A Lot More Longwood

The boys went to Longwood this evening to see the trains and the lights one last time.  Today was the last day for Longwood Christmas, so the trains are done til next fall.

Since they went to Longwood today I thought it'd be a good time to post a few billion more pictures from our visits there in the past few weeks.  This edition features people.  If I ever get around to it, I'll do one more post with lights and fountains.

Aunt Jeanne and Dex in front of the HUGE tree by the visitors center

Watching trains.  And Dexter videotaping

Everyone was very excited by the Oscar Meyer Wiener train

Waaaay up in that top right corner you see Aunt Jeanne.  She was on the other side...

Taking pictures of the kids.

She actually got pictures of Erin's face, while I mostly got the back of her head.

Daddy's Girl

Baby on a mission.  She can only look at trains for just so long before she needs to wander.

Aunt Jeanne is TOTALLY going the wrong way on the train track.

Erin giggles when she gets to ride the train

This train engine is WAY too fast

John always tries to pass Dex.  That kid is, really, faster than us.  John can pass him if he cheats.

Queen Bee

Queen Bee and Worker Bee

Dexter taking flight

Erin strolling with Aunt Jeanne, just seconds before she fell flat on her face.  Erin.  Not Aunt Jeanne.  Although that's fairly likely, as well.

Dex paints the fire-breathing dragon

I never showed Erin these fountains the last time we were here.

She liked them

Aunt Jeanne took a couple nice family photos in front of a Christmas tree.

Maybe we can just PhotoShop some eyes on to Dex

Maybe we can PhotoShop a hair cut on to Erin...

Aunt Jeanne totally tricked Erin in to 1) actually touching her and 2) smiling.  It's a Christmas miracle!

Erin thought this rope was cool stuff.  The other people trying to get a picture in this same spot were not as impressed.

Erin watching the fountain show.  And eating a graham cracker.

Me!  After we ditched the kids and wandered around looking at lights.

Fellow scarf-wearer

Jeanne with arches and icicles

GRRRRRR

OWWWWWW

Sisters.  I'm still cuter.

A couple nights later.  Dexter showing Grandpa the trains.

That's Grandpa smiling.  No, really.  It is.

Racing Thomas.  Dex was totally faster.

Showing Grandma the Christmas stuff inside.

Dex in front of his favorite fountain

Grandpa smiling.  Again!

At this point in the night the only way to find a cooperative child was to ask him to jump.

Bundled up in the too small stroller, with the too small stroller blanket.  But he stayed warm.

We'll go to Longwood again when it's warmer.  Or maybe I'll take Erin some time in the afternoon when Dex is at school.  We visited the pet store the other day when Dex was at school.  Fish and guinea pigs, man.  They were a HUGE hit.

I Thought She Got a Hair Cut?

The baby's hair on Wednesday:

The baby's hair on Thursday:

"I thought you got her hair cut?" says John when he got home from work.  Why, yes.  Yes I did get her hair cut.  I actually paid twelve dollars for her hair to look exactly the same as it did the day before.

It actually does look shorter in the back.  She brought up the back to try to even it out a little bit with the rest of her hair.  But, yeah.  I might need to trim the bangs again.  Like, next week.

A Lot of Longwood

I have been to Longwood no less than three times in a nine day period.  I can tell you with confidence that 2:00 on a Friday afternoon is a lovely time to look at trains, sunset over the middle grassy area is quite spectacular, and a warm Saturday evening is a pretty terrible time to go see the lights if you don't like crowds.

Perhaps I am jaded, but the indoor Christmas display didn't rock my world this year.  I hold all displays up to my favorite gingerbread display from a couple years ago.  Everything since then has paled in comparison.

The lights, however, were nice.  I didn't see lights last year, so it was fun to get back to see the fountain show and the floating Christmas trees and the snowflakes in the trees and the candles in the tree house and the purple tree trunks.  Dex went one of those times and I think he liked it.  Although he really wanted to take a nap in the stroller.

I have approximately 7 billion photos from Longwood.  I was going to put them all in one post, but it's too many.  Toooooo many.  So here's pics from my first visit, on a Friday afternoon with the kids.

TRAINS!  Always our first stop at Longwood.  Trains.  If you look closely you can see Erin signing "train."  I tried to get it on video but I was unsuccessful.

Despite the snow on the ground, it was pretty nice out that day.  Almost 50 degrees.

Erin likes walking on the brick pathway

"Mama, this is the longest video I've EVER taken!" he exclaims with glee.

This warms my heart.  Dex almost looks like he likes his sister, and is guiding her around Longwood.  I'm not positive that's the case, but that's what I am going to believe from now on.

When we went with my parents, someone from Longwood was telling us that every day someone wades in to the fountain and looks at all the apples (those are apples in there) to check for ones that are going bad and need to be replaced.  Heck of a job, eh?

Dex wanted me to take a picture of this pear/apple Christmas tree.

After I took a couple million similar-looking pictures, an older couple near me said "Those are going to be cute pictures."  I told them it helps when you have cute kids.

A little close-up of some of the ornaments and decorations.  Someone WRAPS these fake presents.  And puts the bows on them and everything.  How do they do that?

Please to be enjoying the following series of cute children pretending to look at Christmas decorations.  Mostly Erin was pretending to feed Dexter "cookies."

A couple views of the new conservatory:

Here's the kids in the Children's Garden.  Surprisingly, after this visit I had a hard time getting Dex in to the Children's Garden again.  "I don't want to get wet," he says.  Who IS this child?

Erin was intrigued by the waterfall, but ultimately decided she was not a fan.

The beginnings of a screaming baby.

She LOVED painting with water.  We shall have to remember this when the weather warms up.

Erin likes painting. Dex mostly likes swirling his brush around in the pool of water, and then seeing if it floats.

Dexter introduced Erin to the running water.

Erin did not so much run, but she thought the water tasted delicious.

She watched while Dexter ran, but she didn't really see the point of it.  I mean, the water always comes back to you.

Dexter still loves the bubble water.  Erin?  She thought it tasted yummy.

She would carefully place her hand in the water...

And then just as carefully shove it right in her mouth.

Sunset and, if you look carefully to the left, green Christmas lights.  Pretty.

Erin checking out the fountain show.  Oh how I love the stroller bag.

She did eventually get out to see things a little better.

Everybody liked the fountain show, and then we headed home and Daddy had dinner ready for us, and then everyone went to bed exhausted.  The End.

HAPPY 2014

Erin would like to wish you a HAPPY New Year!  Not sure how her year is going to get any better than this - wandering around the house carrying 2 mis-matched shoes and wearing the other pair of mis-matched shoes.  Ah, 2014.  It got started on the right foot...

2014 started off with a cool sunset on the first day of the year.  I love fall and winter sunsets at this house.  I wander in to the kitchen to figure out what I can whip up for dinner in 15 minutes.  Some pink-ish light catches my eye out the window in the door.  And...  BAM!

(in full disclosure, John took this photo with my very favorite 50mm lens.  On a tripod.  He'd have used the remote, too, if we'd have ever gotten it out of the box...)

Today was the first day in over a week that we've been home alone.  It was...quiet.  Dexter said he liked having house guests, and didn't want any single person to leave, ever.

Happy New Year!