Williamsburg 2012 - Day 1

I mentioned to Carter while we were in Louisiana that I wanted to go to Williamsburg at Christmas sometime ... and he and his folks made it happen. Thanks for the great gift, it was a fantastic weekend!

Last time we were in Williamsburg Q6 was 3 years old and C8 was 4 years old.  This time was colder and much less busy, which was nice.

We drove down Friday night and made every mistake possible, traffic-wise. So it took us an extra 90 plus minutes. Much of that was just traffic delays. But there was also us trying to mitigate those traffic delays and making it take longer. So by the time we arrived it was 6:30 and the kids were hungry and cranky. I ordered a burger for me, a cheese flatbread for C8, knowing that C43 would eat it if she didn't like it. She didn't, so she at my pickle and then ordered more pickles. Q6 initially refused food. So she ate all my chips. And once she had a little food in her she requested flatbread without cheese, so she got saucy bread.  Finally they were not crying and melting down and started to behave as they should.

We were all tired, except C43, and so three of us went to bed, and C43 trolled the streets of Williamsburg.

Gingerbreading 2012

I didn't do much decorating myself, but C8 did a lot, Q6 did some, and J & A did their house, which turned out lovely.

I think all of our candies this year were red and green and white. Not many blue, yellow, brown, pink, purple candies, so whatever is on the house looks good.

Here is Q6 making her house. Her house looks a little bare. But her woodpile is stacked 6 logs high!



Here are the three houses finished. Q6's house to the left (And that is the highly decorated side. You can see the tree isn't even decorated). C8's is in the middle, and J & A's house to the right. Their roof looked especially nice this year.



And here is the piano I made for the piano teacher. I made the template from a music box my great-grandmother Catherine gave me way back in the early 1980s. That little blob on top is the metronome, just in case you couldn't tell! I did not have a strong urge to decorate the piano with candy, so we'll be doing another house to use up some of this candy closer to Christmas.

Tonight on Longfellow St ...

Two little things ...

1) How Q6 shows that something stinks. You know she isn't really drinking this, she is just pretending.

2) Q6 was scared of the candles she'd made .... so she made a little dramatic event.

Started in February, finished in December

What is that, 10 months? It was that long to make this. But I did it.With the except of the back where I had a couple of quilting errors, I really love it. Christmas-y without being red and green. I love this green and white Christmas quilt! I love the off-center square look!

Tickfaw State Park

We visited Tickfaw State Park back in 2008, and did basically the same stuff: complained, walked, complained, threw sticks and stones in the river. Looked for animals, saw none. Seems as though we must have one complaining child at all times at Tickfaw State Park.

On Friday Q6 was fine, had an attitude, was fine, had an attitude, was fine, had an attitude ... etc. etc. Wow. But we survived. I tried not to take too many attitude pictures and instead when she was in fine form I'd take those photos so we'd have good memories. Pulling out the camera and giving her my sunglasses helped, and she started to smile. Also, C8 was in a grand mood, walked and talked with Ninoo & Papa, and was generally the anti-Q.

C8 did fall down on the side of the swamp, getting her shoe all muddy. This is Ninoo helping her up. And that's me trying to preserve the memory, behind the camera. But no crying, complaining, or worrying. Yippee!

And I just liked this:

After this we set off walking on a loop walk and Q6 decided no, she wasn't going anywhere. And sat. And threw rocks, and was silly, and cried, and was stubborn. Whole range of emotions! So I took out the camera and took about 30 pictures of her, trying different styles on the camera, since I'd just discovered them, while she did her thing.. Here are three. The dots were her favorite and was what actually made her get up to start walking again.

 

We walked along and found the rest of our family on a fallen tree in the river.

After this, Q6 refused to go again. I decided to carry her, and I piggy backed her for 3/4-1 mile while playing I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing ... Q6 and I brought apples, bananas, cats, a donkey, eggs, fish, (uncle) Greg, ham, ice cream sandwiches, jam, kangaroos, Lucas, marshmallows, noodles, oranges, Parker, quarters, radishes, starfish, turtles, ugli fruit, volcano, witches brew , x-rays, yardstick, and finally zebras. We had quite a list going.  Finally we got to the parking lot again, had a snack, and Q6 perked up. 

Thanksgiving in Louisiana

First off, I should let you know the weather was 100% perfect in Louisiana while we were there. Perfect. Ninoo's Meyer lemon tree was loaded with lemons, and the satsumas were ripe and delicious. Obviously I don't come from the South. I've always imagined the citrus crop on trees the size of apple trees. Such as the ones in my parent's back yard. Only filled with lemons. Turns out they are tiny little bushy things that look nothing like apple trees. And those orange in lemon trees you can buy for your sunny spacious house in the north? They actually are real, full-sized trees! Think what you will, but there it is. Ninoo gave away lemons on Thanksgiving day, and here is C8 cutting them for everybody.

Both C8 and Q6 wanted to go to the children's museums in Hammond and New Orleans, but we had to rein it in a bit, and walked to the children's museum in Hammond, it was about a 6 block walk, very close.

Just about the first thing they did was hit the bubble area. Amazingly huge bubbles! The trick is to go fast, even though that initially makes no sense ... I wanted to pull the thing up carefully and slowly, but that just pops. Zing!

  

They then spent a huge amount of time in the restaurant. I ate a LOT of plastic food. Q6 was a grand waitress who also milked the cow, and C8 did it all -- hostessing, waitressing, preparing food, bussing tables, tallying our check.

Q6 was in a mood here and there, so whenever there was a smile, I took the picture. 

 

***Update! I just touched those Meyer Lemons ... also a surprise! SMOOOOOOOTH****

Another visit

We visited Uncle P and Aunt K today. We had a lovely visit, everybody was well behaved, adults and children.  Mostly, the girls were extremely exited about all the candy that Uncle P set out and -- of course -- about the dogs, Abby and Chloe. Last time we were there I think Chloe nipped -- or tried to nip -- Q6, and was shut in her room. This time she behaved.

Before we left we took a walk with the dogs. Abby was trying to read the pee mail. C8 could barely get her away.

We headed to see the ponies, but we had go back so we could return in time for Q6's Brownies meeting. So we drove over to the horses. Q6 is cranky here because they wouldn't come up to the fence.