Christmas in Virginia

Not long after Paul and I decided that we would be staying in Virginia for Christmas, my parents called to say they wanted to come for a visit. We were thrilled at the idea of having family with us during the holiday season! In preparation for their arrival I cleaned, decorated, and furnished our extra bedroom (huge thanks to Victoria Blanchard). Friday December 21st had finally come. I paced by the window as I waited in anticipation for my family to arrive. I had so many things I wanted to do during our one week together.

Local Places

Of course we had to check out Virginia Tech's campus.
Burruss Hall

 

We stopped by the duck pond & quickly made new friends. 

Dad & Paul managed to improvise in the rain without umbrellas.

Back at the house we made gingerbread houses & cut out snowflakes.

 

Mom & I had a blast cooking up delicious meals! I think the men enjoyed eating all our creations.

My first attempt at making an ice cream cake roll, turned out pretty well.

Christmas Day

We spent the afternoon on a hike to Cascade Falls.

Following the leader.

Paul caught a brook trout on Christmas Day.

Cascade Falls

Washington D.C.

We drove to Washington D.C. the day after Christmas. It was quite the journey as we finally made it through the snow storm, the first of the year for us. We had a wonderful time visiting the Air and Space Smithsonian as well as several other historical monuments.

 The D.C. Temple had a great holiday light display.

A quick ride on the Metro to the Smithsonian.

Arlington National Cemetery 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Lincoln Memorial

And this is what we all felt like doing by the end of our fun filled week.

Thanks for the good time Dad, Mom, & Tyler!