Over the river and through the wood ... to VA we go!

We spent the first part of "Christmas break" snow-bound in Seattle. Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Z were here to spend the weekend with us - we all listened to special meeting over the phone which was much better than missing it altogether, but not the same as being there! The workers' meeting on Monday had to be canceled but we were glad that 6 brothers met here to exchange vehicles at lunchtime - they helped us make a small dent in the taco salad ingredients and the brownies!
On Christmas Day, Justin kindly chauffered us through the latest snow drifts, down to Seatac where we eventually boarded our plane to fly, fly away to warmer climes! VA, a warmer clime? Yep, indeed it was ... we experienced a couple days in the upper 50s, low 60s ... and NO SNOW, woohoo! Toriana was a really good traveler on the way east ... but not quite so patient with the long flights on the way back west.
It was fun (and a bit miraculous!) to see all of my cousins while we were there! It was special to be in Blacksburg together w/ the Lawrences and then to go to Charlottesville to be with my mom's side ... including 3 of my "best buddies" from way back and their munchkins. We celebrated Mom's bday on New Year's Day ... also enjoyed the Hokies victory in the Orange Bowl that day! And resolved to experiment with cooking and eating more "superfoods" in 2009 rather than sticking with the same ol' same ol' all of the time! (Instead of rice, why not try Quinoa? Instead of spinach again, why not see what happens when mustard greens land on the plate? We're bound to have some busts, but along the way hopefully we find a few new favorites!)
Ok, now for a sampling of pictures! I have lots more on my Shutterfly page - email if you need the link.

Toriana in Mommy's cradle with the 3 bears Aunt Marla crocheted when Mommy was born!

Toriana trying out Mommy's rocking chair, freshly painted by Papa!

Playing the piano with Cousin Camille (2nd cousin) - She was born 5 hours earlier than Toriana!

Oooh, a present for me?! Fun!

Grammy and Papaw with their 8 great granddaughters!

The whole clan!! 37 of us now!

In Charlottesville, getting to see 2nd cousin Carson and lots of other people, too!
Jill, Jennifer, Melanie and Sally ... a rare get-to-gether since we now live in WA, VA, GA, & PA!