Seeing the Sights in D.C.

We did a lot of walking while we visited Washington, D.C. The kids were glad they could ride on the stroller! Here are the kids and Dad checking out some displays at the National Air and Space Museum. Everywhere we went during our stay was quite crowded.

This is the Reflecting Pool in front of the Capitol building. 

Here's a family picture that a passerby offered to take. Thankfully, he did not steal our camera. :o)

Ryan spent the whole trip snuggled up with Mom.

On our way to our next stop, we saw some ice skaters and stopped to check them out. Jack really wanted to get out there on the ice, but we weren't up for it.

We visited the Museum of Natural History and saw a lot of cool stuff. It was so crowded, though, that it was hard to take any good pictures. Jack thought the dinosaur bones were neat.

This display showed some of the underwater dinosaurs.

There was a giant whale hanging from the ceiling, along with many other life-like creatures. Some of those underwater animals are quite creepy-looking!

The kids thought it was fun to see animals up close. Of course, they were not real animals, but it's still fun!

We didn't quite make it to the Washington Monument or the White House, but that's okay. With little kids, you take what you can get! Overall, we had a lot of fun seeing the sights and celebrating our special days!

Lights in D.C.

One of the reasons for visiting Washington D.C. was to see some Christmas lights since there aren't any good displays around our home. The lights at the Washington, D.C. Temple didn't disappoint!

Poor Callie fell asleep while we were walking around. The kids were so tired! They hung in there until we could get them tucked into bed at the hotel. 

They had several beautiful Christmas trees in the visitor's center at the temple. It was a lot of fun seeing all the beautiful decorations.

The next night, we went to the National Zoo to see "Zoo Lights." Entrance to the zoo is free, but they charge for parking and any activities inside the zoo. It was a bit of a disappointment when all was said and done. At least the kids got to see a few more Christmas lights before we headed home. 

This is pretty much the extent of their light displays. There were just a few lit-up animals scattered around the zoo and some of the trees were wrapped in lights. Oh, well. 

During our stay in D.C., we took some time to relax in our hotel. We got a free upgrade to a nice, big room, so there was plenty of space to play around. Here are the kids and Dad watching a movie.

We had a full kitchen, so we were able to make the kids lunch and/or dinner, depending on the day. It was nice to be able to save some money on food, since that seems to be a big part of the expense of a vacation. 

This is the view in the evening from our hotel room. The Capitol Building was lit up and looked very cool. 

Here are Callie and Dad checking out the balcony. It was pretty cold during our stay, but it didn't rain at all until the day we left. Not a bad deal!

Callie and Dad snuggled on the couches on the balcony. 

Celebration Week

I'm ONE everybody!

As many people know, the days following Christmas are pretty eventful for our family. Even more so now that we have added Ryan's birthday in the mix. So this year we took a trip out to Washington D.C. to celebrate all our events. First up is Angie and Sander's 9th wedding anniversary on the 26th. (Sorry, no pictures of that. We spent most of that day travelling.)

Then on the 27th, we have Ryan's birthday. He turned one this year! He isn't developmentally there yet, but he's legal!

On the 28th is Angie's 30th birthday. What? 30? Oh, boy. So, pictured above are Ryan and his mommy at McDonald's in the heart of Washington D.C. Yes, we traveled to our nation's capital to eat at a fast food restaurant. :o)

So without further ado, more cute pictures of the birthday boy:

 We fluffed up Ryan's hair one day to see how tall and puffy we could make it!

Ryan has one tooth on the top that doesn't have a partner yet. He looks a little goofy.

This was taken on his birthday in our Washington D.C. hotel room. This shows his general demeanor and most used facial expression. 

And here's more evidence of his toothiness. We're still waiting on the other side to grow in...

Happy anniversary, happy birthday, happy birthday everybody!

Christmas 2012 (Ryan's First!)

We made it to another Christmas! The kids were very excited this year and loved every minute of Christmas day! It seems like every Christmas is more exciting than the last because the kids are getting older and can understand more of what is going to happen. Jack wrote letters to Santa and was ready for the big day! Ryan, of course, had no idea what was going on, but he thought his new stocking was super cool. Thanks, Great-Grandma Culwell!

Jack found lots of goodies from Santa in his stocking. He was very excited about getting a rubber duckie that was dressed as a super hero. He has been very interested in super heroes lately, especially "The Incredibles."

Callie had fun exploring her stocking, too. Treats and toys galore!

She got some very fun dress-up clothes from Grandma Marshall and had to try them out immediately!

Here are the three kiddos opening presents together. They are so cute together!

Jack got a very cool marble run this year. He was so excited to try it out! We definitely have to buy an extension set because the possibilities are endless! We just have to make sure the marbles stay out of Ryan's mouth... :o)

Here's Mom with one of her gifts- a new cell phone case with a picture of the kids on the back. Very fun! And Dad was around, too, but he wasn't feeling well so he opted to stay out of pictures. He got a cool BYU tie, a BYU sweatshirt, and a hand gun. Watch out, world!

Here are the kids in their new Christmas PJ's from Santa. They are very cute and cozy. 

Oh, and we can't forget to mention the huge dollhouse Callie received. Holy cow! It's big enough for Ryan to live in! It will definitely fit well with our family, since all the kids can play with it together. Callie loves it!

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!

First Snow of the Season

It has been a nice, relaxing Christmas Eve so far. We went to the store to get a ham for tomorrow, then the kids took their naps, and then we went out to enjoy the snow. There isn't a lot of snow, but at least enough to wander through and throw around!

Callie has been asking to build a snowman for a while now, but the snow was just too powdery to work with today. We'll try again with the next snow. Jack and Dad were at least able to have a makeshift snow ball fight!

Dad helped Callie make a snow angel. 

Jack made a snow angel, too. Ryan was content to just observe the angel-making. 

Callie had a little "snow snack."

Ryan was very interested in his surroundings and was not willing to show us his little smile. We're all very excited for tomorrow, though! Ryan's first Christmas!

Gingerbread and Cupcakes

We made some gingerbread houses again this year. The kids had a lot of fun and made a nice mess while they decorated!

We're not quite ready to make houses from scratch yet, so we just buy the kits from the store. The kids are young enough that they really only care about sticking as much candy as possible on the houses, and not so much about building the houses. Maybe next year!

Ryan is very often an observer during our family activities. Good thing he loves to snack!

Callie's kit came with a pink Hello Kitty house. We gave her a few choices at the store, and she loved the pink one! It's interesting that some girls just seem to be naturally drawn toward "girly" things, while others do not. Callie is definitely a girly girl. She does not get that from her mom!

Here are the kids with their finished products. Beautiful and tasty!

And what is Christmas without Christmas- and/or winter-themed cupcakes? Mom made some melted snowman cupcakes and some rose cupcakes for a bake sale at Dad's work. 

The poor guys don't look very happy, but they tasted good!