The weather has been so nice that June and I are constantly asking to go outside to ride our scooters. But mama doesn't like having all three of us out in the parking lot. So we found a perfect solution- the tennis courts.
Wide open asphalt and fences.
Needless to say, things get pretty goofy out there.
JoJo alternates between wanting to be pushed on the tricycle and then wanting to push the tricycle while mama rides.
June sometimes runs around after me while staging an elaborate game of make believe that is a bizarre cross between the Nutcracker and ninja battles. (The Rat King usually dies after the Nutcracker fights him over a headband.)
Other times she stages beautifully choreographed scooted ballets.
We had to wrap up our outdoor activities because mama wanted to head back to the theater next to our house for another holiday show.
The Rockville City Concert Band put on a great holiday school that culminated in a Christmas song sing-along. Then they played the best concert band Christmas song ever- Sleigh Ride.
Afterward, Santa came out and handed out real chocolate candy. I figured he must be one of the better Santas because he had mini Snickers. Well done, Santa.
June took her new found appreciation for the theatrical arts and applied them to the only stage in the house- Jo's crib. (Check out the picture- JoJo is airborne.)
This doesn't capture the best of June's singing, but it does show how exuberantly JoJo played the maracas (at least before she jumped too high and fell head-first off the bed).
Poor Georgie. I sure hope the lead-up to the holidays hasn't been too much for her, because we're just getting started.
We returned back home after our White house visit and I had intentions of sending Henry to school for the afternoon and insisting everyone else take a long nap so I could do the same.
We returned home and I checked my computer to find that I was a few hours behind on the biggest news story of the year out of Connecticut. Needless to say, we all remained home for the rest of the day.
I emerged from my room after a few minutes of scouring the internet to find my kids playing together in the golden afternoon sun and felt the familiar feeling that has become the theme in our house "It could certainly be a lot worse."
I swear these kids know just when the grown-ups are just about at the end of their ropes and need some reassurance why they had kids anyway. This afternoon was certainly one of them.
Basking in our togetherness and the promise of Christmas, we did was any good midwesterner would do- start baking sweets.
Henry had to write a report about family traditions for school. There's no better tradition that making poppyseed rolls as a family.
I've been making poppyseed rolls with my grandma and mom as long as I can remember. And for all that time, I always got frustrated when it came time to cut the butter in. Usually, I use my pastry tool (or get really lazy and make the dough int he bread machine) to cut the bread in as I've never figured out how to use two knives to get the job done. This year, Henry was the one trying to figure it out, while I finally mastered it. I guess I'm finally a grown-up now.
While the dough sat overnight, June and I worked on a craft- snowflake ballerinas- perfect for a girl still high on the affects of the Nutcracker.
Overnight is a long time to wait when you're in a baking mood, so we also made a big batch of buckeyes (my first batch of 4 this season), soda cracker toffee, and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
Finally it was time. We rolled out the dough and spread on the poppyseed filling.
We rolled them up and even brushed on an egg wash.
I don't want to brag, but these may have been my best batch yet. Everyone else thought so too, as you can tell by the almost entirely devoured roll on the right.
Mama had a big surprise for us! She got us all tickets to go see the White House decorated for Christmas!!
It was quite an experience. We had to be there before 9 to check in. That meant leaving our house before 8. That's a rare occurrence for the Turners. Then add in that we had to be clean and nicely dressed. It was practically a miracle.
Papa dropped us all off a few blocks away from the White House so he could go park the car. It was an especially cold morning and we all took the opportunity to be especially difficult, made worse by the fact that you're not allowed to take anything into the White House, including strollers or bags.
When we got to the security centers, they pulled papa aside to double check his identity, probably because they heard him saying outside that the President is not a monarchy and we shouldn't be exulting them and their house like they are.
But finally we made it through security and into the house.
Everything our congressman sent us said no cameras. But when we got there, everyone had one. Luckily, papa had his samsung, which has a camera, though not a great camera. Still, some pictures are better than none. We really liked that the Obamas' dog Bo was featured in all the decorations and we spent a good deal of time trying to find him.
Here's a view of the South Lawn through the curved glass windows of the Blue Room.
We really liked the tree in the Blue Room.
It was very tall.
This little White House was made completely of gingerbread and had Bo in the front yard and Santa on the roof.
We were far from the only people on the tour. It was packed.
And I was not a very good girl. Mama and Papa made the official decision that the next time we do something big like this, I won't be invited. And that's probably for the best, because I refuse to ever sit still or be quiet and I probably won't remember this. But Henry (and lately, June) seem to get a lot out of our adventures. So next time, I will be spending my day with a babysitter.
It wasn't until we got outside that we all relaxed and finally posed for a picture.
