Our New Puppy!

The title of this post are three words I never thought I'd write. Ever. Sure, we've thought about it, even discussed it on a superficial level, but we always firmly settled back on no. We have four kids, why the heck would we add more chaos to our house? We like to travel. We take frequent weekend trips. Jack is allergic to dogs. We both work, it wouldn't be fair to the dog. There were so many good, and completely valid, reasons to say no. Yet, somehow we have said yes.

Our neighbors decided in November to adopt an awesome puppy. He is an Aussiedoodle, half Australian Shepherd/half Poodle. That makes him an "Einstein of dogs" (or so the literature says). He is low shed, and fairly hypoallergenic (thanks to his poodle genes). I've been super excited for them. I've looked at the pictures of the litter, checked out the breeder and had one of those superficial conversations with Thomas, where we concluded it doesn't make sense for our family to adopt one. Kayce and her sister decided to adopt litter mates. However, the breeder was in Ohio. So, they arranged to meet in Pennsylvania. There was another Marylander taking a third puppy and they planned to meet on December 23rd.

But, the third person never showed up. On the morning of December 24th, we met Kayce's puppy, Bear, and he was adorable. The softest dog we've ever felt. And, very sweet. She told us the sad story of his abandoned brother and we thought maybe. As we drove to Mount Vernon, we talked and decided we'd throw caution to the wind and take him...maybe. We weren't 100%, then we heard someone else might be interested and they needed an answer (not in a used car salesman way, but we still felt burdened to make an immediate decision). So, we said 100% yes. And, I've regretted it since.

He's a great puppy, but he's still a puppy. He peed 5x in the house before 10am on Wednesday morning. We watched YouTube videos and learned some house training tricks. Then, he "only" peed in the house 1x all of Thursday, 2x on Friday, yet somehow has managed to go 3x already this morning. I feel like we are back to square one in that area. For some reason, he is waiting until we come inside to pee and peeing much more frequently (like we did with our babies, we are keeping track of food input and output). And, of course, we are losing tons of sleep since we have to take him out in the middle of the night. Puppies are just so much work! Oh, and that doesn't even count the money. Not just what we paid for him, but his crate, x-pen, toys, vet visit, etc. Why oh why did we agree to this???

On the positive side, he has a sweet personality and is good with the kids. He has already learned "sit" and (kind of) comes when we call him. And, Jack shows no signs of allergic reactions. I think once we get out of the puppy stage, he will be a great addition to our family. But, this puppy stage is not fun. Fortunately, I think it is pretty short.

Bear and Gus (Gus has the blue collar)

Christmas Fun!

As usual, I am way behind on my blogs. I had a list of things I wanted to blog about, but I am going to have to compress it a bit.

First, Luke had a Christmas program at school. He did great! They sang for 15 minutes. His teachers somehow managed to get his 3 year old class to learn something like 20 songs. It was impressive and adorable! We are so thrilled with his preschool.

Thomas and I were fortunate enough to get invited back to the Darrow's Annual Christmas bash. We had a great time. Somehow Thomas won the "find a chocolate chip in the snowball cookie prize" again. I legit think he has won that thing for 4 or so years running. It used to be because he ate so many (they're his favorite), but the past two years, he's just gotten lucky and they've been in one of the two cookies he's chosen. He and Alecia must think alike. We chatted, ate, played games, and then did the white elephant exchange. We got a new Star Shower (which is much better than the version we bought a couple of years ago) and a Newton's Cradle, which is proudly displayed on my desk. A good time was had by all!

Thomas has wanted to go to Mount Vernon on Christmas Day for many years. However, we are worried about a massive revolt from the kids if we ask them to postpone the enjoyment of their new toys. So, this year we went on Christmas Eve. We got there around 9:30 and toured the house, let the kids play on the ha ha wall, paid our respects at the tomb and then looked at the animals. By then, it was lunch time. We ate at the food court, then headed to the education center. We really wanted to see the new 4D movie, but it was getting late and we still had a lot to do at home (all I can think of now is bake Santa's cookies, but I feel like we had a considerable list). So, we left around 1. During this time, we were negotiating the purchase of our new puppy. He will definitely get his own blog, but it was by far the biggest on-the-fly decision we've ever made. And, for future reference, I will never again make such a big decision without at least sleeping 1 night on it. The crowd was fairly light and we had a good visit. We hadn't toured the house in a while, so that was nice. I feel like I learn something new everytime we go. It is also amazing how much of the stuff in the house is original. For example, in the dining room, you get to stand on the same floor the General and his guests stood on, while looking at paintings he personally chose and viewing actual chairs he sat in. How cool is that?!?!?!

