Santa!

We made a trip to the North Pole this morning to visit Santa Claus!  Samuel was excited to whole way there and even started listing off things that he wanted to ask Santa for.  Thankfully, the line wasn't too long and we only waited about 10 minutes.  He was a little shy once he was on Santa's lap but got over it really quick.  He asked for a train set!  So precious!

Here we are waiting in line...

Santa 2011

                                                                      Santa 2010

                                                                      Santa 2009

Visit from dear friends

Our good friends from Dallas came in for a visit the weekend before Thanksgiving.  Thad has known Tom since their freshman year of college and I've known them since I've known Thad.  They mean so much to us and feel like family.  We were all friends before kids and are now growing our families together.  It was so great of them to visit and be our first OFFICIAL visitors! 

They got in Friday afternoon and we spent most of our time hanging out at the house and letting all of our "no nap" kids just run a muck.  We got carryout for dinner and had a relaxing evening.  On Saturday, we woke up and headed to the metro for a fun-filled day in DC. 

This is how all of the pics trying to get all 3 kids turned out.  H and E smiling and posing, and crazy man Samuel ignoring us all completely.  Gotta love it...

 Headed to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

 Looking at Dinosaurs!

After the museum, we headed to the sculpture gardens for lunch and much to my surprise, found the outdoor ice skating rink!  We didn't attempt it but doesn't this sound like a fun date night?  Thad rolled his eyes at that one!

Here we are eating lunch outside.  One picture I didn't get was of the crazy squirrels that live around here.  I kid you not, they walked right up to one couple and stole their sandwich off the plate!

Heading over to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, we stopped for a little photo!

E is just adorable and at such a fun age.  Love her!

Popcorn!!

We went to Uncle Julio's for dinner and the kids were AMAZING!! We took a gamble on going out to eat because none of them had napped but I guess that's why they were so good.  It was like we were on a double date and the kids were just watching.  It was hilarious!  The movies on the IPAD helped as well but it was so nice! On a side note, I promise I do change my clothes from day to day but all you can see in every pic is my coat!  I think this is how all of our winter pics will look.

The next day before they headed back to Dallas, we went to Georgetown for lunch.  We walked around the harbor first and let the kids play.

Thanks for a great weekend Tom,  Val and kiddos!! We love you!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I finally have all of my decorations (that will fit in this house) up and it just feels SO much like home! What is it about Christmas decorations and a candle that make you just want to crawl on the couch and read a good book?  Ahh, I LOVE this time of year!

this picture cracks me up.  As you can tell, for naptime we just throw something on him to sleep and when he woke up, the tree was finished.  I had to capture the moment, but OH MY GOODNESS!  He looks like a hot mess.

I'm a lover of all Christmas trees, but I must say, my favorite is a good ole' traditional tree with ornaments that actually have meaning and will give me good memories every year when I decorate the tree.  I have ornaments from the first year we were married, ornaments from every vacation we have been on, and lots and lots of ornaments for Samuel.  I let him pick one or two out every year and he just loves it!  My tree is without a topper this year because our ceilings aren't tall enough for one!  Ha!  We had to smash the tree down just to fit it in our 1940's house.  Love it!  I still haven't figured out how to take a good pic of a Christmas tree but it is OH SO PRETTY!!