2015 Holiday Season

 

Our 2015 Holiday Season was a great one!  We packed in a lot of stuff, in the month of December, so this post will mostly be photos.  

On the first weekend of December, Lauren, Charlie, and I headed to Middleburg, VA for their annual Christmas festivities.  It took us over 2 hours to go what would normally be a 30 minute drive, but it was totally worth it.  We caught a shuttle down to the main street, found a spot up front, and settled in to wait for the parade.  It was chilly, but we passed the time with snacks, milk, and taking selfies.  Needless to say, we spent most of the day in town, so the kids passed out on the short ride home!!

           

The next day, Lauren and I had tickets to Tea With Clara, at the Dominion Valley Country Club.  The local ballet school put on a tea and had their dancers perform excepts from the Nutcracker.  I figured this would be a good event for Lauren, since I doubt she would be able to sit through the entire Nutcracker ballet, at this age.  Plus, the idea of a Mommy/Daughter tea was too good to pass up.  We dressed up, and enjoyed delicious little sandwiches, salads, and desserts.  After the dances, Lauren, along with the other little girls, were invited up to meet the characters.  Lauren was scared at first, but was very excited to pose with the Sugar Plum Fairy.

                           

For a week, the kids stayed in Salisbury with the grandparents.  This has become an annual tradition and I am not sure who enjoys it more, the kids, the grandparents, or Chad and I.  Regardless, I hope this tradition continues in the future.

When I came into to town to pick up the kids, we had a cookie making night with Mee-maw.  We made sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and caramels.  Some of my favorite holiday treats!!!  Lauren lost interest quickly, but Charlie was fascinated with the process.

The next day, the kids were very excited to try out some new bikes.  We went for a nice long walk/bike ride, before the kids and I headed back home to Virginia.

Later in the month, Chad and I took the kids to see the Lights at Bull Run.  These lights are fantastic, and you are able to drive your car through the National Park.  I enjoy it because we can stay inside, where it is warm, and listen to Xmas music while we take in all of the lights.  At the end of the lights, there is a small carnival.  Last year, we bypassed the fun, but this year we stopped.  We bought some tickets and Lauren was able to go on quite a few rides.  She had a blast, and so did Chad, Charlie, and I.

             

At the end of the month, Lauren's preschool put on a Holiday show for the families.  Her class performs "Frosty The Snowman", and then the entire school sang "I'm A Little Snowflake" and "Feliz Navidad".  It was a cute little program, and Lauren had a lot of fun being a part of the show.  (Note: She is 5th in from the left)

When we went to pick her up, at the end, we managed to get a photo of Lauren and her teacher, Miss Michelle.  So cute!

 

This year was the first year that we were not with our family on Christmas Eve!  Usually we travel to Salisbury and spend the entire holiday with everyone, but we knew we would not be able to bring everything back (including the kids Santa gift), so we decided to let them enjoy that at home and then head to Maryland.

On Christmas Eve, we made a delicious dinner of broccoli cheddar soup, pierogies, steak, and risotto.  Then we had a chocolate fondue for dessert.  We let the kids open up their presents from us, to save more time in the morning.  They really liked that part.  And finally, Lauren threw out her "Reindeer Food", in the front yard, and helped us put out cookies/chex mix for Santa.  Then it was off to bed. 

The next morning, the kids woke up, waited at the top of the stairs until we told them it was time to come downstairs, and we watched them check out their gift from Santa.   

                               

                           

Once the kids were able to take their new toy out for a maiden drive around the yard, we packed up everyone and hit the road for Salisbury.  Luckily there was not much traffic on Christmas Day, and we made great time.  

We arrived at the Fisher's House early afternoon and began opening up Christmas presents with them.  Lauren received a lot of board games, which she requested, and Charlie received some awesome dress up clothes.  

That night, Mee-maw, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, and Kevin came over for Christmas Dinner.  

                               

                               

The next afternoon, we went over to the Pali house to do Christmas with the other side of the family.  We let the kids open some of their gifts before dinner, and then we waited for Kevin to get off work to finish the rest of the gift opening.  Charlie got a huge train table, along with a few other small puzzles/games, and Lauren got a robot puppy, which she named Spots, and her first set of NERF guns and an archery set.  She was so excited!! And don't worry, Grandpa immediately began to teach her basic gun safety.  Our little rule follower is more than happy to follow the safety rules.

                               

The big gift this year, was for the Fisher Family.  We got money, from Mee-maw, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, and Uncle Kevin, to buy our Air Hockey Table!!!  Of course, in true Meadowcroft fashion, Sarah and Kevin gave us the money in $1 bills, stashed in balloons and a Darth Vader pinata!  Crazy, but so much fun to open.  Chad took the money to the bank, but I wish I could have seen their faces when he rolled up with so many bills!!  Either way, we are VERY excited to get this gift set up in the basement.  More to come in a future blog post!!

                               

                               

It was a whirlwind few days, but very nice to spend it with our crazy family.  And while, we may occasionally decide to stay home on Christmas Eve, there is no place we would rather be than in Salisbury, with our family, on Christmas.  So many awesome memories!!!