family day

Monday was such a great day. We had "family day" as Jon took the day off since he had a very busy week and weekend. We started the day low-key at home and after an early lunch, we went to the Short Pump mall. For most of you who visit this blog and don't know what that is--it's a very fun, very nice outdoor mall with lots of great stores and restaurants. Many of these are places that I very much missed during our time in Asheville. I was thrilled to learn that we would be returning to them here. Some of those favorites include Ann Taylor Loft, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, H & M, J. Jill, Williams-Sonoma.... Of course, I don't do a whole lot of shopping these days, but it still is a fun place to go. Dylan's favorite part of the mall, however, is the train. Our goal on Monday was to let Dylan have his first Short Pump train ride and he had a blast with Jon on the train.

Next on the agenda was Trader Joe's. This just opened here in Richmond a few days after Tucker was born. For those of you who know me know that I couldn't be more thrilled about this!!! We made a pretty quick TJ's trip and then it was naptime for the boys. The ride home provided a great time for their nap. Once we arrived back at our house, we decided to try out the kite we bought for Dylan (for a buck) back in early summer before we realized that there really isn't much wind to speak of around here during the summer. It's just plain hot. Anyway, since it was a beautiful day (74 degrees and sunny but breezy) Jon flew the kite in our cul-de-sac. Dylan once again had loads of fun chasing the kite...but never quite catching it.

Dinner at home (something we found at TJ's) and then we were off to the Festival of Lights at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. We had lots of fun looking at all the lights. Dylan's favorite was the spider web with lots of creepy, crawly...and very large spiders. His ultimate favorite part of the night, however, was the train room. This room was filled with model trains that choo-choo-ed around their tracks. Dylan was enamored. Thomas the Tank Engine was even there!

The night wrapped up in our neighborhood. Santa Claus made his annual appearance riding on top of a big red fire engine, sirens blaring through the streets. We were able to catch him riding around and Dylan once again was in heaven.

We all had a great day and even Dylan slept well that night!