on the way. He was followed by Grammy who carried a 6ft bundle of decorative plant called Bittersweet. In addition to our red double-decker stroller, we were quite a parade.
Grammy and Sarah got out to a movie which has become a fun tradition for them, and the boys went to our favorite grocery store (their favorite kind of adventure).
Grammy and Granddad could only stay for the weekend, but it was a full one. We can't wait to host them again!

Big weekend in the city

It has been pretty rare that we as a whole family go into DC. We call it "going into the city," as if we live out in the back woods. But today we piled in the van and headed East. Specifically, to Eastern Market. We tasted homemade mustards, pickles, and pretzels which are unreal they're so good.
We saw tchotchskys carved, pressed, knitted, glued, and painted that sparkled, made noise, inspired, or just took up space.

Addie, obviously a fan of color, was right at home.

We saw a cool little dude that we all ended up loving. Bug? Snail? Bird-type thing? We don't know but we hung around him for a few minutes and smiled.
We walked the neighborhood and stopped at a coffee shop where we all got a treat. Some of the best coffee in the city - not just according to Aaron.
The day kept getting colder, but we still swung by the zoo.
Though we had a hard time finding any animals (here we can see the cheetah) - seems like they were all inside or not even at the zoo for some reason - we did meet up with our fun friends the Maynards.We hung around as long as we could stand it (it was COLD!) Then headed back home for pizza dinner and bed. Big day!

Halloween!

Addie wanted to be Kai-Lan, her favorite cartoon character. Nora was Hoho - Kai-Lan's little white monkey friend. And Aaron was Yeye - Kai-Lan's grandfather, hence the powdered hair.



We were joined this year by our dear friend and neighbor, pirate Katherine. She helped the girls trick-or-treat and then sort the booty.

It was all fun and games (literally) until some pretty scary kids came to the door and Addie decided she was done with Halloween. Hopefully she'll forget the fright so she can enjoy next year.

Pumpkin Carv-- er, Decorating.

Valentine Visit to the Farm and American History Museum

When the Valentines come, we try to keep things interesting. This visit, we explored the newly-renovated Museum of American History. The Valentine girls are gaga for Revolutionary America, so they got to see some really neat things like the star-spangled banner and the first ladies' dresses.


The hands-on area was more Addie's speed - she built, adjusted, leveled, lifted, and observed.

We also swung by a small farm near our house that the girls loved. Animals everywhere! and plenty of space to run.

Of course, any time Bekah and Sarah get together, there will be sweets...

Aaron and Sarah in New Orleans