We went to Rock City tonight to see the Enchanted Garden of Lights. I think about how great it is to be able to do things like that with the kids and hope we continue it throughout the years so they can keep the memories. It reminded me of when I was younger and my parents took us to NYC to see The Nutcracker and The Rockettes. Instead of the funnel cake and hot chocolate that Rock City had, we'd get a hot pretzel from a street vendor and thought it was the greatest thing. I have a much greater appreciation for things like that now that I'm a mom. When you're a kid the crowds, lines, and costs don't matter to you- you don't even think about them until it's your turn to do it. Of course, we don't mind waiting in lines when it's something memorable for our kids and you come to realize that your parents felt the same way about you.
It was pretty cold out but we bundled everyone in layers and scarves etc. I thought Vance would sleep since it was his usual bedtime but he was wide awake for the whole two hours we were there just staring. Usually he'll talk and play but he was like a statue, just turned his head every now and then. I wondered what was gong through his mind ;). They had a fake polar bear in a cave with a snoring noise. Hope liked it so much she didn't want to move- it wasn't real but she sure thought it was. We had to lure her away by telling her we were going to look for more bears. When we stopped for our hot chocolate Hope grabbed her cup as if it was a half emtpy one that I would've given her at home and dumped it all over herself- I had a moment of terror thinking she had burned herself but apparently she had so many layers on she didn't even feel it. Soon after that we wanted to take a family picture in front of a lighted penguin display but the girls refused to participate so Jon and I took our picture with Vance which you see below. Then Hope decided she did want a picture but she wanted to stand with the penguins and you just can't do that considering to get to them you'd have to navigate the rocks and crevices (and you're not allowed). Try telling a 3 year old "No". No matter how many ways you explain it she just kept screaming, loudly, "I wanna a picture!!!". Eventually she gave up and had a good cry and we could all move along to the musician who had just finished his set while she was having her breakdown. They were decorating cookies for $3 inside and G wanted to do one- we asked her if she had $3 and she got rather angry upon our exit form the building. Then the girls had a fight about who Daddy would hold and he eventually just put G on his shoulders and held Hope in his arms, see below. Good workout I suppose! All in all, everyone had a good time and We're looking forward to going back to one of our favorite places in the spring.
Granny came up to spend Christmas with us and brought all kinds of goodies that make it special with her. I had to work so it was great to have her there with the kids and Jon. The two of them got everything ready and I was able to get home a couple of hours early to climb in bed with my family. I was too excited to sleep so I mostly just layed there until Hope and Vance woke up. I told Hope Santa came and she promptly woke up G to tell her and they flew out of bed. They did not like the Giordano tradition of brushing your teeth before opening presents which is really just a way to give Granny time to start the coffee and Daddy time to get the camera ready :). I couldn't find our camera until the mayhem ended so Granny has most of the pictures but we did get some cute ones.
Gwenevere tore through her presents the fastest and Hope kept stopping to open her brother's gifts. Vance had a blast with all the commotion, paper, and presents. Once we were done with presents Granny spent the day cooking for us and I took a nap. The kids played happily all day. We had a delicious dinner and Granny headed home. A very satisfying day indeed. We hope you all had a wonderful day with your families as well!! We miss all of the friends and family we did not get to see and want you to know we think about you all very often!!