Luke wouldn't be in the picture, but Kolten came with us and was happy to pose. I wish they'd stood closer together, I love this picture.

We got home around 2:30 and decided it was too late to make our big Christmas dinner. We had something quick and easy instead. We baked two types of cookies, wrapped presents and cleaned in preparation of the Christmas mess. The kids put out the reindeer feed from school and opened their traditional present of matching pajamas. Thomas read "It was the Nigh Before Christmas" and the kids were all in bed at their usual time. It was a nice, but busy day.

Everyone loves to roll out the dough!

Not a creature was stirring...

We put out the rest of our presents (way too many!) and went to bed around 9:30. Only Anna was alseep. We had told them they could wake us up at 6:30. Of course, I was too excited to sleep much. I woke up at 3, 4, 5 and finally got up for the day at 6 and was showered and ready when the kids came in. Jack said he had woken at 5:15, Kara at 5:45 and Anna and Luke right around 6:30.

I love that moment when the kids see the plethora of presents waiting for them. I know Christmas is not about gifts, but it's still pretty fun. And, my excitement is always over what people will think of the gifts I lovingly chose. I was super excited to see the reactions of my beloved family. As tradition dictates, we emptied our stockings first. This year we tried something new and chose names randomly from a hat. We let that person choose a gift, open it, and then pick the next name. We did that for a couple of rounds, then moved on to our breakfast of cinnamon rolls. Then, we finished opening and moved on to the relaxing part of the day when everyone goes off to enjoy their gifts.

Favorite gift:
Thomas: Christmas truce box, an old newspaper, and a Nationals Jersey
Kara: her American girl Saige and her horse and accessories and the LPS cruise ship
Luke: "I like the chubby puppies. I like the pogo stick and the last thing is I like my Daniel Tiger karaoke machine"
Anna: McKenna and her gymnastics set, the JoJo book and the birdsongs book
Jack: his books, Mario Kart 8 and his Disney Infinity
Kori: a new watch, tickets to see Adam Corolla (I love an event and Thomas has even coordinated with the babysitter!), and my fun Lego sets (which, thanks to the puppy, I haven't been able to start).

Anna and her favorite gift

Jack

Kara

And, Luke, who showed great restraint while waiting for others to open their gifts (much to my and Thomas' surprise)

Part of the reason I like to write gifts out is to see how the kids tastes change. Also, because I know next year they probably won't be able to remember what they received. Then, it is nice to remind people of what they loved and also how irrelevant the stuff really is.

On December 26, Thomas and the girls drove many hours to pick up our puppy. Stay tuned for that exciting story! Also, Luke wanted to entice Santa back by leaving out more cookies last night, but we explained Santa needs to relax before he starts his prep for next Christmas. It is sad to see the holiday season come to an end. Of course, we still have our New Year's Eve cheese fondue to enjoy. But, I hate the lean months of winter once Christmas passes.

One last thing to add--Luke has been a huge fan of the song Silent Night this year. He just loves it! He wants to sing it, sit in my lap while I sing it, listen to it on the radio, watch YouTube videos of various people singing it, talk about it. He is kind of obsessed and it has been pretty cute.

And, to end--my favorite Christmas picture.

Jamestown and Busch Gardens

On Sunday, we opted to check out and visit Jamestown. The weather was beautiful and we were excited to explore both indoors and out. Like its sister museum at Yorktown, it has a very impressive museum. We had a good time exploring all the exhibits and learning more about life in 1607. It was much harder and more miserable than I realized. I can't imagine being with those early settlers. Over the winter of 1609/10, the population went from 500 to 90, which meant that even if you were a "lucky" survivor, you were a witness to starvation and death all around you. It was also interesting to read about the business side of the colony, which I had never given much thought to.

After about an hour inside, we went to the outside portion. They have three distinct areas. First, the Powhatan area, where we explored huts and learned more about the Native Americans. The volunteers were very friendly. We heard about early food preservation and saw a basket maker working. That was another thing I hadn't considered-- they had to make absolutely everything. If they wanted to gather food, they needed to make the vessel in which to carry it. And, before they could even begin that process, they had to get the fibers and strip them down. It is crazy to think about!

