During the day I rearranged our living room temporarily so that the couch was facing the tree. The thought was that then B and I would sit on the couch and watch the kids tear open presents. In reality, we were all still sitting on the floor anyway. Buddy also insisted on rearranging the presents so that we could set up a train track under the tree (like we saw at the National Christmas Tree) with his battery-operated Thomas the Tank Engine on it (see top left corner picture below).
On Christmas Eve we go out for Chinese food, have a little family night reading about Christ's birth from the Bible and then we open family presents (starting with PJs).
Quote of the night- Little Guy (excitedly): Now we can hit each other!! After opening three light sabers from cousins in California.
B and I trying to take a picture of us with the Santa Cookie plate on Christmas Eve after the kids were in bed.
I read on someone's blog that the United States Botanic Garden had a fun train display for the holidays with everything being made of plant material. I wanted to make this work with a trip to see the National Tree and luckily on Tuesdays and Thursdays the Botanic Garden was staying open until 8 (normally it closes at 5). So we waited for traffic to end and headed into DC arriving just after 7PM.
Here's the description from their website: Don’t miss this popular exhibit which includes Washington landmark buildings all created with plant materials set amidst pathways and pools of blooming poinsettias and other holiday plants. Our famous garden railway will feature world landmarks from the continents of Africa, Asia Europe and South America.
The trains.
The kids LOVED it! They love all the different famous world buildings (some which I'd never even heard of, and one B hadn't which is really saying something). And of course, they loved the trains. They even had a Thomas train and a Percy train as well as a cool caterpillar looking training.
The Washington Landmarks.
The Capitol at night at Christmas time. It's in the background of the kids' picture too, you have to look closely above Buddy's head.
The National Tree at The Ellipse. Our camera did the best it can at night (and we used B's cell phone some). All around the base of the tree are small train displays. Buddy declared this the best train day ever. He is also making plans for rearranging the presents under the tree and setting up his battery operated Thomas the Tank Engine under there.
The White House.
Princess Sparkley and the White House (which you can't see in the picture).
The Virginia tree. Each state, territory and the District of Columbia had a smaller, uniquely decorated tree around the National Tree.
It was cold! And windy. Brr. Mid-thirties, felt like low-twenties. We parked near the Botanic Garden and the drove and ended up parking in front of the Museum of American History so we had a little bit of a walk to get to The Ellipse. Brr.
We woke our older kids up on Dec. 21 around 2:30AM to see the lunar eclipse. It was COLD so we bundled them up with coats and hats and a few blankets and then B carried them outside so they could see it. It was just starting but I didn't want to wake them up at 5 when it would reach totality and have them unable to fall back to sleep. I snapped a picture of Princess Sparkley but forgot to get one of Buddy.
Our ward had a Christmas breakfast/brunch Saturday morning complete with a visit from Santa (and then ending on a more spiritual note with a nativity play and Christmas songs). The girl in the picture is Princess Sparkley's friend... you might recognize her from PS's party this summer. She wanted PS in her picture and Buddy refused to be in a picture on his own. That's how all three ended up with Santa.
When Santa was announced, the kids all ran to get in line. Once Little Guy figured out what the line was about, he decided he definitely didn't want to be there. A bit later he discovered that Santa was handing out candy canes and he talked Daddy into getting back in line with him. Then he wasn't so sure again. After he finished his candy cane he told me he wanted to go see Santa again (for another candy cane).
B's goal for the past several years is to get 100 new counties a year. (He collects counties like some people do states.) The last couple of years he hasn't reached this goal. He hit 100 new counties for 2010 on Friday with a long road trip into Pennsylvania. New county totals: B=12, N=18, the kids=19.
We stopped at Gettysburg and saw the free parts of the museum (bathrooms, gift shop, statue outside). We talked about the kids' great great great great grandpa (John S.) who fought in the civil war, lying about his age to become a soldier at 16. [Corrections from Grandpa M: Very cool stuff here. John S. was in the infantry for 6 months, got out in May 1863 and rejoined in late July 1863 for the remainder of the war (in a cavalry unit). He missed Gettysburg.]
We stopped in Dillsburg, PA to see B's Great Grandparents' grave. (Isn't it fun that someone who loves the Simpsons as much as B descends from people named Homer and Margaret?) It is a little creepy to see your own last name on a gravestone though.
We stopped and saw their old home (that B last visited when he was 4 years old).
We saw the State Capitol in Harrisburg.
We stopped at the Washington DC LDS Temple to see the nativity displays, Christmas trees, and lights. The trip took longer than expected so we missed the musical performance, but we still got to enjoy the lights and everything else.
