New Year's Vacation

We spent a wonderful week with my mom over New Year's. My cousin and uncle came down also, the weather was gorgeous, the kids were hilarious, the food was amazing, and we even stayed up till 12:03 and watched the ball drop!

Check out this picture:



I think every single person in the shot has been photoshopped together.
This one really happened, though:



My mom bought the kids this super-cute tent.



Oh, sure, they look all cute and cooperative in these pictures, but here's what happened in reality: every chance she got, Lara would either go inside and then flip the thing upside down or else barricade the entrance with a piece of furniture - or, if all else failed, simply put the entrance against a wall. Why, you ask? To keep her brother from getting in.



The upshot? There was much policing of tent accessibility.



We checked out the crazy-awesome National Building Museum.



First, the big block room, where the main goal of every project that any kid was doing was to create a giant encasing box for another kid. Seriously, some boxes were tall - standing room only - and some were just for squatters, but all were human containers.



Then, Lara built this ridiculous ur-Jenga contraption that threatened to reach the very ceiling of the place... except she ran out of pieces. We deemed it to be pretty spectacular.



Jakey, meanwhile, spent the week growing up. One new accomplishment? The word "no" - and with that his tantrum-throwing arsenal is nearly complete. Let's see... Grunting growl of rage (+10 sonic attack rating)? Check. Balled up fists (-5 to effectiveness from chubby cuteness)? Check. Repeating "No! NO! NOOO!" (+20 bonus for wearing down parental defenses)? Check. All he needs now is the final piece of the puzzle - the stamina bluff making it seem like he could keep it up indefinitely.

But then again, he also says all sorts of other things, usually in little two or three word grouping. "Yeah, yeah, wan foo!" comes the cry of the hungry boy. Or the similar, "Yeah, yeah, pipa!" whenever pizza is on offer. Or the ever popular "beeeee" which stands for Jakey's favorite food - black beans with cheese. Like his sister before him, Jakey expands his vocabulary mainly in the direction of yum.



And what did Lara do besides playing lord of the tent? My uncle taught her how to work a tripod, which she totally loved - and with which she took some totally great pictures... on his camera.

Time much enjoyed by all.