Williamsburg

 One of the many blessings in living where we do is the relationship we've been able to grow with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Vallerie.  In God's kindness, we get to live in the same neighborhood!  And for Christmas, they treated us to an overnight trip to Williamsburg for some very special Christmas fun! 

We spent the evening at Busch Gardens and closed down the park!  It was festive, beautiful, not crowded, and so much fun!

Uncle Steve always provides the laughs! 

 Vallerie went on the swings with the kids while Steve, Ryan and I jumped on a roller coaster.  We happened to be on Facetime with my parents and took them on the roller coaster with us!  It was such a thrill, Ryan and I ran back around (no line!) and rode it again!

We spent the next day in Colonial Williamsburg where it really did feel like we'd stepped back in time!

The highlight of that day, at least for our daughters, was getting to ice skate!

For Gretchen, it really was a dream come true!

Such a special trip, and even in a short amount of time we came home with so many wonderful memories!

A Visit from the Swishers

We've known Steve and Jean Swisher since our days in China.  They have been faithful friends over the years, making trips to visit us in the various places we've lived, and hosting us as we made our most recent move.  It was fun to have them in our home and share some of the Christmas season with this dear family.

We were glad to meet adorable Adelaide, their youngest!

We did a few of our Christmas countdown activities together, like make our favorite Christmas treat: Peppermint Pretzels!

Then it snowed, the girls decided we needed to make sugar candy like Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family made - fun!

Most of the photos in this post are from the Swishers and I thought these next three were especially beautiful!

We went to the brand new Museum of the Bible and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the exhibits, including some interaction with people in Nazareth!

The snow didn't keep us from enjoying an afternoon at the Botanical Gardens:

We also took our first tour of the Capitol Building!  Jean had arranged a tour for their family and was able to add us to the group.  It was a neat experience to share with friends, especially as the kids and I are working our way through U.S. history in school this year.

What's the best way to keep kids entertained while Mom and Dad are packing the car?!  

Thank you for sharing your vacation days with us, Swishers!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Grammy Deb and G Daddy came to share Thanksgiving weekend with us!  

We started the weekend off with our second annual Turkey Trot in our neighborhood.  G-Daddy joined us and this year our little energizer Bridgette took second place for girls under 10 - whaaaat?!!  

Snacking and gaming with Grammy Deb and Ryan's cousin, Derek, who joined us for Thanksgiving day.

A beautiful Fall walk through a nature trail with a little physical challenges thrown in!

Grammy Deb and G-Daddy are always up for playing the tourist with us!

Sharing one of our favorite treat spots before church on Sunday:

Rooke spent a special evening with his grandparents, seeing some sights as the sun set.

And before the weekend was up, we'd transitioned from Thanksgiving to Christmas with a beautiful tree Kevin and Deborah gifted us to make decorating easier for our upcoming travels.  I love this time of year!