Here's a good one of all of us. There was a nice family there who had older kids (college age) and I think they remembered what it was like to have young kids (while they still laughed at us). But at least they took our picture.
An early morning and all that excitement? Too much for me. I was asleep before we got to the visitors center.
But it didn't last long. We visited the National Tree in front of the White House.
Around the big tree are trees from every state. June and papa posed in front of South Carolina's.
June wanted to stand in front of West Virginia's because that's where Grams is from.
Here's the two Wisconsinites of the family.
Henry and mama think DC is okay.
It's not every day you get to dance in a field between the Washington Monument and a huge Menorah. I could have danced here all day.
But everyone was getting hungry, so I went back to sleep in the stroller and we went out looking for food. We skipped our normal lunch place at the Post Office Tower and decided to explore the food court inside the Ronald Reagan Building.
The food court was a food court, but it was worth going through security to see the huge dance floor in the middle of the building. It's a dance floor, isn't it? This was probably June's favorite part of the day.
After lunch, June expressed a desire to go see the Santa Claus in the cabin by the National Tree. We were just in time for it to open, so the girls went to wait in line while the boys went to get the car (Henry opted out of the Santa visit)/
Mark it. This is the first official trip we've taken to specifically see Santa and sit on his lap and talk to him. It took 7 Christmases, but leave it to June to want to talk Santa's ear off.
What did she ask for? She described with great detail the present that we got Tessa for Christmas. She was up there for some time, but Santa eventually got a few words in.
Here's the official picture. And another first- when we left, they gave us a card with a link to the website. Mama forgot about it for a while because she wasn't going to order any pictures. Lo and behold- the picture was free! You could just download it! (Granted, it had a big logo on it, but mama just cropped that off.) Thanks, United Laboratories, for restoring our Christmas spirit!
Mama is in charge of organizing field trips for my class at school. Despite the fact that she's lost her folder that tells her where all previous classes have taken field trips, she's managed to plan a few with moderate success.
She was especially excited about the trip she planned to Glen Echo Park- an old amusement park that was turned into an artist's retreat and public park (they love turning things into parks around here).
We were at the Puppet Co. to see one of the original Muppeteers put on a show. When he explained how to control a puppet and put a Muppet together, mama almost cried.
After the show, we got to see some of the puppets up close. I liked the show, but you know how I feel puppets, or mascots, or anything that moves that's not human.
Next we headed outside for a quick snack and to play on the playground.
Before we left, a few of us lined up for a picture. Charlene, Ami, Nethusja, Claire, Lydia, and me.
At home, we put on a show of our own. Three kids. Junping in bed. While I play papa's mandolin!??!? Needless to say, when mama walked in to find papa taking this video, we all got a stern talking to. (And those things that shake with the little marbles in them are maracas.)
I stuck to more traditional songs after that. Here's my version of "Last Christmas."
We met our friends Henry and Rosalind at Brookside Gardens for the annual Garden of Lights.
And we've got to say, it was pretty remarkable. The pictures don't do it justice, but imagine walking through this, but through acres and acres of it.
Inside the conservatory (the same one we visited to see the butterflies), there was a big model train set up. And amidst the trains were various little figurines hidden for a big scavenger hunt. We stayed in here for over an hour looking for all the items on the many scavenger hunts.
We even found a decorated tree house where we played until way after our bedtimes, even though it was very cold outside.
Eventually our parents made us leave and go home. It was a school night, after all.
Mama said she had a surprise for me, but first we were going to visit a mansion.
Less than a mile from our house is an old mansion that was given to the city. It's a local art gallery now and at Christmas they decorate it and have a big open house.
Santa was there, but we decided not to wait in line to see him. Instead, we had a look around.
There was a bell choir, but of course Georgie couldn't hold still or quiet, so we had to find a place where she could be herself.
And in being herself, she ran headfirst into the edge of a table. Good thing Henry can always calm her down.
I'd had enough of these shenanigans. On the same property was the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater. It is used for local productions, including the Rockville Youth Ballet production of the Nutcracker!!!
It was a great production. And it had two intermissions so we could go out and eat rice krispie treats and stand over vents so we could like like ballerinas with proper stiff tutus.
Miss Leah and Olivia also came with us. Mama didn't think Georgie was ready to sit still quietly for any longer than 5 minutes.
About 15 minutes from the end, I climbed in mama's lap and said "My eyes just keep closing." Mama told me to lay back and I promptly fell asleep and slept through the finale and the lights coming back up.
After the show, we met a few of the ballerinas.
We met a few very gracious teenage girls who were willing to take a picture with me and listen to me tell stories about the ballerina necklace mama got me at the gift sale.
I was so happy to meet all these girls!
After the show, we went back to Miss Leah's house to take some Christmas pictures. Olivia obliged by licking the cinnamon ornaments we made.
