Christmas Season highlights

Its been another great December!

Crafts and treats.
We did our annual ice cream cone trees and reindeer donuts.  We didn't do many crafts this year but made a cute 3-D reindeer and a stained glass nativity we handed out to ward members with a treat. We chose a different treat to make each Sunday and took a card and plate of cookies to a different family. It was fun and likely a new tradition we will add in.  Saturday ended up being a big baking day and it was fun and delicious.  I prefer cutting out cookies and Jared and Lydia prefer decorating them so we make a good team. Although we both end up doing each task.

In order: April, Lydia, Mark and Jared

Christmas Parties

 Friday we went over to the Hendricks to celebrate school being out for Christmas. We met up with the Shaws and Farnsworth's and all the kids (15!) had a really fun time together.  They decorated cookies, watched the Polar Express and then we had dinner together.  It was a fun get together.  We are so glad the Hendricks moved here.  Christa is really sweet and so patient and Jared really enjoys meeting up with her three older boys.

About half the kids.  It was impressive how well that many kids interacted together. 

Sunday we hosted the Bishopric members after church for lunch.  Originally all the members of the Bishopric were going to attend but then the Reids had to leave town for a funeral and the Struble's couldn't make it because Susan was really sick. We had a waffle bar and I made some chicken to go along with it. The Shaw's had never had chicken and waffles and I was happy to introduce them to it.  It is my most favorite meal. 

Christmas Caroling  

Sunday night we were able to do our annual caroling with the Players and Papins.  We visited 2 families in our ward and 2 families in the 1st ward.  Mark and Liz have this awesome history but our schedules do not match up well so Christmas caroling is our for sure chance to catch up with them and it was really nice.  We stayed there much later then we normally would but with no school the next day we decided to make the most of our time.  We visited the most with Liz and it was just really great.  She is a really wonderful person to be around. 

Charlottesville Municipal Band Christmas Concert

I attended this concert myself a few weeks ago.  I have had it on our list the past few years and am really glad I was able to go.  We had attended the "Joy To The World" concert the previous week so I let Jared and Lydia choose if they wanted to go to this concert or stay home with Mark and they chose to stay home with Mark.  Their loss!  The song selection was great and the audience sing along was really fun.  Next year I plan to have us all go.  These concerts are funny because so much of the audience is 60 + years old.  I had a lovely time chatting with my seat mates who were very friendly.  You do have to get there early though.  I got there 15 minutes early and the house was full.  

Gingerbread houses and Christmas Lights

Each year we take a trip downtown to check out the gingerbread house display at The Omni.  Its funny to go there now because for work I occasionally reserve rooms there for guest speakers whereas I previously had no connection except for the gingerbread houses.  This year we met up with Laura and her kids.  The theme was "Christmas Around the World."  Some of the entries were based off places we have visited which was a fun twist.  Normally we park near a playground and play for awhile but it was freezing cold and had been raining all day so we parked at the hotel which was great because they have free parking for the event.  We did not stay long but are glad we went.

Jared's favorite:

Lydia's favorite: 

My favorite:

We also handed out our"Best Christmas Lights" award and checked out the house in Ruckersville that goes all out and did a quick walk around. It's really fun when people work really hard on their lights. 

2019 Best Christmas Lights Winner:

Giving out the award was fun but we had a rough evening.  On our way to visit a family from our ward before looking at lights two deers ran across the road and right into our car.  There doesn't seem to be any real damage but it really put a damper on the evening.  This was the first time in 5 years of living here that we have hit a deer.  There have been multiple close calls and sightings but no such luck this time.  Lydia did not fully agree on this house but sometimes majority rules.  She was pacified when the owner (finally, it took quite a few knocks) came to the door with his three dogs and one was a husky.  He seemed very surprised to receive the award.  This neighborhood was pretty far out there so I imagine he did not expect anyone to really notice his lights. 

Once the award was handed out we headed over to a specific house in Greene County that does an LED light show.  The show was fun and they really liked it but it was a drive to get out there. Jared and Lydia frequently read when we are in the car which is fine but they both get carsick, especially Jared so its hard for me to understand why they insist on reading while we are driving around. This night it was particularly annoying because the whole point was to be enjoying the lights and time together. Plus its dark out! They have these Christmas light bulb necklaces that they were wearing and were using them for light but seriously.  They both felt carsick and did not enjoy driving around much.  It was the first time we went out to give the ward and came away wondering if we would do it next year.  It was just an off night. 

Ruckersville:

I love how high they hang these up in their trees.

Iwo Jima Memorial,Georgetown and Mount Vernon

The Marine Corp Memorial, (The Iwo Jima Memorial) is right outside Arlington Cemetery.  Mark had previously visited it but Lydia, Jared and I had not.  We stopped by it on our way back to our car. Its a really impressive, iconic memorial and it was nice to have a chance to stop by it.  It doesn't fit into most trips into DC since it is across the river.