Next, we went to the ships. One was in dry dock, but we walked around the other two. Once again, I couldn't fathom living aboard one of those ships for 3+ months! Particularly with the rat problem, which we learned about. From there, it was on to the settlement portion. Once again, there were lots of interpreters who were happy to discuss early life. We saw food preparation and artillery demonstrations. Anna and Kara got to play a dice game of chance. Anna proved herself very lucky and cleaned up!

Everyone likes trying on the armor.

Anna was super lucky!

After a couple of hours outside, it was time to get lunch and head to Busch Gardens Christmas Town. We arrived at Busch Gardens just after they opened. We took the kids (Luke mostly) to the Sesame area. He rode everything that was open, except the Grover roller coaster. Baby steps. Then, we did a few more rides before heading into 1 of the 2 shows I wanted to see--Scrooge. We had told the kids the basic story and they were excited for it. The show was a great production. Me and the kids really enjoyed it. Finally, it was starting to get dark. We walked around more and enjoyed the lights.

The only bad thing about the night was we couldn't find a place to eat. We tried one restaurant and the line was incredible. We asked someone who was coming out how long they had waited and he said over 30 minutes and the line had been half the size. So, we opted for a corn dog stand and got popcorn, corndogs, pretzels and drinks. $55 NOT well spent. That was the only frustration. Everything else was wonderful. The lights were beautiful, the music was nice, the rides were good. Everyone had a fantastic time. We saw one other show, an ice skating spectacular featuring Elvis Stojiko. He was amazing! They all were. Busch Gardens definitely knows how to put on a show (so much better than Six Flags)! Poor Luke had fallen asleep during the show, it was a long couple of days for him; he slept in his stroller as we walked to the car. Then, he woke up when we put him in his carseat and he was completely disoriented. He kept saying he needed his dad, who was driving. He last memory was probably sleeping in Thomas' lap during the show.

Ride partners!

Waiting for Scrooge to start. Luke was cranky and didn't want to watch--until it started and he found he liked it.

On the Peace on Earth bridge.

The picture doesn't do this justice, I loved this area of lights though. It was stunning!

When I asked everyone their favorite part of the weekend:
Kara--GWL slides
Jack--Visiting Jamestown
Anna--The first hotel we stayed out
Luke--Christmas Town
Thomas--being in the December winter snow
Kori--Christmas Town lights

A December Weekend in Williamsburg, Day 1

Following our busy weekend in New York, we decided to follow it up with a busy weekend in Williamsburg. We had planned for quite a while to surprise the kids with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We heard the decorations at Christmas were really pretty and it seemed fun to be inside a lodge swimming when it was cold outside. The base had a great deal for Saturday, December 9, so we made the reservation.

However, the weather forecast was not good for Saturday morning and we were worried about driving up. GWL was booked for Friday night, so we found an alternate hotel--the Powhatan Resort. By booking at the very last minute (Friday afternoon) we got an awesome rate of $130 (including taxes and fees) for a 3-bedroom apartment!!! It's a timeshare resort, but you can also book single stays. We picked the kids up slightly early from school and left around 3:30. Unfortunately, we timed it completely wrong and hit all the snow on the way. So, in our quest to avoid bad weather, we drove right into it! But, it was too late to turn back, so we pressed on and fortunately made it safely. We stopped for dinner along the way and got to the Powhatan around 8.

The apartment was amazing! It was 3 stories and had a bedroom on each floor and a little sitting area loft. The kids loved it! Luke was going to sleep in a big bed with Jack (he sleeps in a regular bed at home, but has still been using his pack and play when we travel, which he kind of outgrew about a year ago). But, there was some strange noise that scared him, so he wound up in our room in his too-small pack and play. He still sleeps well in it and I imagine it gives him a sense of comfort, but we are ready to travel without it.

The weather was rainy and cold on Saturday. Thomas and Anna went out to get breakfast and we enjoyed eating at the dining room table in our apartment. On our last trip to Williamsburg, we bought annual passes to the museums at Yorktown and Jamestown and decided to take advantage. Even though we couldn't enjoy the outdoor area, we decided the indoor part alone was worth the trip. It is a fantastic museum with tons of hands-on activities. Now that our older kids are all great readers, museums are much more interesting to them, but they still like the hands-on stuff too. They also have a great movie in a surround theater that we all enjoyed.

