Holiday Cheer

You know how the holidays are.  Eat, sleep, run around town like a crazy person, repeat.  That pretty much sums it up.  Here is a quick holiday recap:

Thanksgiving!  We've been "alone" for Thanksgiving for years.  I think maybe we're going on 7 years?  Anyway, each year we usually cook or big spread and share it with friends.  It takes forever, it's exhausting, the kids don't even eat what I cooked, and the smell usually nauseates me so that by the time we actually eat I don't want to eat it.  Doesn't food cooked by someone else always taste so much better?  This year I needed a major break.  So we said screw it and went out to the fanciest place that would allow two kids that didn't always sit still with a white napkin across their laps.  A very non-traditional Thanksgiving!

Waiting for our table.  These boys were hungry!

Dinner time!  Everyone thought Ez's glasses were so cool.  The kids mostly ate the cheese rolls.

Then it was off to the Smithsonian's Air and Space museum.  When we first moved here over 2 years ago we went here almost every weekend.  The kids loved it and hey, it's free!  Gotta love that.  Ezra is still extremely into space.  That was actually one of the first 'super autism powers' that we noticed that Ezra had.  At the age of 2 he could name and identify all of the planets in the solar system.  More on that later.  Anyway, Ezra still loves the Air and Space museum and asks to go here almost daily.  Ezra: "Mama, go see planets."  Me:  "Ezra, it's time to get ready for the school bus."  Ezra: "No!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go see planets!"

This is their favorite room.  Asher doesn't like the flash so he's plugging his ears.

I asked Ezra to look at me and the camera.  He got embarrassed and shy and covered his face.

"Cool!  Astronaut!"

It was a bitter cold day.  The boys were too cold to walk so Jason carried them.

Friday it was all about the Christmas tree!  I love alive Christmas trees and whenever we can- we try to get live trees.  Asher was a having a bad day so just me and Ez ventured out to pick the perfect tree.

Picking out the perfect tree.

Ezra stood back because he was terrified of the chain saw.

One last trim before we take it home!

And the finished product! 

Snuggling by the fire watching home movies.  These kids like watching themselves!

On Saturday we ventured out to ICE at the Gaylord National hotel in National Harbor.  Every year the Gaylord National does a special ice exhibit called "ICE" where everything is carved out of ice.  EVERYTHING!  The exhibit is kept at 3 degrees and you have to wear these special coats over your own coat.  We crossed our fingers, paid the $30 per person admission, and hoped that everyone would have a fun time.  We didn't last as long as we'd hoped.  Asher by the end started getting super whiny and just wanted to be held.  He was freezing and we should have been better prepared and put the kids in full on snow clothes.  Next year!

This little stinker was frozen solid by the time we were done.

Brrr!

This is the view from the top of the slide.  Ezra loved the slides even though his bum was frozen by the end!

Ezra was the only one that would pose for me!  It was SOOO cold!

We finished up the Thanksgiving weekend back at the Air and Space Museum.  Ezra was begging us to go back there.  So we somehow ended up back there again.  We're pretty lame parents, I guess!  It was a packed weekend.  Now that Thanksgiving is over, let the Christmas festivities begin!