We also stopped by Georgetown Cupcakes for a treat.  We had yet to take Jared and Lydia there and now we can cross it off the list.  They are good cupcakes but really pricey.  They did have some fun seasonal flavors so that is what we focused on. We then walked around the main shopping area of Georgetown to check out some window displays and eat lunch.  It was during this time that it rained the hardest of the day so it was not the most enjoyable walk.  The  neighborhoods in Georgetown are super cute though. After eating we jumped back in the car and headed to Alexandria.  I had read online that it was a good place to stop for Christmas decorations but I think we ended up in the wrong part of town.  Southern Living listed it as one of the most Christmas towns over here but I didn't see it.  We spontaneously decided that since we were on that side of the river we should stop in and tour Mount Vernon.  When I got up Saturday morning I did not think I would be touring a presidential home but when you live in VA it's not that hard to find that happening.

It turns out that Saturday December 14th was an awesome day to visit Mount Vernon.  First they had a 20% off admission code online.  Second they had an amazing, beautiful display of themed Christmas trees and an awesome gingerbread replica of Mount Vernon.  Third there was a camel on grounds because as the wealthiest man in the Commonwealth Gen. Washington thought it would be fun to bring a camel to his home for family and friends.  Fourth, there was a reenactment camp set up and fifth it was actually the 221st anniversary of George Washington's death! We had no idea this was the case when we decided to go.  Jared and Lydia were not thrilled to be visiting another presidents house but did end up enjoying the tour.

Washington was really into Symmetry and Jared liked that too.

The view from the back patio:

This Key is from Bastille Prison in France  and was sent to Washington from the Marquis De Lafayette.  Washington hung it in his main entryway above a sketch of the Bastille Prison. To Washington the key represented a "global surge of liberty."Lafayette sent it along with the sketch and said the following: 

"Give me leave, My dear General, to present you With a picture of the Bastille just as it looked a few days after I Had ordered its demolition, with the Main Kea of that fortress of despotism—it is a tribute Which I owe as A Son to My Adoptive father, as an aid de Camp to My General, as a Missionary of liberty to its patriarch.”

Mount Vernon is my favorite of the presidential homes nearby. Jared and Lydia agree.  It has such a great view.  Mark says he likes Monticello the best.  The tour was nice and we lucked out with the weather.  It stopped raining as we walked up to the entrance and the clouds broke up a little so we could enjoy the view.  We laughed because as we toured the house we noticed that one of the main rooms for entertaining was painted a very similar color to our kitchen/dining room (matched to what it was like then). The tour guide commented that Washington used the most expensive colors of paint for the time. I had no idea I had similar taste to the Washington's.  

In 2016 their exhibit "Lives Bound Together" opened which discusses the lives of the enslaved at Mount Vernon. I read an article today that talks about how many plantations are going through a sort of "identity crisis" trying to figure out how to start showing what life was like for enslaved people and how much they contributed.  It's a story that should be told.  We have seen similar exhibits at Montpellier and Monticello.

We stopped by the tombs of George and Martha and talked quite a bit with a tour guide stationed there.  Down a pathway from there is the memorial to the enslaved people there so we made our way over there too.  We finished our tour with a visit to Aladdin, the camel that the organizers at Mt. Vernon have been bringing on site for the month of December since 2011.

Just one of the many beautiful, full trees on display.  I loved them.  

They were all based on a part of his life. President, soldier, farmer, there was one for Martha too. 

Wreaths Across America

This past Saturday we got up early and drove over to Arlington Cemetery to participate in Wreaths Across America.  Every year this program lays wreaths on all the graves of individuals who were involved in the Armed Forces.  The program started in 1992 by a wreath company owner, Morrill Worcester.  He had a surplus of inventory and did not want it to go to waste.  He contacted then senator Olympia Snowe from Maine and with her help and some other companies they laid wreaths on an older, less visited section of Arlington Cemetery.  They quietly did this until 2005, and then a picture of the wreaths at Arlington Cemetery went viral and due to popularity a non profit was organized.  There are tons of businesses who support this non profit and lots of trucking companies who donate drivers and time.

I have wanted to participate in this event for the last few years and am so glad we made it happen.  We left home at 5:45 AM to make it to the Cemetery by 8:30 for the short ceremony.  We had to factor in parking, walking to cemetery, security and the trek to McClellan gate for the opening ceremony. Security took a good while and I was nervous we would miss the ceremony but walking super quickly we got there just in time.  The colors were presented, a moment of silence observed and the national anthem was sung.  Instructions were given to lay the wreaths against the tombstone and then say the individuals name out loud and thank them for their service. He explained how once someone dies their name is forgotten never to be mentioned again and one goal of this program is to make sure people are not forgotten for their service.  Their motto is: Remember. Honor. Teach.

