So to close out 2017, Mike and I headed to the Gaylord National in Maryland for the ICE! Exhibit. Note–the ICE! Exhibit is 9 degrees. But Sugar Bear has a sugar bear suit so we decided to give it a shot and do something fun. Like Christmas fun in general, we were both pleasantly surprised by how much she actually enjoyed it! We started off the morning of the last day of the year in our matching Chistmas jammies, which…
So each year it’s a mad scramble to get done ALL THE THINGS before mid-December, when we fly to Florida and spend 10 days with my amazing family. This year was even crazier because I had found tickets to a concert I wanted to go to that just so happened to be the night before we left. July Laura said, oh how fun! Let’s buy the tickets. We’ll go for my birthday celebration. This will be a great way to…
So Saturday, December 9th was my 5th Annual Favorite Things Party. I cannot believe I’ve hosted five of these. I absolutely love this party and really enjoy having it between Thanksgiving and Christmas, even though that is a crazy time. I love the giving spirit that people are in and I love the great idea sharing for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. We had 12 ladies come, including my new neighbor and my two great friends from college who drove…
Each year, the neighborhood where Mike and I met has a tree lighting ceremony to kick off the Christmas season. There are live musicians. There are carolers in matching sweaters. There are horse-drawn carriages and hot chocolate and light up toys and balloon animals and magic in the air. There is a gorgeous Christmas tree that they light up after a (poorly-executed) countdown. And most importantly, there is SANTA. Which means that littles come with their parents from miles around…
So even though we’re a week away from Thanksgiving, we took Caroline to meet The Big Guy. SANTA CLAUS! I realize this is not the typical time for your little one to meet the man in the jolly red suit, but when you have out of town plans for Turkey Day AND you have family to visit in Florida starting in mid-December, you realize quickly that you’re running out of weekends so you do crazy things like get all dolled…
Election Day! Virginians headed to the polls to elect ourselves a governor. Mike and I brought Caroline because it is never too early to introduce the concept of civic responsibility being appreciative of the democracy we all enjoy (most of the time). She seemed to thoroughly enjoyed her first civic duty opportunity despite the fact that it was during a downpour and it made her dinner a 1/2 hour late. She especially enjoyed the part where she got to gnaw…
It’s no secret that I love big political families. My fascination with the Kennedys started when I was in early elementary school. The idea of that sprawling white house on the Cape with all those smart, sun-kissed good looking people and active kids running around, sailing and playing football–it just sounds hectic and messy and fun and loud and awesome. The Bush family has never held quite the same allure, but sometime in the last 5 years or so, I…
Mike and Caroline and I had a grand time at our neighborhood’s annual fall picnic this year. We brought chicken salad and enjoyed getting to know our neighbors better, some of whom are expecting babies early next year! Hands down though, the best was the part when a neighbor insisted on taking pictures of our happy little family. She suggested that we hold up the frame and then thought it would be HILARIOUS if there was a frame within a…