We had a quiet Christmas at home this year. On Christmas Eve, we attended the children’s mass at St Mary’s (and just barely found a seat in the bleachers) and then went for dinner at Clyde’s. On Christmas morning, the kids almost forgot to look for presents; they walked right past the tree and headed straight for the family room! Vivian was super excited to find that Santa had brought a Cinderella castle, doll and nightgown for her. Henry’s requests were more eclectic: he asked for a Grover and a big green ogre—and received both. Despite our vow to have a simpler Christmas, it looked like a toy store exploded in our living room by the time we finished unwrapping all the gifts. We’re still not sure where to put it all. Time to start culling. While the kids played with their presents, Elise baked some homemade bread and Bryant prepared a leg of lamb for Christmas dinner. You can check out our holiday spread here. Mimi Pauline arrived the day after Christmas and spent the week with Elise and the kids. A highlight of the visit was a trip to see the model train exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden on Capitol Hill (see pictures below). Mimi Pauline also helped to redeem our recent Thanksgiving turkey fiasco by walking us step-by-step through the bird roasting process. The final result was a resounding success—at last! It was a relaxing week, with lots of good food and wine (we looked at the recycling bin and wondered if we really drank all that), and no rushing about for school or work. If only the holiday breaks were not so short.
While the kids were preparing for their Christmas concerts, Bryant was enjoying his office holiday party (western-themed this year!). After some hesitation (and a fair amount of ribbing from Elise), he decided to enter the annual staff bake-off. That meant cooking until midnight and getting up at 5am to apply the finishing touches. But the effort paid off: his chocolate framboise (a chocolate bomb covered in whipped cream and raspberries) won first place! Bryant was very proud but a little annoyed that folks kept asking if his wife made the dessert. You can keep up with Bryant’s culinary successes (and failures) at his new blog: Mercy Buckets—Adventures in (Mostly) French Cooking. Check it out!
The kids have been practicing all month for their annual school Christmas pageant. Vivian’s class opted for an Hawaiian theme: they made grass skirts out of grocery sacks and sang “Mele Kalikimaka.” If you watch carefully, you can see Viv hula dancing in the video below. She was the loudest singer, by far, in her class—a real show stopper. (Viv loves to sing, especially in the car. She does nice covers of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” “Part of Your World,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Just don’t try to sing along; she prefers to perform solo. One morning, Bryant even heard her singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in her sleep!) Henry’s class went for a more traditional line up: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Little Drummer Boy.” We heard reports that Henry was hamming it up during practice, but when the big day arrived, he seemed a tad embarrassed to have his parents watching him from the front row. After the concerts, the kids enjoyed their class holiday parties. Below are photos and video from the festivities.
We kicked off the holiday season with a quick trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. Every year they decorate the park for Christmas Town. We took the kids two years ago, but the weather was so bad (cold, driving rain), we didn’t stay more than an hour. This year we got lucky. It was a mild night and no rain. Unfortunately, that also meant big crowds. First stop was dinner with Santa and Ms. Claus (and a creepy little elf named "Jingles"). Then we explored the park, which is themed around different European countries (sort of a poor man’s Epcot). Henry was disappointed to find there were no roller coasters he could ride, but the carousel, bumper cars and miniature airplanes kept him entertained. We wanted to see the live penguins but not enough to wait 1.5 hours in line. If we go again, we may try a Friday or Sunday night when the crowds are thinner. Below are some photos from our night out.
We had a quiet Christmas at home this year. On Christmas Eve, we attended the children’s mass at St Mary’s (and just barely found a seat in the bleachers) and then went for dinner at Clyde’s. On Christmas morning, the kids almost forgot to look for presents; they walked right past the tree and headed straight for the family room! Vivian was super excited to find that Santa had brought a Cinderella castle, doll and nightgown for her. Henry’s requests were more eclectic: he asked for a Grover and a big green ogre—and received both. Despite our vow to have a simpler Christmas, it looked like a toy store exploded in our living room by the time we finished unwrapping all the gifts. We’re still not sure where to put it all. Time to start culling. While the kids played with their presents, Elise baked some homemade bread and Bryant prepared a leg of lamb for Christmas dinner. You can check out our holiday spread here. Mimi Pauline arrived the day after Christmas and spent the week with Elise and the kids. A highlight of the visit was a trip to see the model train exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden on Capitol Hill (see pictures below). Mimi Pauline also helped to redeem our recent Thanksgiving turkey fiasco by walking us step-by-step through the bird roasting process. The final result was a resounding success—at last! It was a relaxing week, with lots of good food and wine (we looked at the recycling bin and wondered if we really drank all that), and no rushing about for school or work. If only the holiday breaks were not so short.
