We went to Virginia for Christmas. The kids were mostly good on the flight. Dad picked us up at Dulles on Sunday the 21st. We drove home and had a great meal. Great meals/ desserts/ overeating were par for the course. Grandma and Grandpa Cheney surprised us with an Air Hockey table which was enjoyed immensely throughout the trip. On Monday the whole family drove down to Midlothian Virginia to visit Kristen and Dan in their lovely home. We ate Chick-Fil-A for the first time and went bowling at a great (cheap) alley.
Tuesday we went into town and had a family picture taken at the UVA Lawn. The kids were reasonably good despite the cold and the photo shoot went off quickly and hitch free. Then we came home and decorated the tree, ate more, played air hockey and visited.
Wednesday was Christmas eve. We went to Walmart and purchased our gift exchange presents. The kids made and decorated cookies for Santa.
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| Aiden has perfected the O'brien tongue. |
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| Candice made this face every time I pointed a camera at her all trip. |
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| Zoey made lovely cookies but didn't want to eat them, so I got to... |
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| The decorated tree with the entire haul. |
Christmas morning we got dressed and ready to come down then brought the kids down to see The traditional cereal box tree breakfast.
The kids went down to see what Santa brought and had put in their stockings. Then we came up and ate breakfast quickly and hurried back downstairs to open the mountain of gifts.
After the smoke cleared the kids had made out like bandits and we spent the rest of the morning setting up and playing with various toys. In the afternoon we took the opportunity of nice weather and went to the local school playground to have a few games of knock out and let the kids play.
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| Wendy-4, Zoey-5, Carter-6, Afton-4 |
On Friday we had the good idea (along with everyone else in Virginia) to head up into the the Blue Ridge to take a group hike to Humpback Rocks. The kids did great and really had fun. Teresa and I were encouraged that perhaps our children aren't as soft and wimpy as we thought and can plan and enjoy more of these kinds of activities.
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| Still making silly faces at the camera... |
Zoey was an absolute super trooper. Her and I made it up to the top and she wanted to explore the rocks/ cliffs and climb around as much as she could.
Everyone else soon caught up.
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| Aiden made it all the way up without being carried at all. |
Saturday we cooked a pancake breakfast and went to the local Mini- golf for a round.
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| Teresa received a camera for Christmas so you may've noticed more pictures of me. WIN-WIN!!! |
On the way home we stopped by the park again.
Sunday we went for a walk in the rain so the kids could correctly utilize their new umbrellas.
Since it was raining more fast paced air hockey was played.
Cousins ran through the house laughing/ screaming/ fighting and having fun.
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| Aiden LOVES this marble track |
Monday morning we had to say goodbye to Dan and Kristen and their family. We went to the bounce house with Candice, Craig, and kids then met everyone who was left at Bodos for lunch.
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| It was toddler time so adults were allowed on the equipment. |
Kirk had discovered that morning while we were at the bounce house that he had an awful case of strep throat so we said goodbye without hugs and mom took them down to Richmond to fly home that evening. Teresa and I had a date night while Craig, Candice and Mom watched our kids. I ate $6 steak (crazy deal) at the Sedona Taphouse it was delicious and really crowded.
Tuesday we went shopping in the morning then came home to watch Charlotte, Millie and Lincoln while C+C went out to eat Korean food for lunch.
That night we went to a UVA basketball game. UVA was ranked 3rd in the country so the place was packed. Davidson came out hot in the first half but UVA got it together and ended up winning the game pretty handily. Aiden loved the game and the atmosphere. Zoey was really in it for the first half but lost interest as things wore on. The game was exciting.
Wednesday we had to go. Grandpa was kind enough to drive us out to Dulles again. The airport was completely empty. The flight was completely full. Zoey started to get a bit ill at the end of the flight but we made it down without any blown chunks. The drive home was uneventful. We were so tired that we didn't even unpack. Since it was New Years Eve Teresa and I tried to stay up but only made it to Midnight Eastern. (which is fair b/c that's where we woke up??)
The next morning we woke up and the kids opened their presents from the Grovers.
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| Hey Ladies!!! Check out that smile!!! |
The kids were extremely happy to open even more great gifts (3 times in one holiday season!)
The trip was great. It is always good to see the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and spend time together. It was a wonderful way to wrap up a great year.
Postscript:
Aiden can reach the pedals on his birthday bike now!!
Till next time-
RTSZA
5 comments:
Quite the giant post! Love the pictures. Loved seeing you guys. Thanks for being so awesome.
I'm glad you recorded all the details. I'm feeling too lazy to do it. -KC
Seriously i should just copy and paste your words to make my post. i'm still singing the "my little pony" song from Zoey's toy. it was fun to see you!!!!
So fun to read the details and relive the memories. We loved being together and enjoying your company. You're such a wonderful family and we wish we could see you more often.
I'm telling you, you are awesome! Thanks for the post and pics. We really enjoyed being with your family. Thanks for all of your help with meals, etc. The house is way too quiet now. Love you!
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