This is one of those interactive exhibits, you could write what Independence means to you and they projected it on the Liberty Tree. Very cool.

We spent about 2 hours there and decided to see if GWL would let us check in super early. And, they did! They actually gave us our room at 11am. We brought all our stuff in and then went to lunch at Taco Bell. Apparently, Taco Bell is our new Williamsburg go-to.

We returned and changed into our bathing suits. It was snowing outside and we enjoyed being in the pools with the view of the snow peacefully falling. As expected, it was crowded, but still manageable. Like our visit in October, Luke was really into all the big slides and we rode them repeatedly. We were surprising our neighbor's son who was there celebrating his birthday. He and Jack are best friends. He is only 6, but he loves Jack and Jack loves him back. They live across the street from us and we spend a lot of time together. Fortunately, I love his mom almost as much as Jack loves their son, so it all works out. We swam all afternoon and then had pizza and cake to celebrate Kolten's birthday. There were several other people we knew there, who had also booked the great MWR deal, but we didn't get to spend much time with them. For example, their good friend Ireland (Summer's daughter) was also celebrating her birthday and it was fun for the girls to see her, but our times didn't quite match up in the waterpark.

After dinner, I took the girls back to the waterpark and Thomas took the boys to the arcade. Jack apparently had a run in with a bigger kid while in the lazy river that afternoon. The kid got mad at Jack for bumping him and he knocked Jack's float over and then dunked Jack. Jack didn't tell us until later, but it had soured him on the park that day. We were upset that he had that experience and especially that some kid had put his hands on him and put Jack's head under water. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do.

The girls and I had a good time. The lines were very short and we rode the slides over and over again. Anna said it was the best time she'd ever had at GWL. Meanwhile, the boys enjoyed the arcade. Luke probably would have preferred to return to the waterpark, but it was nice to have some time alone with the girls. Plus, we knew he was exhausted and wanted to try and get him to bed at a decent time.

We didn't take many pictures. One of the girls wanted a picture of this unicorn tree.

Luke thinks he is the center of any photograph.

New York, Day 2 (Hamilton!)

Our plan for Saturday was to see the Saturday matinee of Hamilton. They have a cancellation line where they sell unsold seats (released by the cast, not picked up by the online lottery winners, reserved VIP seats that go unused, etc.). There is a 100+ page forum devoted to the topic and I read everything written in the last year. To increase our odds, we hired a linesitter. It felt a bit like cheating, but we only had one shot to see the show. There was a bit of confusion with the linesitter and on Friday night we though the deal was off, but to our surprise it all worked out. The guy, who I think was homeless, sat in line all night! We had agreed to $20/hour and they told me to expect 8 hours for this time of year. We did not want to pay for 16 hours and felt like they were trying to cheat us after the agreed upon deal. We told him to come back and do the 8 hours or forget it (all of this was done via texting, we hadn't met our linesitter yet and didn't know he was homeless). But, he ended up staying in line all night anyway and just charging us for 8 hours. He was, of course, first in line. We relieved him around 9am and the line was about 7 people long. There were two professional line sitters (ours was there all night, the next one arrived around 3am), a mother and daughter who had done the line 4 times already and had arrived around 530, a guy and his girlfriend (got there around 8), another mom and daughter (all the way from Australia, arrived at 845), then it would have been us if we hadn't paid the linesitter. Although, if we hadn't had the linesitter, I was thinking of getting there around 6,which would have made us the 3rd pair in line. After us, about 5 more people showed up before the box office opened at 10.

At 10, the box office employee came out and offered premium seats at $849/each. Everyone in the line declined. Around 1030, I went to a nearby Starbucks for hot chocolate. It took about 30 minutes because the line was so long. I came back, handed Thomas his hot chocolate and sat down in our other place in line.  I stayed there in case people got upset that we had paid a line sitter, which is technically against the Hamilton rules, figuring we would still have a good chance at getting in. By this point, I knew no one cared, but I had a comfortable spot on the steps and enjoyed talking to the fans around me. Anyway, I looked up a few minutes later and didn't see Thomas; then, he came out with tickets. Victory! Everyone in the line cheered for us (and their ability to move one spot closer, I'm sure). We went into the Marriott next door to warm up and then back to the hotel to hang out before the show.

