Clinging to their guns and religion

Dan and Jason, ready for election day.

Reagan's 4th Birthday

The Chrumas sojourned up to NJ to join the Ferguson Family in celebrating Reagan's 4th birthday! There were 58 people at the house, so it's a good thing Dan did all that remodeling over the past year. The kids had a great time dressed up in their costumes and the adults did what we could to stay sane.

Date Night

We went on a "date" to Clifton's, a fancy place in the Keswick area. (east of Charlottesville) There is an Inn there and we ate in the restaurant which was fabulous! The menu was somewhat like tapas, though not quite as small. We selected either 3 or 4 entrees (small portions) and they would bring them out in the order you desired. So, we picked from the various selections (pasta, meat, seafood, vegetarian) and specified which one we wanted first, second, third, etc. My favorite was a chickpea pancake with salmon and avocado...the flavors mixed together so well and tasted heavenly. We weren't alone...there were about 6 other folks there from the Chemistry department and it was a dinner to honor a speaker who came to give a special lecture. But, we decided to treat it like a date!

Preschool Field Trip

Violet's preschool took its first field trip to Chiles Orchard and we brought along her good friend, Teddy, from church. We had fun riding the tractor, learning about pumpkins, picking pumpkins, and having fresh apple cider with snacks.

Uncle Jeff and Auntie Mo Visit

Jeff (Jason's brother) and Maureen (Mo) came for a visit and we had a great time showing them around and taking them to the beautiful vineyards in our area. In the weeks prior to their visit, Violet honed her tea-party skills with the lovely porcelain tea set Maureen sent to her for Christmas. Maureen found a second set, complete with cream pitcher and sugar bowl that was decorated with ladybugs and flowers, so that was great fun. It was great to have part of the Arizona crew with us for a few days...we hope they can come for a longer visit at some point.

Abby Dog Returns

"Uncle" Jason had a work trip for his most-exciting ICE job and needed to house his dog, Abby, for a few days. She stayed with us in Charlottesville and Violet can't stop talking about her Abby Dog. She tells everyone about her!

Way Down Yonder in the Paw-Paw Patch

I had no idea that Paw-Paws are real, living things. They grow on trees and you can pick and eat them! We were visiting a farm that belongs to some friends of ours and the husband said we were going Paw-Paw picking. I honestly thought he was pulling our legs and was making some kind of practical joke. My Southern Studies repetoir gets improved upon all the time! So, a Paw-Paw looks like a potato and you can peel the skin and eat it. The fruit is yellow and has the consistency of a mango and tastes a bit like a mango/banana hybrid. It has large, brown seeds throughout that look like beans. We brought some Paw-Paws home and made milkshakes!


Above: Jason prepares a Paw-Paw for blending.