Staycation!!!

LT had loads of leave saved up from his time in Djibouti and we didn't want any of it to go to waste so in August LT and I chose Nov 17th to the 21st to have a Staycation. We didn't want to travel to anywhere we couldn't return home from in the same day because we both prefer to sleep in our own bed. So, we decided to just stay local. One day we had loads of family time and then in the evening watched Toy Story 3. O got the biggest kick out of Buzz in his spanish mode. LT and I got the biggest kick out of watching her belly laugh and try to imitate it. We also became teary eyed near the end. *cough* Fortunately I've heard other friends say they got choked up at the end too. I thought I was just overly emotional. (Me? ha ha ha.)

Thursday we went to Baltimore and O enjoyed hanging out at the Children's Museum there. We bought a season pass when we visited in May and have only been back twice since. Don't even get me started on parking and downtown Baltimore. On the flip side of my frustration, I have a greater appreciation for Sea World and how great we had it when we had season passes there. Back to the museum, O sprinted to her first favorite place, the diner, and served us food until it was time for a flashlight story time. She ricocheted from place to place for a couple of hours and ended up in the water room. The water room is ALWAYS the last room you visit in the museum. Although raincoats and rain shoes are provided, your kid ends up soaked anyway. We'd been there long enough to be okay with leaving.

This picture is actually from a trip to the museum with Grandpa a week or two ago.

Friday we just bummed around the house and did boring adult things. Although we were on "vacation" , we still had O go to her preschool on Wednesday and Friday. She had a Thanksgiving party Friday and we didn't want her to miss out, plus, we'd signed up weeks ago to bring the napkins. You can't have a party with out napkins, right?

I know these pictures are small, they are what the teacher sent to the parents. Can you find O?

O and Daddy had a fun time playing in the leaves.

Can you see her in this picture?

So mean.

NOOOOOO!!!

She had a GREAT time burying herself in the pile.

Saturday, our original plans were to go to DC and explore, but neither of us had planned really well and we were tired of paying for parking, so we took a hike instead.

Take that annoying parking plazas.

We wandered around Savage Mill and I found my next part time job. There is a ropes/adventure course at the mill. As soon as I saw it, I itched for my climbing gear. I've MISSED climbing, really, really missed it. In time, when O goes to Kindergarten, I will either go to school to challenge my squishy, atrophied (I know it's not a muscle, but you get my point) brain, or work, or do both. If I work, I want to do something that will allow me to interact with people and do something I love. The ropes course reminded me of my Oakcrest days. I liked those days and I was way cooler then too. Maybe I can recapture some of my cool. Anyway, back to the "hike", we stopped along the way to snap some shots to prove we'd been out and active. (Friday was a really sedentary day). We had fun playing with the timer on the camera and playing with each other.

Our attempt at a family picture.

O and her very diva-esque attitude, "No more pictures please"

I tried for a couple self portrait but didn't realize the zoom was zoomed. It's a cool picture, even without our heads/bodies.

LT and O

Me and O, so sassy.

Overall, we had a GREAT family vacation and it was just what we (LT mostly because I'd just returned from a vacation) needed.