Our Favorite Weekend

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and the weekend that follows is full of my favorite traditions.

Our Thanksgiving week started with Mate and me enjoying Eliana's Preschool Sharing Feast.  She sure loved having her daddy there!

The girls were quite excited to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family.  

 The next day, we packed our bags and headed downtown for our favorite weekend of the year.

 

I've taken the girls to the Science Center twice on my own, but thought it was time they experienced this place with Mate.  Let's just say, he is more enthusiastic about reading every little fact and answering each "what does this do?" question. 

We spent most of the day exploring, building and creating before heading to our hotel for dinner and a swim.

Mate is also more enthusiastic about swimming in cold water.  Seriously . . . so thankful he took one for the team.

The next day, we bundled up and headed out for Winterfest.

Choosing cupcakes to enjoy later. 

They're always excited for a carriage ride.

 Before heading back to the hotel for a rest, we enjoyed the Toy Soldier performance at Tower City.

In the evening, we bundled back up and walked to Public Square for the lighting.

 

We sure do love this city.

Smiles almost as bright as that tree.

The colorful animal statues throughout downtown were a huge hit, as well.

All was going quite well until Santa waved a wand and fireworks began shooting into the sky.  Mia and Ava promptly began screaming, so we hid inside a nearby building until the show ended. 

We strolled past decorated windows on our way back to the hotel.

A much anticipated cupcake picnic was a perfect end to their day.

 

We all loved staying in the recently opened Drury Plaza Hotel, which is located in the former Board of Education Building.

Ava insisted we needed a picture with the name of the hotel.  She also insisted that it never gets deleted . . . ever.

We always end our weekend downtown with a trip to Kringle's Inventionasium inside Tower City.

We stopped to chat with Bruce the Talking Spruce on our way, but the sign said he was sleeping.

There was a little stretching and singing before we entered.

The girls love this place.

And we love this Santa.

We ended the weekend decorating our own Christmas tree back at home.  

These three ladies sure make the season magical for us.