raleigh science

We really enjoyed the Raleigh Museum of Natural Sciences (which is really two museums in one!) It was quite funny because they had an animal encounter all about the Sonoran desert.  So we had a good intro to Tucson in North Carolina ;)

road trip day one

I'll use this throwback Thursday to send us back to the very first day of the year, when we took off on our two week road trip to Arizona!  We finished packing the van with frigid temperatures and took off for Raleigh (most of our driving days were around 5 hours of driving which made it really easy).

On our way there, Aiden was laughing about funny street and town names and it inspired him to write  short stories with titles and characters based on signs he saw along the way.  The first story was called Squirrel Level Critical.  A story about squirrels taking over and you can't go out smelling like nuts ;)

Our first stop was Raleigh where we planned to meet up with our old friends and morning carpool buddies from our neighborhood that moved there a year or so ago.  We miss them!  We visited a great restaurant called Cowfish.

nye goodbye for now

The day before we headed out on our cross country trek was New Year's Eve... We invited friends to come over for a noon countdown.  It was mostly a good excuse for brunch and the yule log cake that J was eyeing at our favorite cupcake place (you can't just buy a cake like that without a par-tay!) The kids played a couple rounds of hot potato (unwrapping the saran wrap layers with oven mitts and rolling for doubles to get control of the mitts).  It was also a great way to say good bye for now/see you soon to a great group of friends!

botanic 1

I was determined to squeeze in a visit to the train exhibit at the Botanic Garden, especially because this year's theme was Roadside Attractions! We were so close to hitting the road ourselves ;) These road warriors weren't that thrilled to wait in the line but it moved quickly.

botanic 2

Road Trip randomness!  That peanut statue was my favorite ;)

good list

One of the boy's xmas gifts was tickets to Mr. Popper's Penguins at the Kennedy Center.  We all enjoyed it so much!  So well done with penguin puppets and we had great seats to see them up close. There was a neat scene with paper airplane and one even landed on Aiden.

Oath pizza is delicious!  "Happiness tastes better together" should be our anthem as we take off as a family for our adventure out west.

The boys love their fun pens they picked up the art museum.

cleve art museum

The Cle Art Museum is always impressive! We really enjoyed the interactive area within ArtLens.

science 1

Always fun at the science center!  Love their new tag line of Stay Curious!  The train exhibit was a fun spot where we could've spent a ton of time.

science 2

They had a really fun rug skating setup - low pile carpet and those furniture movers for your feet to slide along! The National Parks Imax movie was a really fun way to kick off some travel adventures.

chillaxing xmas edition

That smiley guy! The giant two story swirly slide brought big smiles from everyone. The huge crossword puzzle even Austin wanted to help out ;)

I wonder why I don't have a lot of pictures with all the grandsons with their grandparents... it's tricky!

My parents gift to all of us was dinner and babysitting. It was wonderful - thanks!

xmas cousins

All the cousin buddies on one big couch! The ornament exchange was fun for the whole family and especially the kids who got fun animal and minion ornaments.

xmas morning

Santa did not mess around this year! The Brennan brothers both got laptops and tons of other treats that mom and dad don't buy like giant pixie sticks (so of course, Santa works his magic!) Mom and dad did deliver a big family present of a Nintendo Switch which was a big surprise!

There were so many presents! Hand knits in orange :)

xmas eve

Look at those giddy guys writing Santa notes and leaving treats!  They were ready to go by just before 5am the next morning...

snow

Getting a chance to use those snow pants I packed ;) A white Xmas in a winter wonderland full of cousin buddies with rosy cheeks! So Merry!

wings

Earning some wings with a quick trip to Cleve... That airport and DCA were nearly empty and it was such easy travel!

tidbits

Happy New Year's Eve!  As I organize xmas photos, say good bye for now to our friends, and pack up our lives for the next six months, I'll drop these quick tidbits from the week before the holiday. 

Meeting up with cousin buddies to exchange presents (how did I miss a chance at a photo with all four cousins!?) 

And caroling with neighbors which really delighted other neighbors with tummies full of cocoa on an unseasonably nice night...

good list

Some good stuff from the holiday season...

Those cute boys at nearly the same age bringing home the cute crafts with their photos on them...

Our xmas card and the matching ornament to add to the tree.

I gained some new owl ornaments thanks to my mom... and I knit up some tiny hat and mitten ornaments.

This shirt made all of us smile and sing along ;)

hippo for xmas

All I Want for Christmas!

I want a Hippopotamus... from LB on Vimeo.

national harbor

Merry Christmas Eve!

Filling in more holiday traditions with a trip to visit the trees at the National Harbor.  This year the weather was incredibly mild at nearly 60 degrees and the pokemon were swarming, the peeps were sweet, and the decorations were festive.

ice skating

Keaton was so excited to learn how to ice skate completely on his own, no holding onto a hunched over parent or the wall ;)  Thanks to his very helpful and encouraging brother, a nice empty indoor rink at the Gaylord Christmas Village, and some pure determination, he really got the hang of it and wants to do more - yay!