Thanksgiving Weekend

We've had a fun Thanksgiving weekend.  Cousin Christine came up from North Carolina.  (Avery calls her "Steen").  On Thanksgiving morning we ran the S.O.M.E. (So Others Might Eat) Turkey Trot 5k downtown.  Colleen's friend Anna who lives in DC also ran it with us.  The course started and ended on Pennsylvania Ave downtown and went past the capitol building.  Here is Colleen and Anna right before the race started:

While Anna, Colleen, and Jim ran the race, Christine pushed Avery in the stroller as a walker in the race.  Avery loves Steen and had a good time, and we really appreciate Christine keeping Avery occupied while we raced.  When they walked back to the finish we helped Avery cross the finish line with her hands in the air!

After the race we all took a photo near the capitol:

Congrats to Anna for winning first in her age group in her first ever 5k.  Jim got a PR at 18:19 (5:54/mile) and Colleen was only 6 seconds off her PR running a 23:01.  Since we took the Metro downtown to the race, Avery had to figure out on the map how to get home! 

She loves riding the Metro!  (In fact as soon as the race was over she said to us "Let's go back down into the Metro tunnel!")

Then when we got home we had our breakfast, a French Toast Casserole that Colleen had prepared the night before that you bake the next day.

It was delicious and a great way to do French Toast since you don't have to cook the pieces one or two at a time where everyone eats at different times.  Since it is all baked at the same time it all comes out ready at the same time!

Since it was 60 and sunny we took a walk through the neighborhood

Then we made our Thanksgiving dinner.  Colleen made a veggie Thanksgiving, and all the food was very tasty.  We had Tofurkey Slices with Vegan Gravy, Red Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Pumpkin Orzo with Sage, Honey Roasted Acorn Squash Rings, Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Macademia Nuts, golden delicious apple and chive stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, and Candied Cranberry-Rosemary Walnut Crumble for dessert. 

Here we are ready to eat:

Then we relaxed with a beer in front of the fire place after Avery went to bed

On Friday we went downtown so Christine (and us) could see and enjoy some of the monuments.  It was another nice day out by the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool.

Avery enjoyed running up and down the hill

When we went inside the Lincoln Memorial, Avery enjoyed the big foyer with the huge Gettysburg Address:

She looked very stoic standing underneath it:

And Christine got to see the huge Lincoln statue:

Avery then spent some time "reflecting" as we overlooked the reflecting pond:

We saw the World War II memorial and walked around the National Mall some more before heading out for a late lunch / early dinner.  Then we went to the Zoo for the holiday seasonal "Zoo Lights" event. 

Every Friday and Saturday from late November through the end of the year they turn on lots and lots of lights at the zoo and have events like Holiday Train rides, a sledding hill (with no snow, kids tube down a synthetic snow hill, but Avery didn't meet the 38" minimum requirement), warm apple cider, kettle corn, etc.  Here we are about to enter the zoo:

We saw some neat lights and saw a lot of animals

The lions that night were roaring at the top of their lungs too, it was neat to hear!

The next day we took the Metro downtown to a few museums...we first went to the Smithsonian's American History Museum and saw Michelle Obama's inauguration gown dress

And saw some trains:

Jim really liked the history of American transportation exhibits, Colleen really liked the history of American food exhibits.  Plus there were a lot of other neat exhibits reflecting the history of the country.  Then we went to the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum and saw some dino skeleton's

Plus a lot of other neat exhibits about all kinds of animals, the oceans, ice ages, etc etc.  It is great to have all these free museums accessible to us just a Metro ride away!

Vacation in New England

Our 2nd day in New Hampshire was full of good things!  We first went to the Equine Center on the UNH campus since both Colleen and Avery love horses.

A year and a half ago in our blog we wrote about Avery liking a horse called Marcy there.  We went back and Marcy was still there!

Then we went into town and stopped at what used to be our favorite breakfast place in town, the Bagelry.  It was bought by a chain called The Works Bakery Cafe, and while not the same menu exactly it was tasty.

(They used to make a broccoli pizza bagel with Provolone cheese that was so good, and it is no longer on the menu...)

Avery also like the kids section there with little sized chairs perfect for her!

Then we went to pick up our race packets at Runner's Alley in Portsmouth.

The next day was the race and we were lucky to have Grandma Woods babysit for us before we headed out

The race was a beautiful course, (it was the Seacoast Half Marathon after all), and passed some of the neatest areas along the coast, including the Wentworth hotel, New Castle, plus salt marshes, and coastal views.  Take a look at the course from Colleen's Run Keeper app on her phone

Jim got a PR with a finish time of 1:29:01 (6:48/mile) and finished 20th overall across the finish line.  Colleen finished only two minutes off her PR and came in at 1:53:32 (8:37/mile).  Here she is about to pass a few guys spring towards the finish!

Here we are happy after the race

Then we met up with Colleen's friend from college Amy Warner.  Amy ran the race and after the finish we headed into Portsmouth and had lunch and a beer at the Portsmouth Brewery

When we got back Avery loved seeing mommy and daddy with medals around our necks!

We thought we deserved from greasy food after that effort and went to Five Guys grilled cheese for dinner, which had a long wait, but Avery was so cool waiting for her food

The next day we headed back to the seacoast.   We had lunch at the River House overlooking the water and tug boats.  What a great New England meal it was, with a lobster roll and a beer:

Then we headed over to see where we got married almost 5 years ago, St-Andrews-by-the-Sea in Rye.

 And Avery had a stuffy red nose, sad but cute:

After that we went to the Seacoast Science Center. 

Avery loved seeing the octopus:

  

Sea horses

Feeding the whales some fish

Going fishing herself

Touching sea stars, anemones, and other creatures:

All of it plus more was part of a scavenger hunt for kids, and Avery (with our help) found everything on the list!

Afterwards, we went outside the building and played in the rocks by the ocean:

On Tuesday, Colleen's mom took Colleen out for a belated birthday dinner to Petey's, right on the water.  (It is also where we had our rehearsal dinner before our wedding).  You can watch them pull the boats right up to the dock attached to the restaurant and load lobsters straight into the building, can't get fresher than that!

Avery loved wearing the bib before the lobster came out

And Colleen loved the lobster, which came with a birthday ice cream too!

Then we took one last drive down the seacoast before the flight home, we saw a beautiful sunset and even a rainbow

  

  

  

We sure do love New Hampshire and it was a great trip!