Company Christmas Party

 On our way into the holiday party at the Mayflower Hotel in D.C.

 You cannot tell this picture was taken on a green screen can you?  This was one of the least ridiculous of the options.

 One of the best parts of living here is having a great group of friends to hang with! 

We couldn't have had a better time at this year's holiday party!  A million thanks to Jackie and Scott, who live down the street from the hotel, for hosting Alex and Abby for a sleepover.  We have made so many great friends here at the Fairfax office, and reconnected with many from our time in Houston as well. 

Allergies

Poor Alex, bored again, in a doctor's office.  Those wonderfully mild temperatures do nothing to help the allergies in this family! 

A Warm Blast

The same day of the White House tour, the temperatures were very mild.  Alex and Abby were eager to play outside after school.  They enjoy riding bicycles in the cul-de-sac across the street.  There is a decent hill on the way down, which they both love, but the climb back up is a slow one for Abby.  Much to my surprise, Alex stopped his bike and ran back down to give Abby a big push up the hill.  Warmed my heart!



Holiday Tour

 I was such a tourist on this tour, snapping pictures left and right.

 Bo, the first family's dog, made out of pom-poms this year.  I heard that last year's mock up of Bo was crotcheted out of pipe cleaners...an extremely time-consuming task for the many volunteers!

 This tree was adorned with blown glass ornaments, but from a distance looks like water balloons.  It was gorgeous!

 Amie and I in the East Room.  Note the portraits of George and Martha Washington on the wall behind us.

 This tree was a tribute to the armed services in the aptly named, Blue Room.

 The State Dining Room

 Gingerbread House

 So many living decorations here in the Green Room.

Wow!  This was a very special December treat!  Touring the White House in all its holiday glory was just awesome.  The smell of fresh greenery immediately put us in the holiday mood.  I loved walking the halls of the White House, looking at the framed family photos on the walls from years past, admiring presidential portraits, appreciating the time it took to hang so much garland and trim so many trees!  I could not be more appreciative of the opportunity to take this tour.  Taking in the history and beauty of the White House, especially at Christmas, is something I will never forget!

Deck the Halls

Decorating the tree on a Friday night, in our pajamas, nothing better!  As we pulled ornament after ornament out of the box that read "Alex", little Abby started to ask "where are MY ornaments??".  Eventually we found a few "Abby" ornaments.  Our tree is a collection of homemade treasures, mostly made by Alex, and keepsakes from over the years...places we've traveled, ornaments from when we were younger, etc.  We'd be hard-pressed to pick favorites on the tree!

Haircut

Lots of posing after her blowout

Thanksgiving

 Roadtrip!

 The Pledge of Allegiance at Grandpa's

 Checking out Uncle Stan's trains

 Abby and Chuck playing Tinker-Toys

We had a fantastic trip to Cincinnati over Thanksgiving break!  The kids had fun playing at their Grandparents' houses and visiting with their Aunts and Uncles.  There was craft time, tree decorating, dinners, football parties, and Thanksgivings!  They were patient on the road trip and we are hoping for the same level of enthusiasm on our Christmas trip home.

E.N.T.

I took Alex to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor to address his recurring nosebleeds.  The wait in the room was ridiculously long so he was finding things to keep himself occupied.  At one point Alex even said "Mom, don't I need to get back to school??".  We followed up his nasal cauterization with lunch (breakfast for him apparently) at Panera, after which we promptly picked up Abby from preschool then raced Alex back to school.  So far so good on the nosebleeds, having had only one since the procedure in November.

Ready to Shop!

Don't you dress up to go Christmas shopping?

Alex at Gymnastics

This fall, Alex enjoyed taking gymnastics.  He's come a long way and was recently moved up again to level 3/4.  We are going to take a little break from gymnastics while the facility gets their act together.  It is an extremely popular "Olympic Training Facility" and honestly is overcrowded to the point where Abby and I have nowhere to sit and watch him.  I'm not comfortable leaving him there for an hour either, due to the chaos.  They recently announced that they are expanding, which will hopefully include expanding the waiting area to accommodate the hundreds of parents who are just standing around.  

Tennis, on the other hand, is a very relaxed environment and the instructor, Coach Tom, is great with the 7/8 year olds.  He keeps things light and fun and there is plenty of room for us to sit and watch him practice.  Unfortunately he's on the farthest court from where the parents are so I have no photos of him in action.   

On the Playground

We definitely had some nice warm weekends in November.  Here we are taking a break from leaf raking/mulching to enjoy the sun at the school playground!

Family Pictures

My friend Amie took a few (lots and lots) pictures of us at a local park one November afternoon.  It was kind of a gray day, but they are still cute keepsakes!