Maia the Stripper

(luckily, this only happened one more time, and then she got bored of doing it)

Charleston, WV Trip

December 26th - January 4th

Our trip to visit Dawn and Greg in Charleston, WV, was amazing. A lot of pictures were taken. Not all of them feature the children, but those that do (or are related) ended up in this blog. (see my blog if you want to see the rest of the pictures).

At the rest stop...

At Granny's house, we had some snacks and Liam had something with almonds in it...which supposedly he is not allergic to...but, he definitely had a reaction (red watery eyes, itchy tongue).

In the morning, Maia made herself comfortable on our bed while we packed up.

Liam took his time as well.

This was the gentleman that came to fix Granny's furnace (on left). When we answered the door and Maia saw him, she started getting so excited. She has a penchant for strange guys, but never this much excitement. I wondered why she was so excited, literally dancing in place. Then it hit me...I leaned down to her and asked her quietly, "Maia, who is that?" She answered excitedly, "Santa!!"
Heh, so cute. And when we told him, he was very touched and gave her a dollar as a present.

Many hours later, we finally make it to Dawn and Greg's house. Their bright tree was there to greet us.

Gift opening commenced that evening.

Presents unwrapped, Maia enjoys a snuggle with Uncle Greg, her favorite person there.

Maia plays with her "Pride and Prejudice" paper dolls.

Liam drinks tea with Aunt Dawn.

Later we take a trip to Taylor Books, which is one of my favorite places.

Greg reads to Maia.

Dawn reads to Liam.

The bookstore is not big, but I love the children's section.

Afterwards, we head to the mall to make use of the indoor playground. The equipment looks like fruits and vegetables, which I love. Who doesn't want to slide down some celery, hide out in broccoli, or climb through asparagus?

One of my favorite parts of the stay was knitting...and Liam liked taking pictures of me doing it. This was actually a good picture considering he took it.

Maia is wearing the new hair ties that she got.

And she wanted to look like a kitty, so we obliged.

One of the mornings, we were greeted by the site of deer on the hillside in the backyard.

Maia was mesmerized.

Despite being cold, some outdoor fun was had.

New Years Eve afternoon, we went to the library for the "Noon Years Eve" celebration...a countdown to Noon for the little ones who do not stay up late.
Maia found herself a nice cozy corner to lounge in.

She enjoyed the "wine glasses" of apple juice.

To a New Afternoon (year)!

Later in the evening, we went to see a series of musical concerts around downtown Charleston. Very enjoyable.

It's a lazy New Years morning.

Our plan to leave on the 2nd was thwarted by Mother Nature.

At least she is pretty.

Maia loved making marks in the snow.

Liam and I snuggled for part of the afternoon.

Maia enjoyed wearing Liam's hat and wolf slippers.

Later we braved the roads to head to the capital museum. Liam and Dawn enjoyed playing with the musical marble-driven exhibit.

And then we went home. No pictures from the drive home...too sad. Hopefully it won't be too long before we go out there again.