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Cousins came to visit for the weekend, and we decided to show them the fun that is the National Zoo. Emmie was excited to enjoy the beautiful day with her cousins at this fantastic (and free) zoo.

We started checking out the big cats. A bunch of lions were out chilling.

Here are a few of the lions they were watching.

They checked out the turtles, as we have done before.

We took a break for a snack in the sea lion show seats (they had no shows that afternoon, sadly).

JJ, an expert snacker.

Molly helped Emmie cool off.

We walked up to the elephant outpost at the bottom of the hill, which can be an excellent place to see the elephants up close. Sadly, they were hanging out at the top of this hill. But JJ managed to get a view of them from afar. We got to see them closer later, after hiking up the hill.

As we got up to the top side of the zoo, JJ spotted the giant stuffed panda at the Friends of the National Zoo booth. They were nice enough to let him hold it for a second.

We made it all the way to the top to the front entrance on Connecticut Avenue to take a picture in the zoo sign, as we have done before.

On the walk back down, we stopped into the gift shop and the kids each got a souvenir. Leah liked the lions so much, she got one of her own.

All the kids did great with all the walking (between 4 and 5 miles, according to my pedometer), but occasionally got some help. JJ got a ride on Aunt Jen as we headed down hill back to our cars.

As always, the zoo was lots of fun for all involved. We look forward to more visits to come.

The party was over, but the fun was not. Once the guests left, there was still more celebrating to do.

All of Molly’s guests signed this shirt for her. So, once they left she had to try it on.

As usual, we didn’t have time to open all the presents from her friends during the party. After the party, though, she dove into all the great gifts. This giant stuffed cat got a serious reaction.

Molly’s big birthday present is a new bike from Grams, G’Mom and Grampa, and us. This Trek MT 220 will be great for her for a long time.

Later that evening, it was time to open even more presents - this time from G’Mom and Grampa.

To go along with her new bike, G’Mom and Grampa got her this giant (and extremely loud) bell. It’s awesome.

G’Mom also made her this new pillowcase. It's a good thing she finished this before she came, as she might have a bit of trouble with sewing for a little while.

Thus ended a very busy day. Happy birthday, Molly!

Saturday, the girls broke out Twister and insisted that G’Mom and Grampa join in the fun. Moments after this picture, Molly took a tumble.

That afternoon, we decided to head to the rink for a little roller skating. Molly’s an old pro at this point.

Leah’s doing pretty well skating as well. She especially loves skating holding both of our hands. She had such a good time, she lasted much longer than Molly.

Not sure how long it’s been since Grampa was on skates, but he was happy to get out there and roll around.

G’Mom was doing great skating as well. Well, at least until she decided to go around one more time before we left…

On G’Mom’s final lap, a young girl darted in front of her, causing her to fall on her wrist. This led to an ER visit, revealing a very bad break. In order to line up the bones before putting on a cast, they hung her hand from this odd contraption.

They put her arm in a cast and a sling, as you can see here. This was just a temporary measure, though, as she had to head to the orthopedic surgeon when she got back home for surgery to insert a plate and screws to hold everything together.

She’s home recovering from surgery now. We hope you feel better soon!

Before our guests headed back to their home states, we had one more celebration. After ice skating and an early dinner, it was time to celebrate Grampa’s birthday (a couple days early).

Grampa is in shock. These slippers are just too much.

Happy birthday, Grampa!

For our final day of visitors, we decided to go ice skating at our local rink. This was Emmie’s first time ice skating (and Leah’s first successful time).

Here’s Leah skating with a walker for the first time. She did great, both holding hands and using the walker.

Molly and Emmie flew around the ice as fast as their walkers would let them.

Leah was hilarious. She’d skate around with us, then say she wanted a break. But as soon as she stepped off the ice, she’d say she changed her mind and wanted to keep skating. So, back onto the ice she’d go.

Every time we go ice skating, we leave the rink wondering why we don’t do it more often. It’s so much fun, close by, and included in our gym/tennis/etc. membership so we only have to pay skate rental fees.

Nine days after we started opening presents, we were still opening. This time with Emmie, JJ, Aunt ‘Chelle, and Uncle J. This plane is for the bath tub and sprays water.

Emmie got an American Girl doll for Christmas, and the girls were happy to give Emmie some clothes and accessories for her.

I think they’re telling us they want pancakes for breakfast by acting out a short stack.

The girls got some Perler beads, and they were quickly a favorite project of theirs (and Emmie as well).

Jen didn’t just make jammies for our girls. She made them for Emmie and JJ as well. She couldn’t find a shirt for JJ, though, so she had to make one to match the girls’.

But that’s still not the end of the family fun. Tune in next time for activities without pajamas.

The day after the big family party, the out-of-towners wanted to see some of the sights. So, many of them headed out to D.C. to see them. We, however, headed to church. In addition to the family fun, I was also leading music that day.

After church and some lunch, we joined up with the rest of the crew at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Rick is friends with the brother of the Associate Director of Rowing there, and he arranged a special tour for us. So, we headed to Hubbard Hall to see some boats.

I had assumed we’d just see some boats and water, and learn a little. But the tour was much cooler than just that. We even got to do some rowing ourselves in their tank - a practice facility for indoor rowing.

After the Naval Academy, we all headed to Buddy’s Crabs & Ribs for dinner. Thanks to Mike and Mary for finding a place that could seat 27 of us.

That was the end of our time with most of the extended family, but we still had a bit more fun in store with a few of them. More on that to come.

On the 27th, we hosted the Batson Family Christmas celebration in our house. There were 28 of us in all, and a good time was had by all (well, Leah wasn’t a fan of such a large group). Here’s everyone in attendance. We used our hill to stack people up.

Breaking with tradition (pot-luck with turkey or ham), we had Red Hot & Blue barbeque. Since everyone was coming in from far away, catering seemed a better idea than pot-luck. And Jen came up with the idea of delicious barbeque instead of traditional fare. It was delicious.

These ladies escaped the crowds in the other room for some peaceful conversation with their barbeque.

And of course, the family gift exchange.

Thanks to everyone for making the trip up to see us.

Jen’s extended family gathers every Christmas for the Batson Family Christmas celebration. This moves from place to place, usually in Alabama or Georgia. But this year to our surprise, the family said they were up for making the trek to Maryland. Thanks to our new house, we are now able to host large gatherings.

The party was planned for the 27th, but with folks arriving the 26th, we invited everyone over for Ledo’s pizza (yum). Initially, this was just going to be 10 of us, but in the process of ordering the pizza, that number went to 15, then 19, then 24, then back to 19. Fortunately, we’d already started setting up for the real party so we had seats to accommodate everyone.

Opening presents is fun, but playing with those new toys is even more fun. So, once we got home, it was time to play. Molly opened up and built her GoldieBlox dunk tank. Then it was time to start tossing the ball. Nacho the dog is ready to get wet.

And, Nacho’s making a splash.

Leah received 6 Lego sets this Christmas, which sounded awesome to her. She’s a huge Lego fan, and would happily spend much of every day building.

There wasn’t too much time to play though, as extended family from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina were due to arrive in Maryland on the 26th.