DC to MA route with a wee little stop in CT

First, a haircut.



But more importantly, over the Christmas holiday we drove to Massachusetts, via Connecticut. We left on the 23rd at 3:18 am ... very very early. And I swear for the first 4.5 states all there was was fighting, EXCEPT for through Delaware, were I was asleep, so if there was fighting I don't actually know.

We left early, hit virtually no traffic (except some crossing the GWB, but even that wasn't bad). So we made great time. By the time we reached mid-Connecticut we decided it was time for breakfast. Katz's Deli in Woodbridge, CT  doesn't do breakfast, so we zoomed on through the tunnel and I thought we should go to O'Rourke's Diner in Middletown, CT. It had been many many years since I'd been even to Middletown, much less O'Rourke's.

Totally worth diving out of our way.

Q8 did NOT want her picture taken ...

... but we eventually got her!

While at the diner we met a family sitting by us. At the end of the meal he turned to us and asked if he knew us because I looked really familiar (me and my familiar face!!). Well, Wesleyan '92 ... he was Wesleyan "94. His name was Jesse somebody (darn my memory!) and we had Dan Wulf and Peter Clowney in common. But ... on we went to the bookstore where Q8 and I bought T-shirts and sweatshirts and bought C10 a notebook and pen.  

Then onto Massachusetts for the holiday.

Gingerbreading 2014

Let the annual gingerbreading begin! OK, we did begin way back when but then all the dough and cookies got eaten. (see November 22) I think that is a common occurrence in our household. I make dough/cookies ahead of time and then have to do it again because it has all been eaten up. You'd think I'd learn by now. But no.

So, anyway, I made the dough and the kids decided what kind of gingerbread structure they wanted. C10 wanted a wizard's tower and Q8 saw a partridge in a pear tree that we both liked.

C10 helped me cut shapes out.

 

And Q8 helped put them together

 

Until we got them all together. From left to right: A partridge in a pear tree, the Eiffel Tower, a cottage, a wizards tower, a tree and a rocket. I looooooooved that rocket. I designed that with Wallace & Gromit's A Grand Day Out in mind.

Mostly, we had leftover Halloween candy with which to decorate the houses ... but of course we had to go buy some of those raspberries/black berries, and some smooth & melties and some minty m&ms .... all delicious and reeeeeallllly essential on a house.

We had M10 & A7 over to help decorate. Love M10's hat!!!! And here is the decorating chaos:

    

Last night was the winter concert. Beginning and 2nd year band, beginning and 2nd year orchestra, and the chorus. The chorus is why we were there, and why there have been near constant 7 am practices! 7 am. That means Q8 & C45 had to leave the house at 6:45 am to walk there. Then C45 would walk back and pick C10 up and walk back to school.  Lucky Lucy, she got two walks on those mornings.

The whole thing was an almost disaster for us. Q8 didn't want to wear her uniform (but was going to bring it). Then she didn't want to go at all. We had a talk (called, me yelping "you are GOING because you said you would and you can't let them DOWN!" and "if you want to disrespect the whole group by not wearing your uniform you can do that but if they don't let you sing we are going home and don't get to stay for ANY of it"

So Q8 put on her uniform (crying) and went to the show (crying, but stopped by the time we got there) and performed admirably. Ran to the car after it was over, where the crying recommenced.

And you can see it in her body language. She didn't want to be there, but she did loosen up a bit by the end. I didn't tape Felize Navidad (there was an arm in my way) but she started doing some bouncing and gesturing. Which was nice.

Three Little Birds they sang in October; here it is again. It just looks sideways. It plays upright.

Jingle Bell Rock

Winter Wonderland

Arboretum

Same place, new date. Pictures! You might wonder why we must all have hair in our faces all the time. Even me. I don't know.


Bunny ears

Close up shots

 

All of us.

November Gingerbread Houses

I made gingerbread dough a while ago. We've made cookies, we've eaten dough, and today we made teeny tiny houses. Just for fun. Q8 & K8 needed something to do. And after we did this K8 said this was the BEST SLEEPOVER EVER. Even though there had been no sleeping and it was 3:30 in the afternoon.

They rolled out and cut out the dough. They made a HUGE mess. Hands in the flour, flour everywhere. But the pieces were baked and put together.

I started to decorate the Eiffel Tower, but C10 returned from her cybersecurity activity at UMD and finished decorating the Eiffel Tower, and Q8 & K8 made identical houses.

 

And here are the finished products!

All the girls got sugar crazy. I mean sugar CRAZY.  So after they were done we took out the bikes and hit the park for a spin. 

Mini tiny hike

Thursday it stopped raining and the sun came out and we took the dog to Buddy Attick Park in Greenbelt Park, about a mile and a quarter hike. We went a few years ago ... when Q was maybe 3 or 4? I don't exactly remember, I just remember we went with K and H as well, and we never got around the first turn of the very small lake.

But Thursday we did. And C10 was all about us getting photos of her. We brought G9 with us,  her mom F, and Lucy dog. It was a great walk, just what we needed.

 

Good friends:

And here are the realistic photos:

Q8 & C10 fighting as G9 looks on with a little trepidation.

Crazy girls:

Piano recital

SO, I wasn't there, but C10 did fine.