Snowshoe, WV

Last weekend we met up with the Packs (Aunt Lindsay, Uncle John, and cousin Natalie) in Snowshoe, West Virginia. We rented a condo and had a great time skiing, swimming, and playing.

We arrive on Friday night to cold and windy weather. Conditions had deteriorated by Saturday morning. It was freezing, REALLY wind, and snowing. We decided to pass on skiing (all but Elliot who did a 1/2 day of ski school) and hang out inside. The highlight of Saturday was the trip to the indoor pool.

Sunday was beautiful and perfect for skiing. Everyone but Lindsay (still not 100% ready to ski after her bout with GBS) and the girls. Thanks Aunt Lindsay for watching the little ones!

Elliot geared up and ready to brave the elements. 

Looking good Buddy! He got to ride the chair lift this year - pretty exciting!

What we did while Elliot was at ski school. The girls LOVED this slide- we went down at
least 20 times! The girls went down by themselves a couple of times
and even held hands on the way down. 

Natalie

Book time!

Uncle John's turn

Bath time. When they weren't fighting over Natalie's baby doll stroller,
they got along really well. 

Lunch spot on the slopes. Not a cloud in the sky. 

Exploring the village. The kids thought this
over sized chair was pretty cool

The drive home was long and ended with Beatrice freaking out and vomiting 5 miles from our house. Next year she'll want to watch DVDs and that should make the drive MUCH easier.

Be Our Valentine

Also in January...

Can you tell tonight it catch up night? In addition to Mimsey's visit last month we also had our first measurable snow fall of the year  ~ 1 inch, maybe 2 in some spots. It was pretty icy and not much fun to play in, but Elliot made the most of it. Beatrice was not interested in it and went back inside to play with Daddy.  Lara was excited to finally see some snow and joined Elliot and me for some snowy fun in the backyard.

Getting geared up.

Gnome snow house. 

Mimsey Pays a Visit

Its been a month since Mimsey came to stay with us for a week, but Elliot is still talking about it. Lara (our wonderful aupair) went to NY for a week for her vacation and to take a film making class. Since I just started a new job I have little to no vacation time and couldn't take the week off to watch the kids. Mimsey helped us all out by coming up for an entire week. She did a great job taking care of Elliot and Beatrice. They also did a good job of being on their best behavior for Mimsey. She kept them very busy with visits to the playground, zoo, and mall (Lego store and American Girl Doll store).

She is planning to come back some time this spring, this time Mommy and daddy will be the ones taking a vacation!

snacks at the zoo

free range peacock? 

yes, its a double stroller for dolls.

Swim Lessons

We have been meaning to sign up Elliot for swim lessons for a while. We have actually tried several times, but they fill up really fast. We finally got a spot and Elliot started swim lessons on Sunday. He is in a class with other 4 year old beginner swimmers, and will attend class for 6 weeks. Parents aren't allowed to watch pool side so most of these pictures were taken from the glass enclosed observation area (sorry for the haze). Elliot really enjoyed the class and can't wait to go back.

Christmastime

Its hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. December was a whirlwind of decorating, shopping, festive outings, visitors, and lots of fun. Where to start?

I suppose we really got into the Christmas spirit when we picked out our Christmas tree. Both kids loved visiting the tree lot. Elliot felt and inspected every tree. He and Daddy found the perfect tree together. Beatrice was very happy running up and down the rows of trees. 

The following weekend, Elliot and I went to our second play together. We saw Knuffle Bunny the musical at the Kennedy Center. We LOVE the book and the play was very cute. I didn't take any pictures of us at the Kennedy Center, but Daddy took this picture of us before we left. Doesn't the Christmas tree look nice? Elliot helped me decorate it. 

Mimsey and Gramps came to visit us over the Christmas holiday. We had a great time seeing them.  They came a few days before Christmas which allowed for some long walks, nice meals, last minute shopping, and round or two of Scrabble and Quiddler. On Christmas Eve Mommy, Mimsey, Beatrice and Elliot went to church while Daddy and Gramps cooked spaghetti. Beatrice did not like church, or maybe she liked it too much. She wanted to follow the choir down the aisle and she made sure everyone could hear her during the quiet moments. About half way through the service, Beatrice and I left to hang out with a bunch of other toddlers in the hallway. 

By Christmas morning there was a mountain of presents under the tree. Christmas morning was a bit overwhelming for the kids. Beatrice didn't know what to do with all of the presents. Thankfully Lara was there to help her open all of her gifts. Beatrice's big gift from Santa was a rocking horse (that Mommy painted). Santa brought Elliot his Bat Mobile and a pint sized set of golf clubs.  

Daddy spent a good part of the morning opening toy packages. 

Beatrice loves her new stroller - thanks Grammy and Papa!

After opening our presents and eating a yummy breakfast we all went for a long wall. 

Our friend Frank Curcio joined us all for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our visit with Frank. Mimsey and Gramps headed home to Williamsburg on the 26th, but our Christmas fun didn't stop when they left. That night we decided to check out the light display at our local botanical gardens. The lights were amazing. It was a little hard to take it all in with Beatrice - she wanted to RUN through the garden.

rainbow and clouds with rain. 

Bea on the run!

Amazing sea monster!

Although I didn't take any pictures, we ended our holidays with a fun New Years celebration that we think might become a tradition. The kids and I decorated the dinning room with some decorations I found in the attic, we made and ate shrimp and grits, then watched London ring in the New Year at 7 PM on BBC.