Over the holidays, we took a trip downtown to see the National Archives. I have always wanted to visit The Archives to see and be in the presence of the Charters of Freedom - The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights.

I never really noticed how much more was on display at the National Archives - like the Public Vaults exhibit and the Magna Carta. The Public Vaults is an impressive collection of documents, video and audio artifacts that capture American History. A shocking piece of information towards the end of the exhibit reminds us that as we have progressed into the digital age, the ability for the National Archives to maintain accurate and complete records become more and more difficult. This challenge has required them to think outside the box in order to validate and authenticate everything such as a piece of email to the President.

Anyway, just behind the National Archives building in DC, we stumbled across a plaza which turned out to be the US Navy Memorial. You can read more about the memorial at http://newsite.navymemorial.org/events.php

We walked around and looked at The Lone Sailor statue and some of the sculptural panels that circled the plaza.

Abigail's first Holiday Program - this was the Young and Older Toddlers group, performing the Snowman song. After the performance, Abby got to meet Santa!!!


Our Christmas stockings over the fireplace and Tigger, telling us no gift can possibly be more perfect than him.


Pretty light...


Christmas Day


Aunt Linn enjoying the sunshine on Christmas morning


Abigail excited about her Giant La-La.


Playing with her drawing toy and getting ready to see what's inside her Christmas stocking


Just being silly


Belle-Belle being a lump on the couch and also on Aunt Libby's lap. Why Aunt Libby's got Abby's blankie on her head, I don't know....

I hope everyone enjoyed a very happy Christmas. We are in Maryland celebrating our very first Christmas here since moving to the East Coast 6 years ago and it will be our last Christmas here because we are in the process of moving to Colorado.

Aunt Linn and Aunt Libby were with us for Christmas, making the holiday feel very warm and special.

Santa and family were very generous this year, as with every year, but Abby definitely made out like a bandit more so than anyone else. Besides a lot of cute new outfits, her big ticket items included a Bounce and Spin Zebra, a Fisher-Price Learning Home, a giant version of her beloved La-La (a Boyds Baby Tickles the Lion), and - her favorite so far - a Parents Young at Art Drawing Toy.

We are at the halfway point of our relocation family separation. While Paul is still here in Maryland, he is trying to sell our house in Clarksburg. Because of the holidays, the house traffic has dwindled. Is that a sign that there is no interest in the house? The house is priced wrong? That we're in the absolute worst time to sell the house? Maybe, maybe not.

The walk-throughs have received good feedback. For over a half acre in Montgomery County, the house is sitting on some good land. We got the house for a steal!!! And it is priced lower than we had purchased. Great location, convenient to shopping. A 3-car garage, massive gourmet kitchen, and my all-time favorite octagon shaped living room with dramatic windows, letting in loads of sun, facilitating my need to photosynthesize.

I love this house and I hope someone else will love it just as much.

Anyone interested in this house? PLEEEEAAAASE.....

My Dearest Husband,

Happy Anniversary! Seven years has gone by in a blink of an eye. I love you more and more each day. Abigail and I miss you a lot and can not wait to see you in one month.

Tonight, I took my brother to see a Vaudevillian melodrama. I didn't really know what to expect and had to google Vaudeville shows.

I learned of the show through my manager, who happens to be the father to the founders of the company, Handsome Little Devils Productions, and creators of the show. One of his kids continues to be a starring character.

What my google searches taught me was to expect some sort of variety show - music, dancing, comedy, drama, circus acts, perhaps animal acts, etc. I was looking forward to it and expecting it to be decent entertainment.

What we ended up seeing surpassed all expectations. The show was fantastically creative, funny, entertaining, visually stimulating, and often breathtaking. Amazing juggling, dancing, acrobatics, hilarious comedy, with original slapstick, all weaved together with light love story punctuated by the malicious plots of The Baron Vegan Von Hamburger to destroy everyone.

The characters connected well with the audience and the show was overall well orchestrated. I haven't seen a show with this much originality in awhile and it certainly was a different kind of entertainment which I wonder why we don't see much of anymore.

Last night and tonight were the World Premier shows of the Squirm Burpee Circus theater act and they will be taking it around the world. If you should get the opportunity to see this show, I would highly recommend it!

Below are a couple of links worth checking out:
Squirm Burpee YouTube Teaser
The Handsome Little Devils' Website

Abby is finally back to sleeping through the night (down at 8:00 PM and up at 6:45 AM) again and I am feeling settled at my parents' house and at work. Abby seems happy at her new daycare, despite being sick for more days than she has been healthy, due to her bout of pinkeye. Today, we found out her teachers have successfully taught her to cover her mouth when she coughs. They accomplish in 2 days what we've been trying to teach her for almost a year!

The house in Maryland is listed on the market. If anyone is interested in buying a house in Montgomery County, Maryland, check out this listing (MLS #MC6912323).

We are actively searching for a new home in Colorado, but I think we'll end up finding an apartment when Paul moves out here with our 3 kitties and then taking our time to find our permanent residence.

What's left on my to-do list before I can say we've completely moved out here include:
- Getting an emissions test for the car and obtaining Colorado tags for it
- Attending orientation for my new job (it'll feel strange considering I've worked for this company for over 10 years now! Even though I'm changing business units, I actually started in this business unit as an intern in college.)
- Disenrolling from Tricare Prime, our military medical insurance (I have already enrolled Abby and myself in the group medical insurance provided by my company.)
- Finding alternative - and quicker - routes to daycare and to work (current time on road is 45 minutes each direction.)
- Finding a good hairdresser

All in all, I am feeling much more relaxed and can start to appreciate a few of the many reasons we have decided to move back here - the most important reasons being family. For example, this past weekend, we spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Newell in Colorado Springs. It was so amazing to know they're just an hour away and we can pop in the car and go see them anytime we want now! Uncle Allen is Abby's idol and Abby is such a goofball with my parents; she provides so much fun and laughter in the house every day.