Thanksgiving, twenty-fifteen

Last week we headed up to the D.C. area to spend Thanksgiving with Erik's family.  We actually took a quick trip up there two weeks prior that I didn't blog about, we had flown up to celebrate Erik's Moms birthday.  I won't say how old she is but I will say it was quite a milestone and we had a great trip!  On this most recent trip we drove, and this was our first road trip with Arlo in many months.  We have been fortunate enough to have flown on our last three trips, and well, I guess we were quite spoiled by it!  I had forgotton just how much fun it is to drive long distances with a toddler.  And by fun I mean several hours of launching his books/toys/shoes into the front seat, protesting his car seat, and me eventually sitting in back with him letting him watch Thomas the Tank Engine on my phone.  Desperate times, desperate measures.

We arrived at Erik's grandparent's apartment early in the evening the day before Thanksgiving.  It's only about a half a days drive to get to D.C. but it always seems to take us an entire day by the time we add in food and bathroom breaks.  On this trip it was particularly long due to the fact that we decided to stop at Ikea on the way, not only to shop but to have dinner and let Arlo burn off some steam.  Erik and I had taken a trip to the NC Ikea the weekend prior but they were out of a few key items that we had gone there for, fortunately we were able to get them on the drive up.  Arlo had a blast running around and rearranging the entire kids toy area.

Our Thanksgiving was filled with the traditional food + football (and also chasing around an almost-two-year-old in a house that is not at all childproofed!)  For dinner we had our usual Celebration Field Roast (it's wrapped in a puff pastry and tastes amazing!) plus all the fixins' vegan style: mashed potatoes, stuffing, asparagus, quinoa, and even dessert thanks to Erik's very accommodating family members.  Arlo ate pretty much everything besides the asparagus, and he loved the stuffing.  Here are a few photos:

The next morning we went to the Smithsonian's National Zoo in downtown DC.  Arlo loved seeing all the animals, but got a little nervous when he thought an elephant was coming a little too close...

That afternoon Erik and I snuck away for a little alone time while Memere and Papa babysat.  We went to see our first movie in something like three years.  I can't even remember the last movie we saw - it's been that long!  I know it was long before Arlo came into the picture.  Movie theaters certainly have changed since then, either that or we just ended up in a really fancy theater.  All of the seats were huge, plush recliners, totally lazy boy style.  I realized then and there that Erik and I really need to get out more often if movie theaters have changed that much since we last went out!   We had originally planned to see The Good Dinosaur (it is a Pixar cartoon about a dinosaur named Arlo!!) but decided we would rather watch that as a family when Arlo is a little older.  Instead we saw Brooklyn which I thought was quite good, Erik though it was okay but not great.  Still, any time we can spend just the two of us is always a treat!

After the movie we met up with Memere and Papa for dinner, here is a pic of the boys side of the table:

The next day we headed back into the city to visit a few museums.  We started at the National Museum of American History to see the huge transportation exhibit.  I knew it would be a hit with our little plane/train/car loving little guy, but it was amazing to see just how excited he got.  He kept saying "wow!" and loved checking everything out.  I think the trains might have been his favorite but you'll have to ask him...

We then headed over to the Museum of Natural History.  Arlo loved seeing the snakes, lizards, and fish but this is also one of my favorite exhibits in DC.   I got to "pet" a funky beetle but passed at holding the giant hissing cockroach.  I really do love insects, snakes and lizards but draw the line at spiders and cockroaches!

Also, while we were there I developed the special ability to grow the Washington Monument straight out of my head!  I have always wanted to be a unicorn  ;)

And Memere and Papa with Arlo outside the museum:

We headed back to NC late that afternoon and besides about 45 minutes of car seat protesting, it was a rather uneventful drive back.  The day after we got home I might have spent all day decorating for Christmas... more on that soon!


One last thing.  Let's compare last years trip to this one:

Arlo went from baby to little boy while Blanca didn't change a bit!