December in Richmond is always a fabulous time of year. So many things to do and see! One of our favorite yearly rituals is to attend the GardenFest of Lights at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. The garden has over half-a-million lights throughout the many acres, lots of model trains, children's crafts, and of course, lots of fun activities in the children's garden. We have attended this every year since we've been living in Richmond (even before the kids were born) and it is always a wonderful way to start off the holiday season. This year we went with some close friends, Jon and Brandi, and their son, Owen (Ainsley's admitted "boyfriend). Originally we planned to go on a weekend but were rained out. We rescheduled to a weeknight and we weren't disappointed! Less crowded, but just as wonderful.
 |
| Ainsley and Owen |
 |
| Parker, all bundled up in the stroller. But he really wants to run with the big kids! |
 |
| Family photo |
 |
| Roasting marshmallows for s'mores |
 |
| Too tired to walk to the car |
Another favorite holiday tradition (since we moved to Richmond) is to have a holiday party with our friends from DC, the O'Neills, Swearingens and Gallos. The location has changed over the years as families have grown, but it is always a great time to catch up and celebrate the holidays with old friends. This year we spent the weekend in Leesburg at the O'Neills new home. Kids and adults all had a great time visiting and playing!
 |
| "So how many teeth do you have?" |
 |
| Attempting to get 7 kids together for a picture. |
 |
| Silly kids... |
We realized Christmas Eve (after Skip and Reva went home) that Ainsley and Parker had not yet visited with Santa Clause. Since Christmas was the next day I thought we should hurry up and remedy the situation. My bright idea to go to the Children's Museum to see the Legendary Santa was well thought-out. It was Christmas Eve, so surely everyone else in Richmond had already seen Santa in the previous few weeks. It was a Monday, so people were either working or traveling for the holidays. It was a rainy day, so certainly people would be staying at home and wouldn't come out in the wet weather. All of these seemed like great reasons to see Legendary Santa on Christmas Eve. [Note: for those of you not from the Richmond area, Legendary Santa has been in Richmond for over 75 years. He is "THE" Santa to see if you are in Central Virginia.] Something we learned that day, which we will try to remember next year, is that the reason Legendary Santa is so "legendary" is because he actually spends quite a bit of time with each child. There is also a whole process for seeing Santa, including a visit with the Snow Queen prior to seeing Santa. This entire "process", including waiting in line, lasted 90 minutes. I know what you're thinking. But once we were there we certainly couldn't tell Ainsley that we didn't feel like waiting to see Santa on Christmas Eve. So we did what all normal parents do. Eric waited in line with Parker and played games on his iPhone while I took Ainsley into the Children's Museum to play. After a while we switched and Parker got a chance to play. In reality the kids really didn't wait in line very long at all. But Eric was a real trooper, waiting in line for 90 minutes. Not a single grumpy or sarcastic remark came out of his mouth that day. But I will think twice about planning our visit with Santa for next year...
 |
| Playing and killing time while Daddy waits in line. |
 |
| Giant bears! |
 |
| Santa! |
 |
| They were so well-behaved! |
 |
| What did she ask Santa for? A dream light and lollipops. |
Comments
Post a Comment