Christmas and the days just preceeding

We had just about a week at Mom and Dad's after the birthday party, mostly spent just hanging around.  We stayed down on the river, and Mom had fully decorated for Christmas.  Mom had found some gardens in Richmond that had a special Christmas lighting display, so we loaded up the mini-van (Mom, Dad, Jared, Stephanie, Kevin and me) and headed to that.  It was super cool, and I was super glad at this point that Kevin had come to Virginia, as he toted Stephanie around on his shoulders the whole time, making her experience there far more fun than I would have managed alone.  They had a story time for kids, and Santa in residence (whom Stephanie wanted to see, but not really talk to or even get all that close to).  The gardens were pretty spectacular, I only wish we had gotten there in the daylight (we didn't head down until after Stephanie's nap) to see it all.  As it was, we got a good (cold) walk around the property to see the lights and got to visit the library on site for the story time and see the plants and trains in the Conservatory.  

Stephanie was NOT interested in having her image captured that evening

Bird of Paradise plant

The library had these really cool little terrariums on display.

We also got to eat at a favorite BBQ place in Richmond that night, which is a bonus to any family adventure.  Christmas followed a few days later, and Mom made sure that there was no shortage of gifts, so many in fact, that we had to leave some behind to play with the next time we visit.  We also got to spend Christmas (and a good bit of time before Christmas) with Tonya and Jared, which is an added bonus, as Tonya works a lot.  We ended up also visiting my Aunt and Uncle and cousin and wife and their two year old daughter, which I never seem to find time to do on my regular trips home.  

Additionally, Mom made a big deal over the special forks and spoons she had for Stephanie to use at her house and then gifted us a set.  We desperately needed new silverware for her to love, as her favorite set was my college set, and we were limping along with two or three forks and spoons each, and were getting very tired of washing silverware for every meal.  Sure, maybe they have Christmas trees on them, but her favorite cup and plate are from Halloween, so at least we are branching out.  

Good thing we drove, but we would need a bigger car for all of this...

It was nice enough a few days to get some outdoor time.

Took a few days, but Granddidy eventually became popular, and as a reward, got to enjoy some time watching Dora the Explorer.

Good news folks... Only one, maybe two, blog posts about our Christmas trip left!  I won't get to it today, but, spoiler alert, it will be about getting back across the country with Alaina in tow in a four door sedan PACKED, while stopping in several cities to see what adventures we could find.