Christmas in Virginia

We arrived safely in Virginia on December 22nd. It hadn't been our best flight, but not our worst either and I was happy just to be done with it. Carolyn met us at the airport with Ian's brother, Chris, her Christmas surprise. Chris had told her he would not be able to come home. Boy was she surprised! We had Chipotle for dinner - our first burritos in almost two years.

It felt like we were barely asleep that first night when Addison woke up at 2 a.m. Jet lag is really hard on her. It's near impossible to convince her to sleep again. And completely impossible to keep her awake once she's decided it's time to sleep. Here's a picture of our girl early in the morning on the 23rd in her new Dora the Explorer chair from Gran.

On Christmas Eve we had a "traditional" lunch at Wright's Dairy Rite, a hometown favorite that sports a restaurant and drive-in service. We ate foot-long hot dogs smothered in variations of coney (chili) sauce, coleslaw, onions, and cheese. Addison opted for a hamburger and applesauce, which she devoured. (It was the last good meal we'd see her eat until a week after we returned to Tokyo.) After watching her eat so well, it was easy to reward her with some strawberry frozen yogurt with lots of sprinkles.














Addison had been begging to wear this dress since we bought it, but I wanted to save its first wear for Christmas Eve. There were no struggles to put on the long-awaited dress. My little princess sashayed around the house saying "It's a beautiful gown"!

I, for one, was happy Carolyn's church did not hold a midnight service. I wouldn't have been able to stay awake for anything. The service was at 7. After the service we drove through Gypsy Hill Park to see the Christmas light displays. It was quickly off to bed after that.

Christmas morning Addison woke near 5 a.m. Since the gifts had been under the tree since we arrived, Addison had no burning desire to tear into them. There were no tears as she waited for the rest of the house to wake up. Addy was exceptionally fun to watch this year. Upon opening a pair of shoes from Carolyn, Addy immediately had to put them on. This little girl loves shoes! But, the shoes were quickly replaced when she opened the Disney princess nightgown complete with matching slippers, and magic wand. In fact, she started removing her pink pajamas before I could figure out what was going on! :) Uncle Chris and Aunt Sarah continued the princess theme with a gift set that includes books, a "cd" player, and a picture viewer.


















We spent a quiet afternoon at Carolyn's before heading to Uncle Buzz and Aunt Ruth's house. Ian, Addison, and I got to meet Addison's cousin, Mackenzie, for the first time. She's a super cutie. Addison's cousin, Ellie, is just a few weeks older, and was so sweet to Addison. Ellie immediately starting ask Addison to play with her. Before long Addy, Ellie, and Ellie's brother, Ryan, we playing like they meet each other every week.


The kids got a big surprise when Santa showed up. He must've forgot how to use the chimney as he rang the doorbell. Poor Santa was standing out in the cold ringing the doorbell while the folks inside were trying to figure out if Ryan was playing doorbell ditch. None of the kids cried when they say Santa. I personally was surprised at the thick Southern accent Santa had. Each child got a gift and then Santa had to move on. In the days shortly following Christmas when Addison was asked what Santa brought her, she would accurately say an Ernie (Sesame Street) puppet. "And Ellie got Cookie Monster", Addison would also say.


As the adults were getting settled in for the gift exchange, the kids found kazoos. Their little marching band gave such cheer. And Ryan took the cake. He's playing the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.


For as long as I've been celebrating Christmas with Ian's family, they've always had a gift exchange. Not a traditional sort, but called a Chinese gift exchange. Other names I've heard are White Elephant or Dirty Santa. The first year I remember quite a few gag gifts. Most years there are some decidedly masculine gifts and decidedly feminine gifts. Ian's cousin, Jeff, has often gone home with a bubble bath gift set. This year, no bubble bath for Jeff, but he did get Ian's gift, which consisted of a soft, squeaky toy samurai sword, an ichiban (number 1) headband, and a samurai sword letter opener set.




















I realized too late that I didn't capture enough photos of adults. Seems like you had to be under the age of 5 or holding someone under the age of 5 to get in my pictures this year. I'll try harder next year to digitally record the entire family. Luckily, Ken did take a great family photo. :)