Williams on ice...

Earlier this week, we took the kids ice skating for the first time. Tony and I haven't even been in the past 8 years... Open skating was from 7-9 p.m., so we made sure the kids both took good naps. We got there and got all "skated up". Me and Tony both took a few practice laps alone just to make sure we wouldn't immediately fall! Lucas held the wall with one hand, and one of us with the other. After a couple laps of that, he let go of the wall and just held one of our hands... Which worked just great for him! By the end, he was cruising along at a comfortable pace for me! He completely refused to skate alone on the open ice, even for 5 feet to make it to one of us. Oh well, next time...

Charlotte started the one hand on wall and holding us with the other too... Which she tired of quickly. We spent most of the night skating with her between our legs, skating ever so slowly. Talk about a back killer. She did have some freakishly good balance just standing still on the ice.
We took breaks often, and after about 1 hour and 20 minutes, Lottie quit completely. We spent the rest of the session taking turns rocking her on the bench while she whined, "I'm soooo tired"... That girl...
Oh, and there was just one fall that evening... Check it out!

Day Downtown

2 weekends ago, it was "Dollar Days" in downtown Baltimore. Admission to all the big attractions was only $1! I hadn't heard of it, but Tony found it online. First, we went to the Maryland Science Center. I hadn't been in at least 15 years... Not since my Mommom & Dada used to take me and Matt on our summer adventures. They've done a lot with it and made it more of a childrens' museum almost.

First, we used paintbrushes to clean sand off dinosaur bones...
Then, we did some examining of fossils...
Next, we went to learn about dino scales and the kids made some pictures and got their heads bit off :) We just couldn't resist that pic!
They dressed up as astronauts:
And played with a lot more cool stuff... In the planetarium, we even got to see a 20 minute holiday laser show!
Next, we walked to the other side of the harbor. By now, the place was getting packed! The aquarium had already closed ticket sales for the day!
Then we went to lunch at Dick's Dock Bar. It's a reastaurant we'd heard of and had been wanting to try. Essentially, the people that work there are supposed to be rude/sarcastic to the customers. If I were a waitress, it's the place I'd work! And they make you still hats with sayings on them. Mine said "I was really something before the kids", and Lucas' said "Dear Santa, Malibu Barbie please".
Then we headed to take a tour of the Torsk submarine next to the aquarium.
By the time we got done, we had to run back to the car and head to Rachel's 5th birthday party! Busy day...

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Grammie and Grampie came up from NC to visit for Thanksgiving! We hadn't seen them since the end of June, so we were really looking forward to it... They came up on Tuesday afternoon, but Tony and I both had to work Tuesday and Wednesday, so we didn't do too much... Cook dinners, hang out, play with the kids...

Thanksgiving morning, Lucas and I did the Turkey Trot that I wrote about in my last post. When we got back, I actually went out for a real run. The kids and the neighbors played in the moonbounce in the front yard, as it was a gorgeous day!
We had dinner around 2:30. Lots of yummy stuff, and we even ate on our fancy china! Not the greatest family pic, but better than nothing...
After dinner, we headed back outside to enjoy the weather..
After all that playing and skipping their naps, the kids (especially Lottie) were super tired!
Friday morning, we hung out at home and decorated the tree and the inside of the house. The kids were both very involved in putting up ornaments this year. It was slightly painful to see Charlotte put 6 ornaments on the same branch and not just grab them and rearrange them :)
After a Mexican lunch, we hung out outside again and tried to get a few family pics... For some reason, ours just never turn out the way I think they should!
After that, there were a few power naps taken...
Then, we headed 5 minutes up the road to my school's next football game... If they won, they would play in the state championship! Unfortunately, it was a blowout (not in our favor) and we left early... I hardly took any pics, as it was hard to see unless you stood in the bleachers. But out of the 5,000 fans there, 2 of my favorite students managed to fine me!
Saturday morning, Grammie and Grampie left after breakfast. Lucas and Tony spent the day in the front yard doing outside decorations.
We headed to Mommom & Pop's for a second Thanksgiving feast and to help celebrate Gigi's 85th birthday!
I love the holidays!!!