Posada Party

We lived near Catholic University, and they had some fabulous community outreach activities for kids. One was a Halloween party and another was the Latin American? tradition of Posada. The kids were dressed up as Mary and Joseph and went from building to building on campus singing a Spanish song asking for room in the inn.  They were turned away each time until the last door where there was a big fiesta, complete with awesome food and a pinata, awaiting them.  And if that could be topped, there was then a live nativity outside WITH animals (including a camel!) that you could pet.  A very sweet evening and great kick-off to our holiday season.

Fall Camping

Without good friends (who are willing to loan us gear, build the fires, etc.) we aren't much of a camping family. But with good friends (and sleeping in cabins on mattresses), camping is a lot of fun! Thank you Felicis, Hansens and Nyhans!

Homemade Chairs

We came to D.C. with just 700 lbs of air shipment, but rented a good-sized house, so in addition to the generous donations and loans of furniture from many friends old and new, we had to buy some IKEA furniture.  Claire called these our "homemade" chairs.  Our favorite purchase of the year was the red dot rug for our front room.  It provided hours of entertainment for the kids, making up games and using the dots in creative play.  My favorite thing about the house was how light-filled it was and the view of gorgeous trees out each window.