The spoiles

The show was amazing! Our seats were in the second row on the aisle of the center orchestra. We could see everything, including the spit coming out of the actor's mouths as they enunciated the lines. It was everything we had hoped for, combining our great love of American history with innovative theater. We saw the understudy for the title role, but he was fantastic, very similar in style to Lin Manuel Miranda. It was a definite A+ and the hassles were all worth it. I am hoping to see it again when it comes to DC, perhaps from seats further back so we can get more of an overview approach. And, even with the linesitter, it worked out cheaper than buying the tickets from Ticketmaster like I had done for the February show (thanks to their exorbitant fees). Definitely a win/win! When we left, we were happy to see that the cancellation line did not include anyone who had waited with us that morning. There were new faces, presumably waiting for the evening show, but no one from that morning.

You can't see it on our faces, but boy were we excited!

Standing right next to our seats :)

After the show, we went to Times Square to see if we could squeeze in another show that night. We checked the half off board and decided on Avenue Q, which ran on Broadway for a long time, and even won a Tony for best show, but had since moved off-Broadway. Our plan was to try and walk to Rockefeller Center to see the tree at night, but we couldn't get close. I have never experienced anything like it. You legitimately couldn't move at times. It was worse than leaving a crowded concert or sporting event. Seriously wall to wall people. I couldn't help but think this is how people die in stampedes. If you tripped, you ran the risk of being crushed to death. We decided seeing the tree was not worth dealing with crowds and headed away from the Rockefeller Center area.

We thought Times Square was bad...

Then, we tried walking near Rockefeller Center. Insane!

We stopped and bought souvenirs for the kids and then went to dinner at a delicious little Mexican place, visited a comic book shop and then went to Avenue Q. We were tired, and kind of regretting the ticket purchase, but the show was good. Definitely more adult than we expected (songs included, Everybody is a Little Bit Racist and the Internet is for Porn), but it had a good theme and we really enjoyed it. Thomas actually put it in his top 5 Broadway list (Hamilton is #1 for both of us, I think we also agree on Jersey Boys for #2, then there is a great divergence in our preference).

We spent like 8 hours waiting in line or in shows and still managed to walk 11 miles!

We got back to our hotel around 10:45pm and went to bed. We woke early the next morning, packed and headed to the train station. Five hours later we were home and our adventure was over. It was an awesome weekend in New York, although I don't want to return at Christmas ever again (unless it's midweek). It was a good experiment for us and not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Parking the car in NJ worked out well and I think I would even venture in with the kids during an off-season. There was lots we would like to see, like The Statute of Liberty or One World Trade Center, that we did not have time for this trip. It was another fantastic getaway with my wonderful husband who was kind enough to humor me in undertaking this crazy adventure.

New York City, Day 1!

For many years, I have wanted to visit New York. In April, I bought tickets for us to see Hamilton on Broadway for February 1, 2018 (you have to buy them that far in advance or pay way too much). Thomas and I were super excited. The tickets were for a Thursday night and I figured it would be the good start to a long weekend. Then, I started my job on July 24. They told me that some time in early 2018 I would need to attend a new employee orientation. In the past it was held anytime from February to April. I felt fairly sure it wouldn't interfere with Hamilton. Obviously, you can see where this is going. The mandatory orientation is being held the same week as our Hamilton tickets.

So, we needed a plan B. We sold the Hamilton tickets (for a slight profit!) and worked up some alternate arrangements. Thomas thought New York at Christmas time would be pretty awesome and I agreed. We talked with Summer about babysitting the kids and the plan was formed. We went up the first weekend in December. On Thursday after work, we drove up to a Marriott in New Jersey. We got in around 9:30, so basically just slept there. The hotel had one of the best free hotel breakfasts I've had, I felt a little bad the kids weren't there, since they love hotel breakfast (not sure why, but they do). They had turkey sausage and eggs, fruit, waffles, baked goods, oatmeal, yogurt, etc. The morning was off to a good start! We drove to the train station, which was about 10 minutes away, parked the car and bought our tickets. The train ride to Penn Station was about 45 minutes.

First picture in NYC!

It was pretty amazing to leave the train station and be in New York City. It was definitely an amazing site. Buildings as far as the eye could see! We picked a hotel near the train station to make luggage easy. We dropped off our bags and started walking. First, we went to Macy's. It was awesome! The decorations were beautiful. We rode the wooden escalator all the way to the 9th (I think) floor and enjoyed seeing all the holiday displays.

