A Christmas Surprise!

Peter and I decided to surprise my family by coming to Maryland for Christmas after telling them we were staying in Memphis. My brothers were in on it but everyone else was in the dark. My sister teared up. My dad stopped in in tracks. And my mom, well, she was a bit more dramatic. One of my brothers took video of my ma as she walked in the house and saw Cole.

It's pretty classic:

A Very Memphis Christmas

Memphis has so many neat holiday traditions: Enchanted Forrest Festival of Trees, Snowy Nights, Zoo Lights, Starry Nights, Clark's Christmas Dinner.
Being that neither of us is originally from here, we have to explore to discover which local traditions will be part of our family traditions.
Since we have a baby in tow, this Christmas we decided to give the Enchanted Forrest Festival of Trees and Snowy Nights a whirl.
Clark's Christmas Dinner, I'm coming for you in 2013! 

The Enchanted Forrest Festival of Trees at the Pink Palace seemed tried and true. Also, old. Admission for our family was $12.
I can imagine if it were part of my own childhood, taking Cole would have been really special.
I did like how Cole was able to walk around. The rail was just her size.

 

The Christmas tree display was pretty cool but weak compared to Valley View Farms.
Same with the train display. It was quaint compared to the Keniworth train garden. Clearly, childhood in Baltimore spoiled me.
For a bit more cash, Cole could've visited with Santa at the Pink Palace. His set up there was pretty cozy.
If she hadn't already met the big man at Bass Pro we may have splurged. 

.....

With our membership to the Botanic Garden, our family got into Snowy Nights for $10.
Santa was making an appearance the night we went so we snapped Cole's picture with him. For free.
There were tons of activities and free cotton candy included with our admission. For a bit extra we could've purchased s'more supplies. We opted out.

Cole was mesmerized by the lights. There were just enough.
Snowy Night is contained within My Big Backyard which meant we didn't have to walk too far.

Next year, we'll go back to Snowy Nights. Cole may be able to participate in some of the activities by then which would be fun.
Even if she can't, it's a nice holiday family activity and worth the cost of admission. 

The Yard

Oh, the yard. What a time it's been. This was our lovely yard in September, prior to any work. We had to plans to put in a patio when we learned one of the trees was dead and needed to be removed. 

Here's the yard after the tree was removed. Devastating. I could get into it, but I won't. After a short conversation, the company agreed to regrade and sod our yard since the damage was excessive.

Here's the yard now. There were two days between the sod and the patio installation. I didn't take a picture. We opted to go with a stamped concrete patio from Batlz and Sons. What a dream they were to work with! All in all the yard looks pretty good now. It'll look great once the sod starts to spread and turns green. 

Here's a close up of the concrete. I suppose it looks as good as you'd expect a picture of concrete to look. I'm excited to use the space once it warms up a little. I'm going to start keeping my eye out for some patio furniture- not that our tailgate chairs aren't perfect.