Merry Christmas!

Today was Christmas for our family. It was so nice. Although we didn't have snow!

Pre-craziness. So peaceful with the tree and the fire.
James opening his Minotaurus game. It's a Lego game that you build, then play. The object is to get through the Labyrinth while avoiding the Minotaur. Perfect given our recent obsession with Greek mythology.

And, of course, our ongoing obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine. Jackson got several trains and Sir Topham Hatt's car. Very exciting!

We like to do a big family gift, and this year it was a Lego Castle!! So cool. I remember building these with my brother Zach (who is getting married in a week and a half--how time flies!).

It was a very Lego Christmas and kept us all busy and happy today!

And, here's our holiday dinner. Check my cooking blog for details.

Hope your holidays are as nice as ours!

Early Christmas . . .

It will be an early Christmas for our family this year. Since we are traveling a bit over the "real" Christmas for my youngest brother's wedding, we are celebrating tomorrow. That way we don't have to transport Christmas (and pay for it) across the country and back again.

I celebrated even earlier by buying a Christmas present for myself. Selfish? I don't think so! I think of it as more of a reward for the past 4 weeks: doing all the packing and unpacking for our NC trip, getting gifts for everyone on our list, decorating (including cutting a Christmas tree by myself!) and cleaning and cooking for Jake's office party at our house, helping kids with school projects and gymnastics class and birthday treats to school, and managing to do all of that on top of everything else we normally have going!!

Plus I had 50% off at Borders.

Here's what I chose:

We have always liked Nigella. Jake because she's English and me because I like her cooking style. She isn't terribly concerned about whether food is calorie-conscious, she cooks with basic and easy-to-find ingredients and kitchen equipment that is not super fancy or expensive, and her food (at least what I've made!) is simply yummy. Also, she has children and keeps them in mind as she cooks, which means my kids will eat most of what I make from her recipes.

So, I'm excited to read this, and my goal for the New Year is to have a better cooking blog, so look for some good posts to come!

Family . . .

Well, I know I'm a couple of days late on my last-day-of-November post. But it's been a little crazy getting back from vaca and hosting Jake's office party. But, finally here is my last "grateful thing": I'm grateful for our little family. We really enjoy spending time together and had such a great trip together, traveling around and seeing things. So, here's the trip!

Our first stop was Washington, DC. A good place to stop for the night and split up the long drive. We got right on the Metro the next morning and headed to the National Memorial to Fallen Police Officers.
Then we went to the National Air and Space Museum. A pretty cool place. And, we bought and tried freeze-dried ice cream (the food astronauts eat). The boys decided they definitely didn't want to be astronauts. I actually thought it wasn't too bad!
It was neat to see the actual plane the Wright Brothers flew on the famous "first flight", especially since we were headed to Kitty Hawk . . .

North Carolina's Kitty Hawk Wright Brothers Memorial Park. The day we went was pretty breezy, so it was clear why they had chosen this particular spot. It was amazing to learn about all the work they did over years and years to make this first flight possible.

The kids running up the dune. I think this memorial is up high so you can imagine flying as they did, looking out at the amazing view of the ocean and Currituck Sound.

James taking a ride with Orville in the bronze replica.

And of course the main event, playing on the beach. James loved riding the waves.

Jack loved playing on the beach--building sand castles, sand fire trucks, even a sand dog potty (don't ask . . .).

The kids loved having lots of friends there to play with on the beach and in the big house.

We used wet suits some of the time, especially when we were out in the water for a while. Even though the air temps were nice, the ocean was chilly, maybe low 60s. We also rented James a boogie board.

And, Jake and I both got to go ocean kayaking, which was so much fun. Jake is much better at it than I am!

Last stop: Philadelphia. We broke up the drive home by spending a night in Wilmington, DE then spending a few hours the next morning exploring some American History. This is Constitution Hall where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were ratified and signed by the members of the Continental Congress. Nearly everything is a replica (the building however is original), but the high-backed chair you see at the front of the room is genuine, and the one George Washington sat in to preside over the meetings.

Outside Constitution Hall.

The Liberty Bell is right across the street.

The lighting was a litle funky, but you can't mistake the Liberty Bell! James was pretty excited about seeing it, but I guess he had expected it to be bigger . . .

Thomas Jefferson was staying in the upstairs of this house while he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

I loved walking through the historic district, and loved this sign, it says "The Hoopskirt Factory".

Of course we had to wrap up the trip with a Philly Cheesesteak. We went to a place called "Jims" where the line was clear out the door and we waited probably 40+ minutes, but it was actually part of the fun to wait and watch them make the sandwiches.

And, the sandwiches were GREAT! The "original" sandwich is apparently steak, onions, and Cheese Whiz. No joke, they actually have Cheese Whiz in huge cans. However, I recommend the Cheesesteak with Provolone (and I didn't want onions either). Very tasty!

As a last note, I can't forget to say how grateful I am for our extended families, who we are excited to spend some time with soon. I went on trips with my family growing up that were just as great and we still have a great time together. And, I married into a great family who we enjoy spending time with and had a great trip to Grey's River with this last summer.

Here's to FAMILY!