The iconic Macy's sign!

Very well-decorated inside (and crowded!)

I loved the wooden escalators

Their Christmas area reminded me of Elf, so many paper snowflakes!

After Macy's, we walked through Times Square on our way to Central Park. Central Park was pretty and we enjoyed walking around. They had a little craft show going on in the park and we liked seeing everything. The crafts were actually more affordable than the art shows in Southern Maryland (I've always been shocked by how much the artisans around here charge, so much more than anywhere else we've lived). We bought some lunch, but nothing else, partially because we didn't want to carry anything around all day.

A nice green oasis in the midst of a giant city.

After lunch and Central Park, we worked our way to Rockefeller Center. We went into the American Girl Store to take pictures for the girls and saw the Christmas tree and skating ring. It was crowded but not unbearable. From there, we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was amazing! Definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Of course my pictures don't do it justice. Google St. Patrick's Cathedral and see the wonder :)

Rockefeller Center!

After St. Patrick's, we walked by the windows at Saks (impressive) then went to Grand Central Station and took a train to the Wall Street area. I appreciate the simplicity of the DC metro as compared to the NYC system. I think it would take some time to figure it all out. Fortunately, people were friendly and helpful and we somehow managed to find the right train (or, at least followed the directions of others well). We visited Trinity Church, where Alexander Hamilton and some other famous Patriots are buried. It was also very beautiful.

Trinity Church

They are doing construction, but I loved the ceiling and all the stained glass

Burial site of the amazing Alexander Hamilton

Trinity Church was about 4 miles from our hotel and we decided to walk.  It was nice to see some of the different Manhattan neighborhoods. We passed by NYU and stopped in Georgetown cupcakes for a treat. We got back to our hotel around 6 and went in for a few minutes and then decided to go back out for dinner. I wanted either NY Pizza or Chinese food. There were plenty of pizza places nearby, so we tried one. It was just okay. It was a long, tiring day and I ended up walking 13 miles!

A new daily record for me

Some initial observations--1) the architecture of NYC is amazing! I loved all the unique buildings. 2) There are a lot of smokers; 3) after a short time (for me) the novelty of a city wears off. I was crazy impressed when we walked up the stairs from Penn Station. But, after a while, I felt like it was any other large city I've been to (DC and Chicago come to mind).

Thanksgiving!

My Dad and Maggie arrived on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I took the day off from work and brought the kids to the train station with me. We went to breakfast at a cute diner and had a nice morning. When we got home, they took a nap and I got started on Thanksgiving dinner prep.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. We had 13 for lunch (the Wilson six, my dad and Maggie, Jim, Sheryl and 3 of their kids). As per recent tradition, we played spoons, watched the parade, and relaxed before and after the big meal. It was nice to spend time with everyone and the food all turned out really good.

My dad got a new smart phone. He had a few questions that Josh was happy to help with.

Here's most of our Thanksgiving crew. Thomas took the picture and I'm not sure why Maggie didn't join in.

Unfortunately, I had to go to work on Friday. Also unfortunately, my dad got sick Thursday night. He had an upset stomach all night and all day Friday. So, we didn't do anything fun on Friday, although Thomas did set up our new fake Christmas tree. Speaking of which, we bought a new, big, fake tree. It is very tall and has plenty of secure branches for all our ornaments. It looks really nice. Hopefully, it will last us many years.

I did a little bit of shopping on Black Friday, but I had gotten most of what I wanted online. Some exciting purchases included a vacuum cleaner, air mattress, and an Instant Pot. We are pretty wild in the Wilson house! I did buy myself some new clothes at Belk, during their buy 1, get 2 free sale.

Saturday my dad was feeling a bit better. He rested that morning and then we went out to dinner at Red Robin and played some more spoons.  On Sunday morning, Maggie woke up not feeling well. Then, Anna's stomach started to hurt. Luke completed the trifecta.

Saturday and Sunday, Thomas worked on our Christmas lights outside. I worked on our Christmas Village and spent time with my dad and Maggie, during the last few hours of their visit. Thomas took them to the train station Sunday afternoon. By now, my dad was feeling better, so we figured it was a short-term stomach bug. And, we were right. Luke threw up Sunday night, as did Anna, but both were fine on Monday. Thomas stayed home from work with them to make sure they were over it and fortunately, the rest of us managed to remain uninfected.