There are trucks full of wreaths parked throughout the cemetery.  You receive your wreaths from them and then walk to a nearby section to place the wreaths.  The four of us each laid 6 wreaths.  At the last section we were in I saw an older man tap a tombstone and say "See you later Dad" as he walked by.  I went over and said thank you and his name as well and the wife caught me and gave me a grateful smile and told me thank you.  It was so sweet to have the simple connection and to help someone feel appreciated.  This is likely the most meaningful thing we will do this Holiday Season and I am so happy it worked out.  Jared and Lydia were good sports about walking around in the cold rainy weather.  Lydia really wanted to lay her wreaths on female tombstones and Jared really enjoyed seeing where they served and when. There were tons of volunteers and a really special community feel. We may not do it every year but I know we will be back frequently.

Toy lift, caroling, ward party and Richmond Botanical Gardens

Friday was the Charlottesville Toy Lift.  I picked Jared and Lydia up from school and we made our way to the Toy Lift. We went through the "drive through" to drop off the gifts and then parked and played in the bounce house for a few minutes and enjoyed some hot chocolate sponsored by CATEC the vocational high school in the county.  They gave us a quick tour of their converted school bus.  They took out most of the seats and put in a kitchen.   It was cool to see. 

We went caroling Thursday at an assisted living home.  Mark and I volunteered to organize this activity for the cub scouts.  We invited the activity day girls to join us. Before we started I had asked Mark to be the one to choose (from a folder of songs) and announce the next songs we would sing. I figured having one person in charge who has a great "teacher" voice would make the transitions smoother.  We sang our first song and what did he do?  Ask for requests.  I tried to soften the look of annoyance I gave him since I was in front of a lot of people but seriously.  

We had a decent turnout and enjoyed singing and visiting with the residents.  I loved seeing the residents sing along. We went to the church for hot chocolate and cookies after which was nice. 

Friday we attended our ward party.  At this party and the Halloween party both Jared and Lyda ditched Mark and I to sit at tables with friends.  I am a little nervous about this but it seemed fine.  I guess we have reached a new milestone with parenting.  The party was really low key and seemed to go well.  I hope that next year we can do a breakfast instead but know that many people want a dinner not a breakfast. 

Saturday we finally managed to get the rest of our Christmas light up on the house.  We tried Wednesday but 2 of the 3 strands of lights ended up not working.  Mark grabbed some more that night but didn't have time to hang them up until Saturday. I'm glad they are up.  That afternoon we attended a baptism.  Lydia's baptism is coming up in just over a month.  We picked out and ordered a dress for her which was fun and have enjoyed her excitement for the upcoming event.

That evening we drove down to Richmond to check out the lights at the Botanical Gardens.  I had wanted to do this for awhile.  We invited the Shaws and are so glad they could come. The lights were so beautiful and well done.  Parking was kind of crazy but it worked out. Everything went well until Lydia wandered off. 

We had stopped near a hill because the kids wanted to roll down the hill and for whatever reason Lydia left without telling us.  It was awful.  We had no idea where she was for 8 - 10 minutes.  Mark and Chris stayed with the boys and Julie and I went in opposite directions to look for her.  After a bit Julie called me to let me know she had found her.  Earlier in the night shortly after we arrived and the boys had gotten ahead of us I had the distinct impression that we should pick a meeting spot so if we got separated we could meet up but I ignored it.  The one thing we are told not to do again and again.  Julie and Lydia both shared how they had said a prayer for help and right after they finished Julie saw Lydia.  We had never been to the gardens so were really unfamiliar with them and it was dark and really spread out so while I knew we would find her it was a horrible 10 minutes.  I'm so glad the Shaws were with us to help and nothing happened to Lydia.

The theme was "Things with Wings. " These were the Flying Pigs. 

The other story of the night was super weird.  We stopped for dinner before heading to the gardens. Once we arrived at the gardens we opened the trunk to get out coats and in our trunk was a carseat! We all just stared at it so confused as to why it was in there.  We quickly checked to see if there was a baby in there and thank goodness there was not! Mark had not locked the car while we ate (What!!??) and someone had gone to the car maybe thinking it was theirs and put it in there.  The Shaws were waiting for us inside so we just left it there planning to stop at the restaurant on the way home.  When we got into the car the baby doll in the carseat started crying.  It sounded so much like a newborn it was awful. Lydia was completely freaked out, almost to tears.  We got to the restaurant and Mark took it in.  When he got back to the car he told us that it had a label of the Henrico public schools on it. It must be from one of those classes schools offer.  Whoever put it in our car is clearly not ready to have a child.  The guy at the counter said that someone had just called a few minutes before we arrived.  We left at 5:50 and didn't come back until after 8:00 so thats a decent gap of not knowing where your "child" was.  It was a crazy twist to the evening.