Botanic Gardens: Season's Greenings

One of our favorite Christmas displays every year is at the U.S. Botanic Garden and my mom joined us this year. The conservatory is always very festive filled with wreaths, garlands, poinsettias, and living ornaments. There are also beautiful replicas of historic D.C. buildings made out of plant material. There is really never anything Christmas-y about the Garden Railway exhibit (other than the fact that trains are involved) but it's always our favorite part. The exhibit used to just showcase the trains but now they create a completely magical forest each year. This year had fairies again (which thrilled the girls) and all kinds of interesting creatures and dwellings made out of plant material. I loved the creativity and the extensive details. We could have examined the displays even longer but a Saturday morning crowd isn't too conducive to intense pondering.

 

They had these really fun holes in the trees that you could peak in. The details inside were amazing.

A fairy playing an organ? A unicorn pulling a wagon? This is how I picture Amelia's imagination to work.

This fairy had a praying mantis on a leash. Perfect.

 An enchanted forest wouldn't be complete without a big ugly troll.

Oliver liked it.

 Amelia stared at this mermaid for a long time. Definitely her favorite.

national harbor

Ben flew back into town Friday night and wanted to do something Christmas-y so we headed over to National Harbor. It started to rain so we only stopped briefly at the big Christmas tree and then took cover inside the Gaylord Hotel. It was decorated the same as it is every year. The kids like to ride the glass elevator to the top and look down on the glass roof (although Elsa was scared to death this year of the whole experience and couldn't wait to get back down on the ground). We stuck around for the fountain show which was amusing...basically the nativity story set to lights and fountains in this massive commercial space. Oliver was completely fascinated by the fountains. And all the kids loved the fake snow that fell inside.

We wandered into the convention center inside the Gaylord to find a restroom away from the crowds and the kids were completely fascinated by the carpet and long empty hallways. It was hard to drag Oliver away.

meadowlark gardens.

We picked up my mom from work one night and went to Meadowlark Gardens to see their light display. It was an incredibly warm evening (temperatures had reached nearly 70 that day) and so nice to walk around without having to bundle up. The kids loved the lights. My friend Jessica was there with her kids and even though they had just finished walking through the gardens they walked through again with us, which my kids loved.

The kids had fun climbing around on this sleigh. Although Oliver and Maeve could not be contained for long.

Coloring Christmas pictures inside.