I admit the lights look nice when complete, but I hate seeing Thomas on the roof.

Working with precision.

Stratford Hall and Halloween

On October 28, we went to Stratford After Dark. It was a fun event. We have been to Stratford Hall a couple of times before this trip. Our first visit was shortly after Luke was born and then we went to an Independence Day event a couple of years ago. It is fairly close to George Washington's birthplace and that area is beautiful. Although best known as the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, Stratford Hall was also home to two signers of the Declaration of Independence and is another beautifully preserved home with a nice visitor's center.

It was at an awkward time, starting at 4. We planned to get there around 4:30 and packed a picnic dinner, since there are no convenient places to eat nearby. I am used to the Halloween events we go to being packed, but the parking lot was pretty empty and it was quiet inside. The kids got their faces painted and we did a couple of crafts, then we had our picnic.

We came back inside, had some cookies and apple cider, then decided to get our palms read. They also had Tarot Card readings, but I didn't want the kids to do that. The Palmist was a nice lady who reads palms as a hobby. She made it very clear to the kids that everything she said was just in fun and not to take it too seriously.  I had my palm read too, but Thomas did not (he took Luke outside instead). The four of us had some things in common, like we are all really smart (so far, that woman was 100% accurate!). Me and Jack had a mark showing an interest in the occult and spooky stuff. Anna and Jack both had a heart line, which I guess is more unusual for boys and the palmist remarked that the girls are going to love his romantic side. :) Jack also had a double life line, which is another rare mark and indicates protection against disease and illness. There was a lot more, like Anna has a "tremendous imagination," Kara is very creative, and Jack and I both enjoy cleverness and being around witty people. Some of it was extremely inaccurate, like Jack and Kara like change. Kara especially is all about routine. Also, that Anna keeps things to herself--maybe that will be a trait that shows as a teenager, but for now, she is an open book who lays everything on the line (sometimes in minute detail, in fact, both girls are that way). Regardless, it was really fun.

Kara and the palm reader

From there, we went outside and roasted marshmallows. We also did the trick-or-treat trail. The kids got some good candy and had fun walking around the beautiful house. After that, it was time for our flashlight house tour. It was a little spookier than I had expected and actually scared Kara a bit. They talked about ghost sightings and apparently it is one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course, none of the tour guides had ever actually seen anything, but they had some fun stories to tell and most of us enjoyed it.

Roasting marshmallows

On the trick-or-treat trail

Cute kids in a pretty setting

My favorite picture of the night

Jack wanted me to take his picture pretending to fall off the wall, I didn't notice what Anna was doing until it was over, but the final shot made me laugh. 

When that was over, we did the hay ride and then called it a night. It was a really fun event, it was not free, like a lot of Halloween stuff is, but we don't mind paying to support things we enjoy (like historical sights) and maybe charging keeps the crowds down, because it was not at all busy (it was well-attended, just not crowded).

Sunday, we went over to the Wills' house to carve pumpkins, eat cookies and drink warm cider. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of our pumpkins all lit up. They were pretty generic this year, but we had fun.

This was my only carving picture

Luke decided painting was more fun than carving.

On Halloween, we went to a neighbor's house for a potluck. It was the third year in a row and is a nice tradition. I like not having to worry about dinner on Halloween and it makes the day even more festive. After that, we did our traditional pictures and then headed out to trick-or-treat. I was really looking forward to the experience with Luke. He had so much fun last year and we expected this year to be even better. But, he was kind of cranky and difficult. He was mad that he didn't get to ring doorbells (people just sit outside or leave candy on their porch while they walk with their kids). He also wanted to be the first one to go to every house. Generally, he was just a brat. At one point, Thomas took him home because he wouldn't stop crying when someone else dared to walk ahead of him. After that, he was a bit better, but never as happy as we had expected. Everyone else was cheerful and cooperative. When we got home, Luke and Kara sat outside and passed out candy. Actually, Luke demanded to pass out the candy and got mad when Kara tried to give any away. Fortunately, for him (and Thomas and me), the older kids were really patient with him.

We told Anna she wasn't allowed to smile. Luke apparently has a new camera face.

I forgot to take a nighttime picture, we also had one of those projectors in an upper winner broadcasting spooky scenes.

Overall, 75% of our kids were great and we had fun!