Christmas Eve with the Bench Family 2010

One of our favorite traditions of the Christmas season is Christmas Eve with the Bench Family. It starts with a delicious dinner then moves onto a short program which includes the kids acting out the nativity and some caroling, then ends with the traditional pyramid picture and dessert!



AJ putting the finishing touches on her beautiful table



The delicious dinner



Porter and J getting into costume for the big nativity




I don't know what these two little shepherds are up to but I am pretty sure it is no good :)



L getting the baby Jesus ready




The Pyramid



The aftermath which I think is the boys (big and small) favorite part!

Shake Shack, The Intrepid, & Rockefeller @ Christmas OH MY!

It has become a tradition in our family to go into NYC during the month of December to see Santa @ Santa's Wonderland in MACY's. This year we didn't make it until December 23rd. We pulled the boys out of school for the day and headed into the City. We opted to not see Santa because we were not able to get in until about 11:30 and would have to wait about 2 hrs to see him at that point. So we headed straight to the Shake Shack for lunch. It was fabulous as always. Then we decided to go to the Intrepid. It was not in our orignal plan but ended up being the best part of the day. Even though it was a little cold the boys loved seeing all the planes and learning the history of the Intrepid. Next we headed over to the Rockefeller Center to see the TREE. Then we rounded the day off at our favorite Pizza place Tottono's. It was a great day and we already look forward to next year!



The Shake Shack, always a crowd pleaser!












This was Hudson's favorite he called it "the Sharkcopter"



A random pic with Elmo



The tree at Rockefeller

Hudson's Kindergarten holiday program

A few pictures from Hudson's Holiday sing along. The room was packed with parents, family, etc. So I didn't get any good pics of them actually performing. It was so cute. Hudson was right on the front row singing and doing all the actions. Then after the performance we had all brought some Holiday treats so everyone visited and ate.



Hudson's best friend Andy he asked to have his picture taken with him. So cute!



This is Hudson's "friend" Tabitha he also asked to have his picture taken with her :)

A trip to DC

We headed to DC for a weekend. We went down to watch the Aggies play Georgetown in basketball. Fortunately, that is not the only reason we went, because the Aggies took a beating from the Hoyas. It was still fun to watch them play out here on the East Coast.

It was very cold, but we managed to make our way around some of the DC sites and visit our favorites - Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Space Museum. We met my brother Chad, who lives in DC and he came with us to some of the sites.










Relaxing poolside at the hotel. It is amazing, but really all the boys need on a vacation is a pool at the hotel. It doesn't matter what amazing sites there are... as long as there is a pool at the hotel.





We also visited friends of ours, the Lintons, who live just West of DC. They were kind enough to have us over for dinner. It was great to catch up and enjoy some time with them.

Saying Goodbye to an Antique

Yes, it is true that our home is over 80 years old. There have only been 4 owners of this home, but none of them have had the heart to get rid of the old "snowman" coal boiler system even though it has been decommissioned forever and was simply taking up space in the furnace room. With our use of the furnace room for extra storage, including our year's worth of food storage, it was time to part ways with the snowman. I must admit, it was somewhat sad to see such an antique go, but it sure has given us the needed space.

Madison Parade & Lighting of the tree

Each year on the day after Thanksgiving, Madison brings in the Christmas season with a parade, ending with the great lighting of the tree. It is always a very well attended event and the kids enjoy seeing Santa at the end of the parade.

Thanksgiving Festivities

We had a great time this Thanksgiving. The boys went and played in their annual "turkey bowl" in Chatham in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to some friends of ours (the Dents) to enjoy a great Thanksgiving dinner, fun and games. This time of year always makes us realize how blessed we are to have such a great family and friends.